'Pokémon GO'

'Pokémon GO' Has Finally Fixed One Of Its Worst Changes To Raids

Niantic

Pokemon GO

We are still in Legendary hunting season in Pokémon GO, and as beta-testing Mewtwo raid invites are going out in a few select cities, the rest of the world may have noticed a significant change to current raids.

Eggs are back!

Ever since Pokémon GO Fest in Chicago in July, Pokémon GO, for reasons that were never made clear, did away with the concept of hatchable eggs with countdown timers, opting instead to simply spawn Pokémon instantly for two hours.

But now the old system has returned, and now for the first time, we’re seeing the art for Legendary eggs in action. The new (old) system means there’s now a two-hour countdown for raids, and then the raid boss itself will spawn for an hour after that.

I see a few fans complaining about the lack of a two hour window to fight bosses, but I cannot see this as anything other than a positive change, as I have been bemoaning  the removal of eggs ever since they disappeared.

Why? Because the two-hour window gives players a better chance to plan by getting a group together or scheduling their lunch hour when they know a raid is about to begin near them. Additionally, when eggs were the norm, I often found that the most dedicated players would get there right when the timer expired, so even without prior planning, I was able to take on many raids as it was sort of common knowledge that the best chance to get a larger group together was going to be right when that timer expired.

Niantic

Pokemon GO

Past this, limiting raid bosses to an hour instead of two means that even if you don’t get there right at the bell, there is a greater chance you will run into other people doing the raid with a smaller window of time. If say, 50 people want to do a raid, there is a better chance there will be more groups of 5-8 in an hour window than in a two hour window, which would dilute when people show up.

I was never clear on why this change was made in the first place, but I’m wondering if Niantic has seen raid participation or completion rates drop, which is why they’ve brought it back. I have not seen quite as much interest in the Legendary Beasts as there were in the Birds, and honestly, I’m not sure things have ever gotten quite to the level they were when raids were first introduced earlier in the summer, as that was when I saw people doing them the most often. I do think some measure of “raid fatigue” is setting in, as the entire game now revolves around them, and perhaps this is a way to make sure they’re completed more often.

I remain wary about the concept of exclusive Mewtwo raids, but I’ll wait and see how the trials go. I do think it can be hard enough to get people together for a normal raid, and putting another layer of inaccessibility over that would be tough, but if these are well-planned among those invited, perhaps it won’t be as bad as I’m imagining.

Again, I think the priority needs to be for Niantic to figure out something for people to do with their Legendary Pokémon in the game other than just…using them to catch more Legendary Pokémon, but I am happy with this egg change. More to come.