On Pokémon GO, the Community Day with Sandshrew and Alolan Sandshrew took place on March 13. Now trainers are reflecting on the event on social media. We at MeinMMO looked into how the community felt about the C-Day and show you what many players are complaining about.
What kind of event is it about? Every month in Pokémon GO, a so-called Community Day takes place, during which a special Pokémon is highlighted for 6 hours. On March 13, it was the time again, and trainers were looking forward to numerous encounters with wild Sandshrew and Alolan Sandshrew.
However, there is a heated discussion and complaints about the event on social media. Below, we show you what trainers think about the Community Day and what happened.
What trainers found so bad about the Community Day
Even before the actual start of the Community Day, there were initial problems surrounding the event that caused excitement among players. For example, Google users could not purchase the event ticket due to a bug, and the content of the eggs was no longer what was originally announced for the Alolan season. However, these problems were resolved by Niantic (via twitter.com).
But with the start of the Community Day surrounding Sandshrew and its Alolan form, there were further surprises that trainers did not like at all.
The effectiveness of incense during the Community Day
With the start of the current season on March 1, Niantic had made changes to incense and raid passes. Since then, incense is no longer effective when stationary and only attracts a Pokémon approximately every 5 minutes.
Some players, including our MeinMMO editor Patrick Freese, criticized this approach because the incense change ruined playing in the countryside. It had previously been a popular item for easily catching a few monsters from home or in areas with few PokéStops.
What was the problem? Many trainers primarily use incense during Community Days, but this has now led to a problem due to the change. During the C-Day with Sandshrew, it was hardly possible to obtain many Pokémon if one was not outdoors.
This, however, was not possible for all players for various reasons, such as bad weather conditions or quarantine. They are now complaining about Niantic’s approach and their poor yields (via reddit.com):
- Alude904: “Worst Community Day! After 28 minutes during the Community Day, I caught only 5… 5. Officially the worst. Yes, I know why. I’m just bitter about it because I can’t get out of the house today.”
- Asren624: “It’s raining crazy here too… Caught 5 Sandshrews in 30 minutes”
- fabulousashe: “Same here, I spent two and a half hours using incense and caught only 20 Sandshrew. I even bought the special research that only rewards you with Sandshrew. So bad!”
- ZoroeArc: “I played with incense for 5 hours and only got one shiny”
The reddit user Teban54 summarizes in his comment the views of many trainers regarding the altered incense with his own opinion. He addresses the situation surrounding the Community Days:
I expect to see many comments saying “Just walk”, and want to remind that most people are already out during Community Days.
The difference is that many people, after 3 hours of gameplay or however long they plan to play, still want to engage with the game when they get home or take a break (physical conditions, bad weather, etc.). And that’s where incense – a premium item – comes in handy. Now they are worthless in this situation.
via reddit.com
Too few spawns of Kanto Sandshrew
Another point of criticism from many players is the distribution of spawns with Sandshrew and Alolan Sandshrew. During Community Day, it was noticeably more common to encounter Alolan Sandshrew in many time zones than the Kanto form of Sandshrew.
This was particularly frustrating for trainers hoping for a shiny Kanto Sandshrew. The following reactions were seen on reddit (via reddit.com):
- galeongirl: “It’s clear and sunny, but the in-game weather is cloudy, and 90% Alolan Sandshrew are spawning. I only need Kanto shinies”
- miizme: “That’s my situation here in Norway, I think I caught a total of 2 or 3 Kanto, and they were all from incense”
- Roy_Boy106: “I had hoped the ratio between Kanto and Alolan would be closer to 50/50.”
- laurenlolly: “That’s really strange, in Melbourne (Australia) it was 50:50. I wonder why they changed it for later time zones?”
- Stella-Bella: “What on earth is going on here? I’m walking through downtown London and there are literally 99% Alolan!”
Apparently, this was a bug in the game that Niantic was able to resolve after a while, and then finally more Kanto Sandshrew began to spawn.
Positive reactions from the community
However, some players also enjoyed the Community Day with Sandshrew and Alolan Sandshrew. In addition, Niantic is hosting live events under the name “Community Day Meetups” in over 20 cities.
The reddit user ShivyShanky participated in the Community Day meetup in Delhi. In his post, he gives other users an insight into the live event and shows what special gifts he won there (via reddit.com).
Additionally, there were many trainers who had luck while catching. The reddit user MaximusHung captured two 100% Pokémon: a Sandshrew and an Alolan Sandshrew as well as a 0-star Sandshrew. He writes, “Am I dreaming? The best Community Day of all time” (via reddit.com).
How did you find the Community Day with Sandshrew and Alolan Sandshrew? Did the reduced incense effectiveness affect your gameplay? Or was the Community Day a complete success for you? Feel free to share your opinion here on MeinMMO in the comments.
The next event is already on the horizon and even brings you a new Pokémon. We will show you all spawns, shinies, and bonuses for the Color Festival.
