Pokemon GO fan interactions continue to falter? The community thinks it’s Niantic’s fault.
The mobile title about pocket-sized creatures was intended to encourage people to go for walks and outdoor activities but also to socialize and spend time together outside the home.
Unfortunately, playing together with friends from other cities or countries was severely hampered, and Pokemon GO fans didn’t always have someone from their neighborhood who was also interested in the title. It was not uncommon for players from small towns and villages to complain that there were no other people around them who played the production from Niantic.
So Remote Raid Passes and Discord servers or Facebook groups came to the rescue, where the community looked for companions to raid together.
As it turns out after the changes in Remote Raid Passes, the aforementioned servers are shining empty, and many international friendships simply expired. Some fans believe that this is the fault of the developers, who themselves are destroying ties between players.
Problems with playing together
One player on Reddit raised the topic of joint participation in Raids. According to him, changes to Remote Raid Passes and the developers’ insistence on personal participation in events are severely hurting the title.
I’m on multiple discords, some worldwide, that used to provide raid after raid every day. Now, they are totally silent. If you go and ask for help, like one or 2 or zero respond.
That brings us to in-person. I can’t find anyone using campfire or local discord to raid Articuno. I’m providing 2 people to the group, myself and my girlfriend. Last sat I could only find 2 other people. They’re like level 20. We could barely beat it.
This Saturday I found a few on campfire, but they aren’t serious and they fall away after like one raid.
I guess Niantic wants us to meet people from campfire in real life and form bonds and raid all day like the first summer, but it just isn’t happening. The people I got to come out today, everyone just stayed in their car. When someone was done, they just drove away and stopped responding in the group, not even a bye or when are y’all raiding again.
In 2.5 hours of messaging, waiting for hatches, driving, etc…we did 3. That is not a good ratio/payoff.
The player admitted that all this makes him less and less eager to catch legendary creatures.
He is not the only person who has drawn attention to this problem. In previous months, it was repeatedly written about how limiting remote raids would not make fans meet more in local groups. The community has repeatedly asked that Niantic introduce more opportunities to interact with friends from other countries – such as exchanging Pokemon with players with “Best Friend” status. Unfortunately, nothing of the sort has been announced so far.