A couple of rural Pokemon Go players are hanging up their hats when it comes to in-person Raids, and they thanked Niantic for “killing remote play.”
On April 6, Niantic nerfed Remote Raids by increasing their price and imposing a daily limit to the number of Remote Raid Passes a player can use. This resulted in an unprecedented uproar from the community.
And shortly after the Nerf, players began to feel the effects. They claimed that, without Remote Raids being more accessible, in-person raids were starting to become impossible. Especially raids featuring Mega Evolved or Legendary Pokemon.
This spike in difficulty has turned players away from attempting high-level raids, even for those who didn’t intend to join in on the boycott. And for one couple, this may spell the end of their Pokemon Go raiding days.
Pokemon Go players bid 4 & 5-star raids adieu
The post came from Reddit user chop655 on the Pokemon Go subreddit. Featuring a screenshot of Mega Blastoise with two seconds on the clock and 1/8 of its health left, the post read, “As a rural husband/wife duo, I think 4/5 raids are a thing of the past for us. Thanks, Niantic, for killing remote play!”
The duo is only the latest in a growing number of players frustrated with the current state of Pokemon Go raiding. Niantic has expressed in the past that higher-level raids will require ten or more players to take on, and Remote Raiding (prior to the nerf) made filling out teams a lot easier.
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Chop655 was not alone, as several comments shared similar stories. One user wrote, “If it makes you feel better, I live in the middle of Los Angeles, but not a part like downtown, and I also can no longer raid unless I make it somewhere like Santa Monica or Disneyland.”
Others offered ways Niantic can make Raids more accessible without removing the Remote Raid nerf. One user suggested the Timer be removed from in-person raids as it’s fairly difficult to get enough players to the raid in time.
Another suggested, “If only raids had matchmaking so you could go to the gym, but the game put you together with other solo ppl on far away gyms. Then it would be super cool to meet other pogoers from around the world fighting the same Pokemon.”
But until any changes are made, Pokemon Go players will have to continue struggling through in-person raids, hoping they’re able to pull off the impossible.