Change #4A – Spotlight Hour Revisited

A few months ago, I discussed Spotlight Hour and some ideas to improve it. Many things have changed since then. I have been able to play at least some on Tuesday Nights more. One major factor being that the sun is out later. Remember, where I live there are no sidewalks or street lights. Even though my side roads are low traffic, it is still dangerous to walk outside in the dark. Also helping is that the incenses have become much better. Prior to this, I could not get any Pokemon to come by my house. Now I at least get a decent amount. Now if I need to stay home for whatever reason, I can still participate. I hope that this will continue beyond the current situation, so I can play on less than ideal days to go out as well as in the Winter when daylight is short. Yes, the main point of the game is outside, but there are other considerations that can prohibit gameplay.

Spotlight Hour has definitely come a long way from its roots. The original Spotlight Hour was just an increased spawn rate. Sometimes, it was a specific Pokemon. Others it was a general increase, which seemed to run contrary to the Spotlight idea. There was also a Mystery Bonus Hour on Thursday Nights, which was “double catch candy” and the like. This was regular spawn, so maybe players had a chance to get the specials. These were combined to become one much better hour on Tuesday Nights. This makes great sense to allow players one unified hour to play and get great bonuses. Also, I do like that Thursday Night is also freed up to play more causally and/or tend to other important non-Pokemon Go things.

With the combined night, some of the the rewards are worthwhile. Double Catch Stardust (especially with a Star Piece to kick that up another notch) and double XP day (especially for those of under Level 40) make those Tuesday early evenings worth the effort. However, double catch candy is not always worth it (sorry, Poochyena and Kricketot) and double transfer candy really isn’t a whole lot either for me at least. I usually catch and release right away. I have thought of some alternatives that can be explored. These are in no particular order.

I stand by the idea that sometimes the spotlight should be on those Pokemon that would help players out on some of their quests. Bronzor in a recent spotlight during the Sinnoh Regional was a good example. Steel Pokemon was difficult to find in my experience during this time. I got lucky to find a Shadow Magnemite before Tuesday of Sinnoh week. At least if you had to wait until Tuesday for Bronzor, you had a good chance to finish the week’s researches to qualify for the Championship event without paying for it. Onyx is great for those who need the Excellent Throw or the 5 Great Curveballs in a row. Also, Onyx is great for the newer players to learn how to throw a curveball on or to try throwing a curveball in the opposite direction of one’s normal curveball motion. There is also the XP boosts from the great and excellent throws which are helpful. Magmar is another example of a great Pokemon for such quests. Rolling these out once in a while would help many players.

Another idea that would work out is introducing certain shinies during Spotlight Hour. I’m looking at YOU, Vulpix and Sandshrew. Community Day was not the right time for either of you or any other single evolution characters. A Spotlight Hour is perfect. I don’t want a dozen shinies of either of those characters, and we certainly don’t need 1000+ candies. I would like to have one or two of both regular and Alolan Vulpix and Sandshrew shiny to evolve. Other one evolution new shiny characters can be introduced similarly.

I would like to see a “Happy Hour” where odds of certain desirable Pokemon are reduced and is announced as such. I have heard before that during Spotlight Hour the shiny rate is reduced if the spotlight character has a shiny, but not officially. It would be nice for it to be official. The 91+% IV should not be handed out easily, but a small increase would make the hunt more fun. Also, a Spotlight Hour for candidates for best Great and Ultra League PvP Pokemon would be helpful. I have no idea of what to look for. Some people say a certain Attack/Defense/Hit Point combination is ideal. I do not know, but it would be helpful for the causals to PvP to put up a decent fight against the hardcore players. This would have been great for the extra Tuesday we had this month and for other 5 Tuesday months, as we get 4 per year.

Weather Boost Hour. All the Pokemon caught during the hour are weather boosted no matter what the weather. The game auto-detects weather, so it may not be easy to implement. There could also be a way to simulate this by making all Pokemon a certain guaranteed level (how about 20 or 25) for the hour. The weather boost would then be negated for the hour. Granted, I still would want the extra 25 Stardust per catch, but that can be worked out.

I know that the original post states that General Spawn is a lousy idea. Remember, back then the Spotlight Hour was a stand alone event. At least now there is a bonus with the spotlight, so this makes more sense to have general spawns. Maybe then the extra catch candy would be worth it for more players.