MeinMMO editor Noah Struthoff has been playing Pokémon GO since day 1 and considers himself a veteran in the game. Currently, there is little going on for him and many other long-term players in Pokémon GO – But why?
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I am currently on a break from Pokémon GO and this break is still ongoing. However, I also hear from many fellow players who have also been around for years that their enthusiasm is waning.
For me, the decisions made by Niantic in recent months are to blame. In my opinion, they are doing a lot, but mostly for new players. Veterans are left behind.
Much for new players – Little for experienced trainers
I see this development as a gradual process. The change didn’t happen overnight, but looking at some of the decisions made in the past weeks, it is quite noticeable.
In Pokémon GO, much is repeated and that is perfectly fine. After all, there are new players who want things that long-term trainers have had for a long time. However, I miss the balance. There is too much for newcomers and too little for veterans. Need examples?
- In the last election of the Community Days, 4 monsters were up for choice, of which 3 have already appeared as shiny in the game – Ultimately, among others, Charmander won – we already had the Community Day in 2018.
- Legendary raid bosses like Heatran are repeated – that’s nice for a week, but Heatran stays for a whole 3 weeks.
- In the research breakthroughs, there haven’t been any exciting Pokémon for months, but monsters that may be a bit rarer, but have been in the game for a long time – Examples include Larvitar and Surskit.
- New Pokémon are introduced sporadically – an event brings 1-2 new monsters into the game every 2 months – a large wave of new Pokémon has been absent for weeks.
What bothers me the most: I have a feeling that Niantic is focusing a lot on their PvP league. The Pokémon from past Community Days had moves that were interesting for the PvP mode. However, they are completely useless for raids. In the past, there were strong Pokémon like Tyranitar or Salamence, which were especially useful for raids and gyms.
I am not a big fan of the PvP league. This is partly because it has been completely buggy since release and I have probably lost more rounds due to bugs than I have ultimately won. I am not alone in this opinion. When I look into the communities, very few trainers are real fans of the PvP league.
Still, Niantic keeps trying to contribute something there. New moves, event Pokémon that are strong for PvP, and raid bosses that I wouldn’t touch as a supporter of PvP.
Here too, I miss the balance. New moves for the PvP league are cool, but when was the last time a new move was introduced into the game that really shook up the meta in raids? I have to think back quite a while.
What should change?
This is how to change it: New features need to be implemented that are not completely hidden behind a paywall. The Mega Raids just arrived – something I was really looking forward to. However, the reality is that you have to do 5-7 raids to then hold a Mega Evolution for 4 hours. So I spend about 5 euros in PokéCoins for these 4 hours or save them up over days.
There was a comment on reddit that I can sign 100%: “Another mechanic that I will not bother with. I have invested four years, so that I now log in to do a stop and catch a Pokémon at most once a day. As someone who just wants to fill the Dex, it is pointless to play. Half of the Gen 5 Dex is impossible to find, regionally or locked behind raids or the PvP league. I just want to catch wild Pokémon that offer more variety, instead of Niantic releasing 3 at once and making them super rare.”
I would like to see big waves of Pokémon again, like back at the release of Generation 2. Almost all Pokémon from this generation were newly introduced into the game and you could discover something everywhere.
I would love Community Days that are finally exciting again. They should actually be the highlight of the month. But in recent months I felt more like suffering through it than enjoying the event. Either there were useless monsters or Pokémon that already had a shiny.
I think it’s good and right that new players are also offered something. After all, they shouldn’t come into a game that completely overwhelms them. Nevertheless, the old trainers who have supported Pokémon GO for years should not be forgotten.
What do you think? Are you a long-term player and still have the same motivation as a few months ago? Or are you a newcomer and looking forward to the repetitions?
