Niantic Labs marks the first birthday of its hit augmented reality mobile game with this month's Pokemon Go Fest slated to take place in Chicago. Pikachu is making an appearance in the game donning Ash's hat, but there's more. The game developer is gearing up to get more popular among avid mobile gamers with the advent of Raid Battles and comprehensively modified Gym system.
Despite the lack of the simple multiplayer action offered in the handheld games, Raid Battles are a walk in the park for well-acquainted players to delve into. Meanwhile, players who are easily daunted by those colossal eggs and gigantic Pokemon, here are the fundamentals of you need to bear in mind for your Raid Battle debut.
Raid Battles explained
Raid Battles can be equaled to gyms but on hard level. They can be characterized as a super tough battle against a specific heavy-duty Pokemon. This multiplayer-based battle involves players teaming up to destroy the Boss Pokemon hoping to earn a slew of special items, besides possibly catching the Pokemon itself.
In terms of difficulty, Raid Battles range from the first level to the fifth, with the fifth level being the hardest to win. You need to gang up the maximum number of players to square off against these tough Pokemon. It is imperative for trainers to be at worst level five in order to take part in raids.
Finding Raid Battles
In the case that there's any Raid Battle in your area, you will receive a notification.
Alternatively, you can keep tabs on these on the "Nearby Pokemon" screen. As soon as the timer attached to the gyms hosting the battle goes off, a massive Pokemon Egg makes an appearance above it. Polygon recommends that you and your colleagues hang around there until it's time to start.
How to start fighting together?
You can take part in Raid Battles along with as many as 20 other ‘Pokemon Go’ trainers.
If you do not have enough friends, fret not, as you can participate in Raid Battles. You can play with other players via the medium of lobbies, but first, you have to get hold of one. Here's how you can do that. First off, ferret out a gym with a looming Raid Battle, then make an entrance to the gym and exchange your Raid Pass.
Now, it is up to you to decide whether you want to automatically enter a public lobby for a showdown with trainers or a separate lobby using a password exclusive to you and your team.
Here's how a Raid Battle works
Mechanically speaking, Raid Battles and regular gym battles work in the same manner. You select six Pokemon that will take on other creatures for you, and thereafter you take part in the battle with myriad other players' Pokemon. To fight, you'll simply tap on the mobile screen and do various attacks and can even dodge. It is crucial for you to keep an eye on the timer that indicates the duration of this battle. You need to beat the high-leveled Boss Pokemon within the allocated time.
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Do you get a reward If you win a Raid Battle?
Yes, you do! In the case that you and your team manage to deprive the Boss Pokemon of its existence, you will receive some goodies comprising Rare Candy items, TMs and Golden Razz Berries, you can exchange for the real prize.
Catching the Boss Pokemon
After getting your hands on "the real prize," you can definitely attempt to catch the Boss. Once the battle is over, each player receives several Premier Balls, and players who put in extraordinary effort to take on the Boss Pokemon will be eligible to get a few additional Premier Balls.
These Balls come in handy while catching the Pokemon you just defeated during a Raid Battle. The number of chances you have is directly proportional to the number of Premier Balls you have.
The Golden Razz Berries makes the Pokemon more catchable.
Raid Battles you can play on a daily basis
Every 'Pokemon Go' player receives a single Raid Pass per day without shelling out even a dime. You can also get your hands on a Premium Raid Pass by heading straight to the in-game shop if you want to play more than once per day. You can repeat the same battle until you successfully put the boss away before time is up.
