Niantic has kept itself busy withPokemon GO. By introducing Seasons, Niantic has new events to plan and manage, many of which are longer and more elaborate than the hit mobile game’s earliest events.Pokemon GOSeasons provide in-lore reasons to introduce new Pokemon and bring Legendary Pokemon back to Raids. New features like Seasons and additional Pokemon have keptPokemon GOfeeling fresh after years, and with so much more potential content left to add, the game’s future still looks bright. Even so,Pokemon GO’s drastic changes have had both positive and negative impacts.
For instance,Pokemon GOplayers frequently voice concerns about the game’s challenges, some of which are either impossible to complete or too difficult to be practical. CertainPokemon GOmedals are hard to max out, and some Special Research quests have sat uncompleted for months or years.Pokemon GO’s ongoing new contentand bug fixes are great, but Niantic seems to have unintentionally left certain aspects of the game behind. For the sake ofPokemon GO’s quality and the satisfaction of fans, Niantic ought to take another look atPokemon GO’s oldest Special Research and medals.
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Pokemon GO’s Outdated Challenges
Although Niantic has tweaked some of the game’s achievement-like medals to match other changes inPokemon GO,others have fallen by the wayside. For instance,thePokemon GOFisher and Youngster platinum medalsrequire catching 1,000 extra-large Magikarp and extra-small Rattata, respectively. Even for day-onePokemon GOplayers, these are difficult medals to get, especially since Magikarp and Rattata get rarer as more Pokemon join. Other daunting platinum medals include the Ultra Hero badge, which requires beating Giovanni 50 times. Considering how rarely Giovanni rears his head inPokemon GO,that medal can take years to claim.
Pokemon GOfans also have a few different Special Research quests that they can’t complete because their objectives were intrinsically tied to a pastPokemon GOevent. The “Let’s GO, Meltan” quest’s request to catch five Exeggcute may seem innocuous, but if players don’t live somewhere that Exeggcute are common, they’re stuck with an incomplete Meltan quest. Perhaps even more daunting, the Season of Legends Special Research asked players totake a snapshot of Landorus, which only appeared briefly in Raid Battles. Players who never managed to complete a Landorus raid are now stuck with a months-old quest, barred from its rewards.
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Leniency for Pokemon GO Players
ManyPokemon GOplayers are annoyed that the game asks them to complete near-impossible objectives, and Niantic ought to pay attention. Challenges like these are starting to pile up, and players want an earnest shot at completing some of them. Niantic might want to consider running an event that’s tailored toward finishing off outdated Special Research, bringing back Landorus, Exeggcute, and other specific Pokemonmentioned in Special Research. It might consider tuningPokemon GO’s medal numbers a little to make platinum medals more achievable.
None of this is to say Niantic should simply hand players medals and Special Research rewards. These objectives are part ofthe long-term fun inPokemonGO,offering players more specific challenges than simply looking for strong or rare Pokemon. However,Pokemon GO’s objectives need to be balanced and achievable. If there’s no practical way for players to completePokemon GOchallenges, those activities lose their value and become sources of frustration.Pokemon GOseems to getting more of these stubborn objectives, which suggests it’s time for Niantic to hit the refresh button.
Pokemon GOis available now for Android and iOS devices.
