In Pokémon GO raids are one of the most popular features. Now Niantic wants to finally improve a problem that has been criticized by players for years. We at MeinMMO show you what the developers are planning and how the community is reacting.
Which raids are we talking about? In Pokémon GO, you can not only catch monsters in the wild, but also challenge them in raids. Depending on how difficult a raid boss is, you need the support of other trainers or can sometimes tackle it alone.
Especially the level 1 and 3 raids are not a problem for most players alone. However, the waiting time before the actual start is long, which has led to criticism for years. Now Niantic wants to finally address this issue and shorten the time, but receives reactions other than expected.
Niantic wants to reduce preparation time in raids
What has Niantic planned? As Reddit user Amiibofan101 shows in his post, the developers of Pokémon GO announced on the night of September 27 over their X account that they have started a test series for a raid change. In some areas, the preparation times for level 1 and level 3 raids are to be reduced to 60 and 80 seconds, respectively.
So the developers write (via x.com): We are conducting a test that affects tier 1 and tier 3 raid battles in some regions. For trainers participating in raids in these areas, the countdown timer before the start of the raid will be reduced to 60 seconds for tier-1 raids and 80 seconds for tier-3 raids.
What does the change bring for players? With the change, Niantic is addressing the long-standing criticism of the community. Anyone wishing to complete a raid alone previously had to wait 120 seconds in the arena before the actual raid started. A long time during which you could only wait and could not catch any monsters. With the experimental change, times should now be significantly shortened.
Trainers think it’s a crazy decision
Criticism of the shorter timer: Although the change is a step in the right direction and significantly shortens the time in the lobby, players find this implementation the wrong approach. Just recently, a new ready button was added to the game, allowing trainers in the raid lobby to start the fight faster.
But there is a big catch. It can only be used if there are at least two people in the lobby. Then it works wonderfully and reduces the countdown to 10 seconds after being activated together. However, those who want to tackle the raid alone still need to be patient. The button is grayed out and cannot be pressed. Instead, you have to wait for other trainers.
Here, many trainers believe Niantic should activate the button generally and not change the preparation times. Additionally, there is criticism of the new shorter times. These could be too short for players who want to play with remote raids and have been invited. Comments such as (via reddit.com) can be seen:
- Charmd2:
We have a ready button. Why the hell would we reduce the timers when there’s a T1 or T3 raid that we want to invite people to? I mean, I remember Wuffels raids where everyone wanted an invite. Or Turtonator. Crazy decision, Niantic. How about a ready button for the whole time, even in solo.
- ScottaHemi:
It’s not bad, but why don’t you just activate that damn button?
- techbear72:
But this is even worse. If for some reason you want to invite other people, it would be much better to have the ready button available under all circumstances given the unreliability of notifications and everything else.
Support for the change: However, there are also a number of players who find a shorter timer sensible. They explain in the comments that it is especially important for low-level players to easily join other players in a raid.
If the ready button were also active for individual players, these trainers might not have a chance to jump into raids. Security concerns also play a role for some. An active ready button, in their opinion, could also motivate drivers at a red light to quickly participate in such a fight, which in turn would affect traffic.
What do you think of Niantic’s planned change? Would you prefer to have a better function of the ready button? Or do you find a shorter countdown more sensible? Feel free to let us know here at MeinMMO in the comments and share your thoughts with other trainers.
By the way: A trainer rises from level 43 to 44 without catching a single Pokémon. We show how he did it.
