There are lots of things to love about playing Pokemon Go but, according to a group of frustrated players, Shadow Raids are not included in that list.
Pokemon Go has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years with new features, game mechanics, and plenty of new Pokemon to capture. The community is always very vocal about which mechanics are good and which aren’t, and the latest one to anger players is Shadow Raids.
Shadow Raids are special Raids that appear during events that must be attended in person. They feature Team Rocket and Shadow Pokemon, and according to a group of Pokemon Go players in r/pokemongo, they’re a “real pain” and not worth taking part in.
Pokemon Go players fed up with Shadow Raids
Originally appearing in this Reddit post, Pokemon Go player PolarSox85 shared their frustrations and declared that Shadow Raids are “the worst part of Go”.
They mentioned how living in a city without a huge player base or variety of gyms can lead to players wasting time and gas.
Some Pokemon Go players in the replies to this post shared OP’s pain, specifically thanks to the requirement of attending a Shadow Raid in person. One player replied that “Shadow Raids being in person only feels so arbitrary” and noted that they essentially ignore the feature.
Another shared their experience as a parent looking for entertainment while looking after their child, saying that they’d “be very willing to pay for Shadow Raid passes” as they simply can’t access Shadow Raids in person and take on the Raid Bosses.
A handful of players mentioned that Niantic could change the feature if enough players stopped attending Shadow Raids, but others felt doubtful. One noted that this felt unlikely and that it was more likely that players would get “a bunch of research that requires we do Shadow Raids” instead.
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Other Pokemon Go fans in the replies encouraged OP to simply leave the feature alone, with one person commenting, “Shadow Raids are a real pain, but the answer is to just not engage with parts of the game you don’t find fun”.
Shadow Raids are definitely a hot topic for the community right now as they popped up again in another post, this time by Pokemon Go player mythicaltimelord. This post focused on 5-star Shadow Raids in particular, with mythicaltimelord stating that “Shadow Raids don’t work”.
In a similar vein to the first post, mythicaltimelord discussed how the in-person requirements for Shadow Raids were irritating and tricky for players who aren’t based in huge cities with lots of players and gyms. They suggested adding a 1-3 hour window for Shadow Raids to help players prepare.
Other Pokemon Go players in the replies agreed with OP, saying that, “they should at least make where the Shadow Raid is appearing clear the day before, so then people can coordinate better” and that Remote Raiding should be added in.
Some felt more optimistic about the community aspect of Shadow Raids, though, encouraging OP and the other frustrated players to use Campfire and local Discord channels to help them enjoy Shadow Raids more.
It’s clear that there’s a huge demand for more Remote Raid capabilities in Pokemon Go right now and it’ll be interesting to see if this gets implemented, especially as we head further into the new season of the game.