"Pokémon Go" Gyms are finally back Online after days of shut down, Kotaku reported. As expected, the game's gyms now come with a slew of brand new feature that should be of interest to veteran Players and casual players alike. As part of the big update, several Pokéstops have also now been converted into gyms. The move is likely to give more access to players who live in less populated areas with little to no gyms around their area.

Gym gameplay changes

After updating to the latest version, players will find that gyms can now hold up to six Pokémon defenders from a single team.

It also has to be noted that the gym won't accept duplicate types of Pokémon, which is a good thing as defenders will no longer be able to spam a certain type of Pokémon on their controlled territories. Defending creatures will also now have a new stat called "Motivation."

Teamwork

The new stat basically means that a Pokémon may gradually lose some of their CP temporarily during consecutive battles. Lower level players, who otherwise can't really do much during a gym takeover, can at least chip away at the defending creature's CP to help their teammates.

Inversely, defending players can also feed their Pokémon and their teammates Pokémon berries in order to increase their motivation. Creatures assigned to gyms will not start out with full motivation, which means that they must be fed berries upon placement to avoid the gradual decrease of their CP during multiple battles.

Feeding berries will also award users with Candy and Stardust, which should encourage players to help each other while defending a specific gym. Several battle mechanics have also been tweaked including an increased overall damage for using "Super Effective" moves.

Player incentives

To motivate players to visit as many gyms as they can, gyms will now have their own spinning photo discs, similar to the ones found on Pokéstops.

Players will receive gym badges for spinning the discs, which can be used to apparently get better items within the game. Gym defenders will still be able to get coins from their efforts, with gyms awarding players one coin per hour of defending. Coins are given to players once their assigned Pokémon is defeated.

High-level players, particular those above level 35, can also now participate in Raid Battles at select gyms around the world. The feature is currently not yet available to everyone, but Niantic should roll out the feature to the rest of the world once they have properly ironed out all of its kinks.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED