Remember that Pokemon Go Meteorite bait-and-switch we covered back in June? And that not only was there a communication issue but that it had bugs and other issues consistent with the near-universally hated Elite Raids? Well, Niantic might finally be listening to its players, falling profits, or some other data because the recently announced make-up event, taking place August 3rd at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 6 p.m. local time, has no mention of Elite Raids.
In fact, the event includes a raised cap on remote raid passes (20, up from 5). While it’s not a full admission that the Elite Raid features have been deeply flawed, it is the first time we’ve had an Elite Raid make-up event not turn into yet another slightly-less-bugged Elite Raid day.
Like last time, this time we’ll get a quest to acquire a Meteorite, which is needed for Rayquaza to learn Dragon Ascent, the move that allows it to Mega Evolve, and it’s a very good Mega to invest in. However, Mega Ray vs. Elite Mega Ray means that event raiders will have an easier time taking the raid boss down, which should help players get more balls to catch it, more rewards, and (especially for rural players) the ability to remote invite other players to have a chance at actually completing the raid.
An admission of feature-failure would probably make most veteran players tired of Elite Raids feel better, but the switch of the event to a non-Elite Raid still seems like a rare win for both Niantic and the playerbase. Hopefully we see more player-centric decisions made in the game’s near future!
Trainers,
We apologize for the inconvenience during the initial appearance of Mega Rayquaza in June.
We’re holding a special global #PokemonGO event on Saturday, August 3, where Mega Rayquaza will appear in Raid Hours at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 6 p.m. local time.
Thank you! pic.twitter.com/1krcPQj4DV
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) July 29, 2024
