Pokémon GO makes its long-distance raids more expensive – wants you to raid in groups

The special perks for long-distance raids in Pokémon GO are being phased out. But the raiding on site should be better. We show you what will change for you now.

This has changed in raids: On the evening of May 19, developer Niantic announced changes for Pokémon GO. Some of these came into effect directly. Buying a bundle of long-distance raid passes is now more expensive. In addition, you will soon no longer find long-distance raid passes in the €1 boxes.

Niantic wants to shift the focus to social sharing and improve the raids that players experience locally in groups.

Remote raid price will be changed

This is different now: In the Pokémon GO shop, there has been an option for years to buy 3 remote raid passes for 250 coins. Since a remote raid pass costs 100 coins, this bundle was popular for its perk. As of now, this bundle costs 300 PokéCoins.

That’s going to change: Beginning May 23, 1-PokéCoin Weekly Boxes will no longer have Remote Raid Passes. It has been possible to secure a pass like this every Monday for years. A feature that Niantic also brought into play because of the corona pandemic to make it easier for trainers to raid remotely. Instead, there will be a “rotating selection of items” in the 1 PokéCoin boxes starting May 23.

Why Niantic is doing this and what is still changing

Niantic says: In the latest blog post, the developers write that new features are being introduced “to facilitate exchanges between Pokémon GO players”. Some of these new features will be available in a separate app. After lengthy tests, they should be installed in Pokémon GO in the next few months. “These features are intended to facilitate communication between Trainers, enable community searches, and make local Raid Battles more rewarding.”

Niantic is aware that this type of community feature is “much needed”.

The motivation behind it is clear: Niantic wants you to raid more on site and go outside. It became clear when the smoke item was nerfed that much. And Niantic also lets the motivation shine through in the blog post. They write, “Now we can’t wait to finally play together again in person.”

But we also want to do something for the players who don’t have good access to arenas. New arenas should be approved more quickly in the future.

Why no more raid passes in the 1 coin box? Website Polygon asked Pokemon GO Live Game Director Michael Steranka why they are removing the passes from the 1-coin box. He explains:

Meeting up with other Trainers is an important part of the Pokémon GO experience, and it’s part of what sets Pokémon GO apart from other games. We recognize that newer Trainers, or even veterans who have been raiding primarily from home for the last two years, may need to learn or relearn these skills and habits. We are working on a number of social tools and features that will allow Trainers to easily see where other Trainers are playing and gathering and signaling others where they are planning a fight or raid.

Let’s say you’re traveling to a new city for a Community Day and want to meet with local trainers. You can do all of that at a glance once these tools are ready. I should add that privacy is very important to us – all of these features will be optional and can be fine-tuned. So that you can decide who you share which information with.

Michael Steranka opposite Polygon.com

How do you like these changes? Do you think it’s okay that Niantic is adjusting the prices and removing the passes from the 1-coin boxes since those were just corona bonuses anyway? Or do you wish the long-distance raid passes hadn’t changed and still rewarded trainers who visit an arena for raids more? Let us know what you think about it here on MeinMMO in the comments.