GO Battle League Season 1 is officially underway, however it has unfortunately been plagued with lag issues. While little detail has been shared in the way of a fix, Niantic have directly responded to some of these complaints.
For the most part, GO Battle League’s launch went successfully. Pokemon Go players are enjoying the opportunity to finally test themselves against other trainers.
It has brought an element of competition to the mobile game which was lacking. Players can compete to see who the best Pokemon trainer of all is, at least in a competitive sense.
However, this competition is being spoiled by a constant stream of lag issues which is affecting players far and wide. Both casual and hardcore trainers are experiencing the issue – although it is the latter that it’s probably annoying more for.
The frequency of the problem varies from player to player but the symptom seems to be the same. At any point during the battle, attacks will stop working, with no damage appearing to be dealt by either player.
Once the game seems to regain connection though, the player who experienced lag quickly learns it was just their side, as their opponent has inflicted a lot of damage and even built up Charge Attacks to use. This is understandably infuriating.
How lovely is the last minute match-defining streak-breaking lag? Let me take you on a trip:#pokemongo #GOBattleLeague #GBL #pvp #batlers (Even with matches like this I still like like Go Battle League, pvp is fun! ) pic.twitter.com/myD2LxlPu2
— Gustavo Durán (@GD091295) March 7, 2020
Niantic aware of the issue
Nothing has been mentioned of the issues on the official Pokemon Go Twitter account but Niantic have responded on their NianticHelp Twitter. Unsurprisingly, trainers have been messaging both accounts sharing the lag issues in GO Battle League.
Interestingly some of these messages have received responses. This is something the Niantic support team does very well – actually responding directly when trainers have problems. They might be fairly generic replies but they are at least making some form of effort.
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One trainer, @swisstony239, was one of many to express frustration. He asked if there was “any chance you can fix the lag issues and maybe improve the battle system it’s pretty badly done.”
Sorry to hear about the trouble, Swiss. We’re investigating this issue, and are working to have several fixes in our next update that should mitigate some of these issues. Having said that, we’ll share your feedback with our team. Thank you for your continued patience! ^AS
— Niantic Support (@NianticHelp) March 17, 2020
In similar tweets Niantic responded with an apology and letting them know they sent potential help to them via direct message. In this response however, they shared a little more detail.
“Sorry to hear about the trouble, Swiss. We’re investigating this issue, and are working to have several fixes in our next update that should mitigate some of these issues.”
When this update will come is currently unknown but it at least shows they, firstly, aware of the issue and, secondly, intend on fixing it. We’ll have to wait and see when that is and whether it will be successful.
GO Battle League is a very interesting addition to Pokemon Go and is actually very strategic. It is a lot more complicated than it may seem on first glance – and in a good way too!
You can read some of our GO Battle League tips to try and get ahead of the competition. One thing is for sure, trainers will be thrilled when and if the lag issues are fixed.
We reached out to Niantic about the issue but have yet to receive a response.