The raid day in Pokémon GO gave trainers plenty of opportunities to finish battles against Hisui-Washakwil. But afterwards, a familiar topic arises again: the lobby waiting.
What was this event like? The raid day took place last Sunday and marked the debut of Hisui-Washakwil. The eagle Pokémon appeared as a raid boss on the gyms for three hours between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM and could be challenged by trainers.
For this, the game provided five additional free raid passes and an increased shiny chance, and there was also an XP bonus. Additionally, Hisui-Washakwil debuted as a level-3 boss in the game. This made the eagle quite beatable by single trainers with the right counters.
Good arguments for three entertaining raid hours over the weekend. However, one factor annoyed some trainers during the event: the boring waiting in the lobby.
The start button for raids is back in discussion
This is the problem: Nobody likes to wait. Yet that’s exactly what you have to do if you want to participate in a raid in Pokémon GO: You enter the gym, hand over your pass, and then the lobby timer starts at 120 seconds.
This may not matter if you’re only completing an isolated raid. But at an event like the raid day, where ideally you run from gym to gym to complete several raids, it can be annoying.
There is no way to skip this timer. And that is what is currently being discussed on reddit.
This is what players say: The user “JRE Seawolf” is known for his extensive PvP analyses and contributions to the “Pokémon GO Hub” page. Now he brings up a point in the subreddit that trainers have been discussing for years: That Pokémon GO really could use a “Ready” button for raids (via reddit).
At least for level 1 and 3 raids that one could handle alone, this would be interesting, says JRE Seawolf.
He has also mentioned this to Michael Steranka, the live game director of Pokémon GO: “He said they had discussed it internally and fundamentally decided that they did not want to do it, as they wanted to allow players who might NOT be able to play alone to see and participate in a raid with people in the lobby. Since we all started low-level at one point, I could understand that,” (via reddit).
As an alternative, the user suggests a few ideas:
- A “Ready” button exclusively for events like the raid day
- A shorter lobby timer for low-level raids
- A “Ready” button for private raid lobbies
In the comments, players discuss the still-missing feature that many have been wishing for for years.
- “That is something they could just make exclusive for private lobbies. I spent 50 minutes of the 3 hours in lobbies today alone,” says user “Topladluke96” (via reddit).
- “If they want players to randomly stumble upon a lobby where people are waiting for a raid, they should make it easier to find a raid lobby where people are waiting,” criticizes user “Icesooky” (via reddit).
- “That has both the aspect of inconvenience for the player and also the social implications. I’m not the most noticeable type, but when young men and women see me hanging around at the end of my street or in the park, I often get a surprised or alarmed look. I rarely do raids because I feel uncomfortable doing it,” finds user “Hammeldown” (via reddit).
The topic of a raid button has come up repeatedly over the years. It became particularly noticeable in June 2021 when Pokémon GO brought a fairly comprehensive update for the raids. There, players hoped for a start button – but in vain.
What do you think of this topic? Would you be happy about a “Ready”, “Start”, or “GO” button? Let us know in the comments!
