In Pokémon GO, you can participate in Crypto Raids for a few days now. New items have been introduced specifically for these, so you can defeat the raid bosses better. But how useful are the purified gems anyway? We at MeinMMO show you what a trainer discovered during his tests.
Which raids are we talking about? With the start of the “Rising Shadows” event, the new Crypto Raids also made their debut in the game. Team GO Rocket takes over the gyms, and you have the opportunity to challenge Crypto Raid bosses at various difficulty levels.
However, the bosses of the level 3 Crypto Raids and Crypto Mewtwo, which you will find in the level 5 Crypto Raids over the weekend, present a special challenge: they become enraged when attacked. This increases their attack and defense, making them harder to defeat. For this reason, you should collect Crypto Shards diligently to compose them into purified gems and, in this way, subdue the monsters in battle.
But what do these new items really bring in battle? A trainer has tested this for you. We have summarized his results below.
How many purified gems do you really need?
What was tested? After Niantic released the new Crypto Raids and keeps emphasizing the use of the special purified gems, many trainers wonder what the new items actually bring in combat. This was something the Reddit user HAUSchamp wanted to know and tested it.
He explains in his post that he fought against two different Crypto Sneasel with friends. To create comparable conditions, they conducted the first battle without using purified gems and aborted it shortly before the end, so they could repeat it with the help of the special items.
These are the results of his test
Crypto Raid without purified gems: After they initially attacked Crypto Sneasel with weak teams and without using purified gems, it becomes clear that the raid bosses can essentially also be weakened by the “normal” attack. It is thus possible, at least in the Crypto Raids of level 3, to bring them down without the use of special items with strong counters.
Use of purified gems: In the second round, the two trainers relied on the purified gems. Accordingly, each trainer has a maximum of 5 of these special Crypto items available per battle. However, it takes a moment for them to appear on the bottom left of the screen for use. According to HAUSchamp, they do not always penetrate through to the raid boss after they have been used.
Whether the purified gems deal more damage to the opponent during the fight, HAUSchamp cannot say for certain, although exactly 8 were needed in both fights to win the raid. He explains:
The only thing I can say for certain is that the number of gems needed for subduing is 8. My teams are too weak to tell anything precise about whether the gems have any influence on the damage taken or dealt before the boss is subdued. It didn’t seem like the boss went down faster in the runs with gems before being defeated, but that needs to be tested by someone with deeper knowledge of raid mechanics than me.
HAUSchamp via reddit.com
He gives an insight into the two fights in his YouTube video. There, he contrasts the raids with and without the use of the items using a split-screen. It is also evident that the gems placed during the fight have little impact. The progress bar of both fights differs only slightly.
He writes (via reddit.com): “My friend only had 3 gems, so he defeated the boss with the last gem (I had already used my 5). Note the text indicating he used the gem, followed by ‘Sneasel was defeated’ on the right screen.”
Trainers confirm experience and have concerns
Trainers make similar observations: In the comments under the analysis, many other trainers also speak up and share their experiences from the past few days. They too could barely perceive any changes in the damage of the Crypto Raid Boss when a purified gem was used. Trainer glencurio also confirms that not all gems always penetrate and suspects that after using them, you should not attack immediately.
He writes about one of his attempts (via reddit.com): “I tried to use a purified gem twice during this raid, but it was never used (I started with 10 gems and still had all 10, receiving 0 shards as a reward). I later learned that an attack cancels the use of the gem, so you have to stop attacking.”
Whether this is really the case and what effects using the purified gems actually has can only be speculated about for now. There is currently no official information on this.
Trainers are dismayed: “Does not look good for the Mewtwo Raids”
Even though there are currently only Crypto Raids of levels 1 and 3, many trainers are eagerly awaiting the weekend. From May 27 to 28, the legendary Pokémon Crypto Mewtwo will take over the level 5 Crypto Raids. In these, players are also supposed to rely on purified gems. And that is causing concern for many trainers now.
Level 5 raids are usually a bit stronger, so you’ll probably need good support. However, just like in the 1 and 3 Crypto Raids, you can only get this support on-site. Playing via remote raid pass is not possible. Some players now have concerns due to the results of HAUSchamp’s tests that Mewtwo will require significantly more purified gems. This is what you can read in the comments (via reddit.com):
- Teban54: “If using gems has no effect until a total of 8 are consumed, that’s just terrible. And that’s just T3… Imagine T5.”
- koolmike: “8 gems. That’s a pretty bad design decision. If we had more than one player, we wouldn’t need the gems at all. Two players are more than enough to handle an angry T3 raid. I hope for T5 raids we don’t need more than that.”
- TheTraveller: “This does not look good for the Mewtwo Raids this weekend. I expected that at least 6 experienced raiders would be needed to win, with decent level 40 counters that know Mewtwo’s moves and how to adjust their teams accordingly. But if the gems don’t gradually reduce Mewtwo’s attack and defense, it’s probably going to be 8-9, and with the limit of 10 gems a player can have, most will likely be empty after 2-3 raids.”
How many trainers are needed for the Crypto Raid Boss has been revealed to us by Niantic in an interview:
Whether more than 8 purified gems need to be used to subdue Crypto Mewtwo is currently not officially known. If there is any further information on this, you will find out on MeinMMO.
What has your experience been with the new raids? Did you also need exactly 8 purified gems to defeat the raid boss? Or did you complete the fights entirely without the new items? Let us know in the comments.
By the way: Niantic is currently raffling the valuable gems. We show you how to participate.
