GO Battle League continues to be a popular avenue for Pokemon Go players to test their battling skills against one another. The success of it doesn’t mean there isn’t room to improve the PvP mode, though.
The ranked battling format was first introduced in January. Since then, two seasons have passed and leaderboards have been added.
It’s clear Niantic is still striving to better the mode. That means we can expect to see plenty of changes in the coming months.
The question is, what will those changes be. Here are three ways we think GO Battle League could be given a healthy boost.
1. Teams of 6
This is something the more competitive, experienced trainers would like to see. Currently, all GO Battle League matches are fought with three Pokemon.
This is great – mostly – as it allows for short and snappy battles, meaning they don’t last too long. However, the short nature of them and reliance on each selection brings lady luck into the equation a little bit too much.
For example, if your lead Pokemon is completely outmatched by your opponent’s, it is difficult to make a comeback from that position. This is especially true if playing a high-level trainer who will maximize that early advantage.
A 6v6 battle alleviates this problem as it will reduce the variance of battle. It would also add a ‘main event’ feel to the battle a la what we see in the mainline games and in the anime.
2. Lower level Pokemon
The lowest tier in GO Battle is Great League where trainers are limited to Pokemon at 1,500 CP or less. While this does result in a vastly different crowd to what is seen in the higher leagues, it is still high enough to exclude many species.
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Not only are many Pokemon simply too weak to compete, but the meta in Great League is made up of a handful of Pokemon. This can result in repetitive matchups.
We propose an additional ‘Nice League’ – yes, we can work on the name. This could either have a limit of 1,000 CP or only include specific first evolutions and other selected Pokemon that can’t realistically be used elsewhere.
This could give the opportunity for the likes of Charmander, Mudkip, Pikachu and others to shine. It would also make keeping them worthwhile, instead of being transferred if they can’t be evolved into the powerful ‘mon you’re looking for.
3. Tournament play
The current format is great. It seems trainers are enjoying the difficult challenge of ascending the ranks and in some cases reaching Rank 10.
The stakes of each battle are similar, though, and you never really know how hard your opponent is trying. A way to fix that would be to introduce a tournament rather than the current league format.
We don’t know the numbers but we’d assume there is more than enough trainers searching for battles to get a tournament of 32, 64 or 128 players. Those who join can be placed in random matchups until there is only one trainer left – the champion.
This would certainly add excitement and intensity to the final battles where the stakes would be huge. Trophies could even be added to Pokemon Go to show how many tournaments each trainer has won – after all they won’t come cheaply.
None of these ideas have been discussed in any official capacity but we reckon most trainers would welcome them with open eyes. Come visit us @PokemonSwordNS if you like these ideas or have any of your own.