Prior to the current situation, there were special events known as Ex-Raids. You may see reminders of these times when you encounter a gym that has in the upper left corner “Ex-Raid Gym”. See the above picture. These were Invitation Only special raids that ran weekly. Most of the ones I have been invited to were on a weekend, but sometimes on a weekday or weeknight. I have heard that these are timed up to try to be a known busy time of the week for a certain gym.
Ex-Raids are meant to be a reward to players who are active at a certain gym during a given week or two. I have gotten invites in the past for being active at a local gym. Usually it was because of either gym battles and/or placing a defender in a gym that is already my color. I have heard that preferences are given to those who have the gym gold, prior raiding at a site, and participate with larger raid parties as well. (I imagine those are for more urban sites, as I was able to get invites often, sometimes from places I only played once in a while). Players can also get an invite from a Ultra (3*) or higher friend who got an invite to an Ex-Raid. Players can carry their own invite and a friend’s invite for a total of 2 eligible Ex-Raids at a time. Hopefully these will come back once the entire situation is over.
The first reason for me is that the Ex-Raids brought together players who might not have otherwise met up. I remember seeing some people who were regulars from Wednesday Night Raids at a few Ex-Raids. Seeing them on the weekends was nice since Ex-Raids were a bit more social in the group I was with. I know I showed up a bit early to the Ex-Raid to get ready and chat up with friends. The battle ensued, and then after it was some more socializing. There were also some other people who I did not see on Wednesday and it was good meeting some new people too. I also remember meeting some people at other Ex-Raids I would not have met and played with at other sites I don’t go to on a regular basis. I also will say that at least one Ex-Raid was the basis for a date with my Fiancee, which is good so she met some of the people I know from around here. I also remember an Ex-Raid where I brought a friend to where he never knew about the park where I like to play outdoors. Some of our mutual friends now play there too, since there are not too many good places to play for a longer period of time in our area. Pokemon Go is a good social activity to meet people we never would have otherwise. If nothing else, at least there is something to talk about and be social about. I know all types play, but for me, this is great so I can meet more and other people.
Secondly, Ex-Raids bring out exclusive Pokemon characters that are not available in the regular 5* raids for a time after introduction. They were a bit of a badge of honor to be able to get those Pokemon before the general public. These were also stronger Pokemon so it always took more than just 3 or 4 highly rated players to take down, so there was a sense of teamwork and accomplishment. I enjoyed getting the special Pokemon characters that I knew would not be released generally. The characters have been helpful with gym fights and other parts of the game.
Ex-Raids also helped get me out and going somewhere on some weekends where I would have not gone out and walked around a bit afterwards. If nothing else, there are those health benefits. Sometimes a push like that is all one needs to go and walk/play.
I am truly hoping that once this whole situation is resolved, we can get back to having Ex-Raids. I was hoping that the Pinsir Raid Day would have been a step towards Ex-Raids to getting Ex-Raids back, but we took a side step with the cancellation. Ex-Raids were some of the best parts of Pokemon Go to me. Getting the special characters is nice. Getting out with people I sometimes see only at these events was fun. I know there needs to be a week or two to get the qualifications back to where they need to be to get invitations out. Let’s enjoy these special events as soon as we can again!
Moose's Pokemon Go Blog 