In Pokémon GO, it is finally possible to invite friends to raids. The new feature is now live – however, not for all players.
Who can invite players to raids? As Niantic officially announced on Twitter, the new invitation feature for raids is now live in Pokémon GO. In an earlier update, the groundwork for remote raids was already laid, but the feature had been missing until now.
Invited players receive a push notification, allowing them to accept the invitation. For now, only level 40 trainers can use the feature to bring other players into the raid. Players below level 40 can at least receive raid invitations.
Update at 9:00 PM: At 8:53 PM, Niantic relaxed the level requirement to level 37.
It is expected that Niantic will gradually reduce the level requirement. However, the intervals at which this will happen are not yet known.
How the friends feature changes raiding
This is what makes the feature so special: Through the ability to invite other players to raids over distances, it becomes significantly easier to gather the necessary number of players for a raid.
For example, players from different locations can raid together, even if they live far apart. It is sufficient for one player to see the gym with the desired raid – that player can then invite up to five friends to participate in the raid. There is currently no minimum friendship level required.
For players who do not have many gyms in their vicinity – for example, in rural areas – this feature is likely to have a significant impact. Players from densely populated areas can help, bringing more distant players into raids. Raid hours, like those currently with Kyurem, could thus become significantly more fruitful.
So, it might be the case that thanks to the new feature, it will soon become significantly easier to obtain strong monsters from raids than it was before. Speaking of strong Pokémon: A recent data miner find provided hints about a crypto version of Mewtwo. And that should be quite powerful.
