Veterans in the Pokemon Go community have been complaining about Tandemaus’ controversial debut and the content drought following Go Fest, but newer players have defended Niantic, believing they are delivering what the community really wants.
The split between established players and newbies is clear, with each group wanting different things. While veterans favor end-game Pokemon, Shundos, and meta movesets, newbies care more about convenience and collecting resources.
Making this very point, a trainer posted on Reddit, “Unpopular Opinion: They’ve giving us what we want,” before listing off a range of recent events they enjoyed, including 4x XP, Tynamo Community Day, Go Fest, and Mega Rayquaza.
This same user then praised Niantic for the upcoming 3x Stardust bonus in Strength of Steel, expressing, “As a F2P/newer player, stardust is always in short supply,” revealing how newcomers have completely different needs from the vocal minority of end-game players.
This post became truly divisive when OP insisted that the community’s desire to get the best Pokemon would “degrade the game” and “hurt longevity,” implying that Niantic’s more conservative approach to releasing content is best for Pokemon Go’s long-term health.
Agreeing with the post’s sentiment, one upvoted response stated, “All the Pokémon subreddits skeww towards level 50 players who have maxed Legendary teams and don’t PVP,” before describing this part of the community as “myopic,” meaning they can’t see the bigger picture.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Likewise, another player expressed, “I think the events are tailored to newer players/returning players – which is a good thing – especially for player counts that likely spike when people take holiday,” before conceding, “I think longer term players may find some annoyances with these xp events without level 60 laid out for them yet though.”
Some players did not relate to the post at all, asserting, “I’m astonished at the upvotes on this post. Really? Dust and XP is what we are after? And here I am wanting to have fun. Oh well. Guess this is not the game for me.”
Some particularly cynical players even accused Niantic of using flashy events to attract newbies with the intention of later “pulling that rug out,” with this being the “nature of F2P games” on mobile.
There are bound to be endless debates on whether that’s true or if Niantic is doing a good job. Either way, this thread shows a clear divide between rookies and veterans, and there’s no sign that the two’s wishes will overlap anytime soon.