Due to the Corona pandemic, Pokémon GO introduced certain bonuses for trainers in 2020 so that they could play from home. These will soon be phased out. We have taken a look at how the game will proceed and what the community is saying about the changes.
What is it about? Due to the ongoing Corona pandemic and the associated contact restrictions as well as curfews, some Pokémon GO trainers could no longer play outdoors as usual. To enable these trainers to continue playing, Niantic introduced some Corona bonuses in 2020.
As a result, trainers received more gifts from their buddy, among other things, or a more effective, longer-lasting incense. Now, however, Niantic wants to return more to the original concept of the game and is planning to phase out the Corona bonuses.
When will it happen? Already in June, Pokémon GO officially announced that the Corona bonuses would gradually be phased out starting at the end of July 2021. This will begin in New Zealand and the USA. According to the current view in the game, it will take place in Germany on August 1, 2021.
This is what to expect after the Corona bonuses expire
While Niantic generally wants to return to the old game concept and send trainers outdoors more, they have also stated that not all bonuses will be phased out (via pokemongolive.com). Some will remain with you. Additionally, new bonuses will be introduced. We will show you what they are.
These bonuses will remain:
- 3x Stardust and XP for the first catch of the day
- Incense duration of 60 minutes
- No distance traveled in the GO Battle League
- Requirements for battles against other trainers remain
- Storage of up to 20 gifts in the item bag
- Opening up to 30 gifts a day
These exploration bonuses will be added:
- Guaranteed gifts when spinning PokéStops
- Up to 2 raid passes a day when spinning at gyms
- Bonuses for participating in local raids
- 10x XP for the first spin of a PokéStop
- Higher incense effectiveness when you move
- Bonuses for distances walked
According to Niantic, there will be more bonuses that they have not explicitly mentioned. Additionally, EX raids will return. The exploration bonuses will also be initially tested in New Zealand and the USA. Part of these bonuses will then end with the change of the season on September 1.
This is the community’s reaction
As seen on social networks, trainers are not excited about the upcoming changes. This is primarily due to the rising Corona numbers in many countries. But the lack of communication from Niantic is also heavily criticized by players.
For example, user dabomerest writes on reddit angrily: “In some places in the USA, there are more Covid cases than ever before, but Niantic has said nothing about it and also not about the petitions to keep the interaction radius of PokéStops increased.” (via reddit.com).
Other players mention that they started playing Pokémon GO precisely because of many options to play from home. User PM_ME_UR_BIKINI reports in this context about his girlfriend, who is not very mobile due to a disability and started playing due to the Corona bonuses (via reddit.com). For her, it will be harder to participate in the game after some bonuses are removed.
Some trainers, on the other hand, are concerned that the removal of some bonuses will soon eliminate the option for remote raids. User W1nd0wPane writes on reddit that he will leave the game if Niantic removes the remote raid passes (via reddit.com).
Whether Niantic takes the trainers’ criticism to heart and waits a bit with the removal of some bonuses is currently unknown. If there is an official announcement about it through Pokémon GO, you will read it here on MeinMMO.
What do you think about the changes to the Corona bonuses? Do you think it’s bad that Niantic wants to phase some of them out, or are you more excited about the new exploration bonuses? Let us know your opinion in the comments and feel free to discuss it with other players.
By the way: In August, a two-day Community Day will take place in Pokémon GO, which is why trainers are demanding a reset of the name trick for Eevee. We have looked into what this is about and will explain it to you.
