My Take on Pokemon Go Situational Rollbacks

When the current world situation began, we all had to change a lot of our daily lives. There were many restrictions on movement, closures of many establishments, and a general prohibition on most social activities. In some areas, the situation is now much better and many restrictions have been rolled back. With this in mind, Pokemon Go is rolling back some of the changes that were placed in the game at the onset of the situation and keeping others. Some are good. Many are bad (and I propose a compromise for each bad). One is in my mind completely contradictory.

The 1 hour incense is very good. It allows for a very good amount of time to get the extra Pokemon without it being too long. This is also the same amount of time as the Spotlight Hour, which is great. The stretch for Community Day is also a great thing, as it allows for Trainers who want more chances to catch the selected Pokemon.

The remote challenge via QR Code is something I do not understand. I would think that two players would still need to be nearby to challenge each other to scan the QR Code. If someone could explain how this works to me, I would appreciate it. At least this would help with the challenge a fellow Trainer researches.

The 20 gits in the item bag without costing storage and the 30 gifts to open are both appreciated. Also, the bonus stardust and XP is a nice touch for the first catch of the day, and is appreciated. Good to see this carried on.

Any changes to Remote Raids are not known at this time. I will cover this in a very near future post, as I have a stand alone blog post worthy amount of material.

Also not specifically mentioned is the guaranteed spawn of the day. I remember when this used to be very important to me, as I never got spawns at home. This was true even if I used an incense. I do get some home spawns, but I do like getting the guaranteed spawn. If this goes, that is OK though as well. I just hope that my home spawns continue.

I am not in favor of the reduced effectiveness of the incense at home. There are many times I am unable to get out when I want to throw an incense due to various issues. I get that this is a game of “exploration” and going outside. However, there are times when outdoor exploration is difficult. I would like to see where when it is raining or snowing (especially snowing) and/or when a Trainer has to click the “I am Safe” button that the incense is at full walking strength. This is more a player safety issue than anything. Also, I would like to see the walking spawn rate during Spotlight Hour, as a promotion of the spotlighted Pokemon. Not everyone can devote two days in a row at the same hour outside the home and I imagine most choose Raid Night.

Frequency of buddies bringing gifts needs to remain the same. Not all of us live in a city or next to a Pokestop and are able to get gifts on a regular basis. I can only get to 2 Pokestops on a regular basis without driving anywhere… and even those are a 10 minute walk away…. so that is over an hour commitment at minimum if I want to get 20 gifts. I know of neighborhoods where there are all residences and no Pokestops whatsoever. Then there would need to be travel to a place where there are Pokestops. This is not easy on the weekdays… especially when it gets dark in the winter. I don’t like feeling like a gift mooch and not being able to give a lot of gifts, especially since I have many friends in the game that give me gifts. Let those of us in the rural and rural suburban areas access gifts too. Allow those of us who are affected show their photodiscs and state their cases as to accessibility issues.

I do like the increased interaction distances. It gives us a chance to play the game and not draw attention to ourselves. For me, those 2 Pokestops I mentioned last paragraph at at the corner and along side of a 40 MPH two lane busy main road. At least having the extra space to get the Pokestops allow for a larger buffer zone where I can at least pay attention to the traffic whipping around the corner. There are also gyms that are in similarly dangerous areas, especially when there is a congregation of Trainers. There are others where the issue is optics and gathering in a large number is suspicious or just looks bad. This is true during the EX-Raids, where there are a larger number of people gathered together for a period of time.. I remember at times being 10-20 strong in a small area. To an outsider, a group of people that large just hanging around can be strange and draw negative attention to us and Pokemon Go. At least allowing us to be more well disbursed, we can play and not draw the negative attention.

The no walking for Go Battle League requirement is COMPLETELY CONTRADICTORY. When Go Battle League was first introduced, there was a 3 km per set walking requirement. If other things that promote walking are being returned, then the Go Battle League walking requirement should be returned. GBL with no walking requirement is bad optics, especially when seen through the lens of those of us who do not like and participate in Go Battle League. I feel like this part of the game is getting a free pass, but many other things I enjoy about the game are not. Make it AT LEAST 1 KM of walking per battle set requirement so that the optics of this are better. When the gripes come, remind Trainers that initially it was 3KM per set, but that since this came right before the current situation, many may not remember.