The raids in Pokémon GO are a difficult topic. Some get too little of them, while others are already fed up.
In June 2017, the raids were introduced for Pokémon GO and were initially a reason for many trainers to go on Pokémon adventures more often. Nowadays, opinions are divided on the matter.
Players in rural areas can participate in battles less frequently due to a lack of fellow players. Others are already complaining that they are annoyed by the raids. Does Niantic need to improve this?
Time pressure when collecting monsters
The protective measures for the raids in PoGO are now a thing of the past – players criticize the system introduced by Niantic, which still has a few issues. Depending on their location, trainers have a hard time assembling teams for a raid – there are too few trainers in villages.
Although a few raids can also be completed alone or with a few teammates, the higher difficulty levels require larger groups. Together, one then defeats the raid boss and has a chance to catch it. Initially, there were regular Pokémon as bosses that you could also find in the game. You can find a raid difficulty overview here
Last month, the four legendary birds Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, and Lugia were released, which can only be found in these raids. However, these are only available in the game for a limited time and have a low catch rate.
Raid exhaustion in Pokémon GO
Players in rural areas now have even more pressure if they want to catch one of the legendary monsters, and must go to places where several trainers gather. The announcement of the exclusive raids with Mewtwo didn’t improve the mood either.
In exclusive raids, Pokémon GO players can “soon” catch Mewtwo. Exclusive in this case means that players are invited to the raids. In the official statement it says:
“Unlike the current raid battles, trainers will be invited to the exclusive ones. To receive an invitation, trainers must have recently participated in a raid battle at the gym where the exclusive raid battle will appear.”
Which gyms are eligible or what “recently” means has not been clarified by Niantic until today. Trainers have every right to be dissatisfied. A user on Reddit writes:
I am actually a casual player and do not spend money on Pokémon GO. However, in the last few weeks, I have not been able to maintain this playstyle because with the poor communication from Niantic about when the legendary birds will be deactivated again, it has not been possible. I had to play legendary raids to complete my Pokédex. And there were very many, because the catch rate is so low. So I either had to say goodbye to my casual playstyle or stop collecting. And now I’m supposed to do it all over again? Just hoping that many coincidences come together and I can catch a Mewtwo?
He describes that his raid exhaustion comes from more than just the raids themselves. Only a few Pokémon are useful in gyms and raids. So he has to improve Pokémon that he doesn’t actually like with TMs to be helpful in the raids. He would rather play with his favorites and use them in raids or gyms, but they wouldn’t help much there.
When Mewtwo will become available in Pokémon GO for us is still unclear. The first players were already able to catch Mewtwo in Japan. After the battle against this raid boss, they had a 100% catch rate, which many trainers found unfair.
One thing is for sure: Raid battles have significantly changed Pokémon GO. Whether positively or negatively is currently unclear.
