When the MOBA Pokémon Unite was released, it faced serious Pay2Win accusations. However, this could now be a thing of the past, as the mobile release on September 22 came with a major update that addresses this issue.
What can you buy with real money in Pokémon Unite? You can still acquire items in Pokémon Unite with Aeos Gems, which you get in exchange for real money:
- A premium battle pass (€7.99) or premium battle pass+ (around €16) to unlock special goodies, skins, and fashion items
- Pokémon licenses and their skins
- Held items and their upgrade materials
- Fashion items for the trainer
- Various boosters that increase the gain of experience points, coins, and energy
What was the main problem? Most players complained a lot about the item boosters. These level your held items up to level 30. The bonuses that an item brings at level 30 are significantly noticeable compared to those that are at a lower level.
For example, streamers dug deep into their pockets to demonstrate how much the entire system relies on Pay2Win. Thus, players who did not invest money into the game were at a disadvantage compared to those who had the money to quickly push their items to level 30.
The community has shown significantly more understanding for the battle pass and skins, as this is also common in other MOBAs like League of Legends.
Significantly more item boosters for free
How is Pokémon Unite tackling the problem? Pokémon Unite has become much more generous regarding item boosters. There are now “support missions for item enhancement,” in which you have to engage in battles with various battle types of Pokémon. Whether you win or lose does not matter at all.
What types are there? There are a total of five different battle types of Pokémon:
- Attacker Pokémon
- Defender Pokémon
- Supporter Pokémon
- Allrounder Pokémon
- Speedster Pokémon
If you fight five times with the attacker-type Pokémon, you will receive 150 item boosters. If you even complete ten battles with this type, you will get another 190 item boosters. This applies to all five types. If you complete all quests, you can earn a total of 1700 item boosters. This would allow you to bring one item to level 26 or three different items to level 20.
What else is there? Under the event tab, you can find even more quests that you can easily fulfill if you play the game about two to three times a week for one to two hours. The rewards from the quests give you plenty of item boosters and Aeos tickets, which you can exchange for item boosters in the shop.
New free item booster – “Item Booster+”
What is “Item Booster+”? Item Booster+ ensures that a selected held item immediately reaches level 30. You don’t have to worry about an item that has already been leveled up, as you will get back all the item boosters you used on this item immediately.
How can you get Item Booster+? You can get the new Item Booster+ through the “Events” tab under “Missions for Item Boosters+.” You only need to reach trainer levels 10, 12, and 14 to receive three of them. After that, choose wisely which three held items you will enhance with it – there won’t be any new ones for a while.
The “Boosting Trial Maxi Card” has the same effect: This card allows you to bring a held item to level 30. However, this only applies for seven days. A total of three of these are available if you participate in the “Maxi Boosting Trial” under “Events.”
This card can be particularly useful for you if you are still unsure whether you want to apply one of your Item Boosters+ on an item. With the Boosting Trial Maxi Card, you can test for seven days whether it is worth bringing the held item to level 30 or if you should choose a different one.
With the additional events and missions, every player should soon be able to bring their held items to at least level 20 – if not even higher. Especially if you only play certain battle types, you can level up specific equipment higher since a battle type usually requires the same item.
Do you think the change has affected the Pay2Win aspect or are you still annoyed that the item boosters are purchasable with real money? Feel free to write it in the comments.
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