Niantic aims to revitalize Pokémon Go with revamped gyms and co-op raids

In celebration of the game’s anniversary, Pokémon Go is getting a major overhaul, according to Niantic.

Before those hoping for player vs. player battles get too excited, unfortunately that much-desired feature still hasn’t been added to the title. Gyms, however, are set to soon be significantly more accessible, with players also being able to take on mega-powerful Pokémon in group raids at some point in the near future.

The new gyms will feature six slots that can be filled by one team’s Pokémon, with Pocket Monsters present in the gym now including a new stat called ‘Motivation.’ Even if the player is unable to knock down a rival, their Pokémon loses motivation over time with each battle it fights, temporarily lowering the creature’s CP.

This means that you can slowly take down a Pokémon’s CP, even if it’s significantly more powerful than your creature, making it easier to defeat in battle. The gym overhaul is set to launch later today on both iOS and Android. Members of teams controlling a gym can also raise a Pokemon’s spirits by feeding it berries. This new game mechanic allows players to earn badges, which they can then level up to attain better items at PokéStops and gyms.

Gyms are also getting spinnable ‘photo discs,’ similar to one of the features of Pokéstops, giving players that live in less populated locations more opportunity to earn items.

Raids, which Niantic says are coming in “the weeks ahead,” will be available to select players in beta. This feature, which occurs at gyms, allows you to team up with nearby players in hopes of bringing down Pokémon too powerful for someone on their own to fight.

When a raid boss appears, 20 players will be able to join the battle at once in a total time of five minutes. These battles require a raid pass and users can only earn one a day. Of course, you can also purchase a raid pass from the mobile titles in-game shop.

It’s likely that legendary Pokémon will finally be available through this new, collaborative raid feature.

While Pokémon Go has dropped significantly in popularity over the last few months and is no longer the cultural phenomenon it once was, the mobile game still has a significant following and sits in the sixth position in terms of earnings in the iOS App Store.

[source]Niantic[/source]