In Pokémon GO some changes regarding smoke were made a few days ago. We at MeinMMO wanted to know how you feel about them. In the meantime, more than 2,900 readers have participated in the survey. We have summarized the results for you here.
What changes are we talking about? With the beginning of the Alola season, Niantic not only ushered in a new season, but also introduced some changes related to smoke and Raid Passes.
The goal is primarily to get trainers out of their comfort zone and send them back outside. After all, that was the original game concept of Pokémon GO. Therefore, since March 1, 2022, the following innovations have been implemented:
- up to 2 free Raid Passes per day when you spin a PokéStop
- Smoke now lasts 90 minutes
- Smoke is more effective when moving (about 1 Pokémon per minute)
- When stationary, smoke attracts fewer Pokémon (about 1 creature in 5 minutes)
However, especially the changes regarding smoke have caused a lot of discussions on social networks. For this reason, we wanted to know from you in the past days how you like the smoke changes:
You have a clear opinion about the smoke change
These are the results: On March 15, we asked you in our related article how you liked the smoke changes. As of March 22, 2022, at 11:55 AM, a total of 2,972 people participated.
Your answers clearly indicate that you have a pretty clear opinion on the smoke change. We received the following results from the survey:
- 2,727 votes (92 %) for “I think the change is bad”
- 124 votes (4%) for “I think the change is good”
- 121 votes (4 %) for “I don’t care about the change”
Accordingly, the overwhelming majority of trainers are dissatisfied with the new smoke conditions. Nevertheless, 124 participants think the new changes are good. To better understand their respective decisions, some readers elaborated in the comments of our article and in our Facebook group about why they made their choices in the survey.
Why did you decide this way?
This is why they find the change bad: For most trainers, the reduced spawn rate when stationary is a major problem. In 2020, Niantic made the smoke more effective even for playing from home as part of the COVID bonuses due to the ongoing pandemic.
This allowed players to catch about one Pokémon every minute even while stationary. In the meantime, trainers have become accustomed to this premium item and mainly used the smoke as a supplement during events in recent months.
Furthermore, the increased spawn rate also made it possible and easier to play in bad weather, in areas with few PokéStops, or during quarantine. Now, trainers can no longer benefit from this advantage and must leave their homes for more spawns. This is also reflected in your comments (Facebook/MeinMMO):
- Attila M.: “Nothing for quarantine”
- Hans-Martin I: “Very disadvantageous for people with disabilities”
- Chrissie E.: “The smoke is now rubbish. At home, 1 to 2 Pokémon spawn, and due to my shift work and working in the middle of nowhere, the smoke was great… especially when you had to work on C-Day, you could at least try to catch Shinys… and last week I was sick and going outside didn’t really work and thus the smoke was pointless from the couch… They should change it back and make it like it was before…”
- Melanie L.: “Well, I’ve been here from the beginning, but the smoke has never been this bad. It has become completely useless and pointless. Even when moving properly, the spawn rate is really poor, to the point where you don’t even notice a difference whether you activated it or not. This article is definitely going to be a dead stock in the shop now.”
- CHRISTIAN: “I think the smoke should be strengthened again, as it is really hard to complete the tasks in villages and there is much more going on in cities. So please Niantic, strengthen the smoke again. Otherwise, I won’t buy a pass anymore, since I can’t finish it anyway.”
- HIOBtheDragon: “The smoke change makes the item partly simply USELESS! When you are on the go, you don’t need it, and when stationary, it’s not even as promised that a Pokémon spawns every 5 minutes, but (after multiple tests) about every 10-20 minutes. Once I had to wait almost half an hour. Overall, Pokémon GO is strongly declining, and the fun of the game is not really there anymore. If I weren’t so stubborn, I probably would have stopped playing a few weeks ago.”
This is what you like about the new smoke: However, not all trainers find the smoke change bad. After all, 4% can find something positive in it and even see it as an improvement to the game. They primarily hope that more trainers will head outside to play again. This is also evident in their comments (MeinMMO):
- Malte: “I think it’s good like that. Pokémon GO is not responsible for whether you can’t play just because you are sick or the weather is bad. They were more than generous in the last two years, and I’m tired of how many lazy people complain that they can no longer play the game from home. Personally, I like to use smoke when I’m in villages or out in nature, where there are hardly any stops.”
- erzi222: “Good, let the lazy people finally run again! It’s a GO game, not one for home.”
- zigZag: “The smoke is simply a comfort bonus. I only used the ‘better’ smoke at the beginning, but even then I quickly lost interest because I simply didn’t want to sit on the couch for an hour and stare at my phone.”
Moreover, a few readers, like ZigZag, suggest that the smoke could be strengthened again during certain events, like Community Days.
Whether Niantic will heed this criticism and adjust the smoke in favor of the players remains to be seen for now. If there are any new updates, you will find out here on MeinMMO.
What is your opinion on the current smoke? Let us know in the comments!
Moreover, a few readers, like ZigZag, suggest that the smoke could be strengthened again during certain events, like Community Days.
Whether Niantic will heed this criticism and adjust the smoke in favor of the players remains to be seen for now. If there are any new updates, you will find out here on MeinMMO.
What is your opinion on the current smoke? Let us know in the comments!
