Niantic have responded to a number of complaints after Pokemon Go players experienced several bugs during the Go Battle League’s debut of the Retro Cup.
The Go Battle League is Pokemon Go’s major PvP competitive mode, allowing trainers to compete against others around the world in a number of leagues with different rules, ranging from the low-tier Great League to the high-tier Master League.
Go players were looking forward to celebrating a brand new addition called the Retro Cup, which really switches the rules up, but since its debut on 10 May, the Go Battle League has been plagued with bugs that are ruining the experience for fans.
Pokemon Go Battle League is filled with bugs
The biggest bug is that trainers have been able to exit matches early by closing the app without receiving a penalty. Usually, leaving a match once you’ve seen your opponent would count as an automatic loss.
This essentially meant that Go players could keep entering and exiting matches until they found low-level trainers they could easily defeat, which many in the community would agree is cheating the system.
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Fortunately, Niantic responded to the problem in a tweet on Tuesday, May 11, confirming that the bug is now fixed and Pokemon Go players will once again be penalized for exiting a match early.
“We’ve mitigated an issue in GO Battle League, so that Trainers can no longer exit a match without penalty once they have seen their opponent. Thank you for your patience as we worked to fix this,” they wrote.
We've mitigated an issue in GO Battle League, so that Trainers can no longer exit a match without penalty once they have seen their opponent. Thank you for your patience as we worked to fix this! For more details: https://t.co/MMfofhMPlx
— Niantic Support (@NianticHelp) May 11, 2021
While many players were happy to see the issue fixed, some took the opportunity to point out other bugs they’ve been experiencing with the Pokemon Go Battle League – and it seems trainers leaving matches without penalty isn’t the only problem with the app.
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“The stutters and hangs are more important than that,” wrote one trainer frustrated with latency issues, while another questioned, “Noticed today that when I fought using my Buddy it didn’t count towards Buddy Battling at all. Before it did. Which is it supposed to be?”
A third trainer explained that Pokemon Go constantly crashing is causing them to lose battles: “How about when your app crashes, you log back in, and you get thrown back in battle with only 2 Pokemon left to battle and 1 dead due to the crash?”
Sorry to hear that this happened, Trainer! Our team is looking into GO Battle League issues. Please stay tuned (https://t.co/JQjmUU04wY) for updates. Meanwhile, we've shared some info via DM. Thanks! ^BM
— Niantic Support (@NianticHelp) May 12, 2021
We see where you're coming from, Edgar. We're looking into some latency related issues during the battle and are working on making improvements to mitigate them. We appreciate your understanding and patience! ^TA
— Niantic Support (@NianticHelp) May 12, 2021
Sorry for replying in English, Trainer. Our team is continually working on GO Battle League latency issues. Please stay tuned (https://t.co/JQjmUU04wY) for more updates. Meanwhile, we've shared some info via DM. Please take a look. Thank you! ^SM
— Niantic Support (@NianticHelp) May 12, 2021
Latency issues and crashing seem to be the biggest problems trainers are facing with the Pokemon Go app right now, both of which can have a real negative impact on their performance in the competitive Go Battle League scene.
Considering how quickly Niantic responded to the issue of trainers leaving matches early without being penalized, they’ll hopefully be hot on the case when it comes to fixing these other bugs, too.