Pokemon GO Gigantamax release plagued with issues, players report
The release of Gigantamax in Pokemon GO has been plagued with a wide variety of issues as reported by players worldwide. This not only includes technical faults but also mechanical difficulties that have been making the new phenomenon difficult to enjoy for many.
At the outset, the battles have been deemed too hard even for large groups of players to complete. Redditors u/Samhulk99, u/nathangome4, and u/PrincessReddit007 are among the many who took to the Pokemon GO and TheSilphRoad communities to share their negative experiences with Gigantamax on the day of its release.
This article discusses some of the issues players faced with the Pokemon GO Gigantamax release, so you can head into these Max Battles prepared for what could potentially come your way.
Pokemon GO Gigantamax Battles are among the hardest challenges in the game to date
u/Samhulk99 reported that they attempted to complete a Gigantamax Blastoise Max Battle with 32 players, but the group was unable to whittle down the Power Spot boss' HP. They also added a comment on the post, stating "I tried again, got 40 people, and didn’t even get it to half."
u/BlankDragon294 pointed out:
"If they had similar mons as OP, not surprising"
This points to the Dynamax Gastly that can be seen in the image shared by the original poster. However, they clarified that they also had a "high cp Venusaur and Rillaboom" on the squad.
It appears though, that completing Gigantamax battles in Pokemon GO is next to impossible unless you have a full team of ideal counters powered up to level 40. This means you have to grind hard before you can be eligible to participate in these battles.
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Beating Pokemon GO Gigantamax Max battles appears difficult even with nearly 30 players
u/PrincessReddit007's post also painted a bleak image of what Gigantamax battles could look like for players who went in underprepared. They reported that even with 29 members who had "planned ahead for weeks to evolve and max out their Dmax Mon," the group did not win any of the three available Gigantamax Max Battles in Pokemon GO.
Many of these players had traveled long distances to participate in the debutant event. This brings up the issue of accessibility once again with respect to features in Niantic's Pokemon game.
The official directive suggests 10 - 40 players will be required. However, even big groups of nearly 30 people seem to be having a hard time taking down bosses like Gigantamax Charizard.
Even with high-level raids like Mega, 5-star, Elite, or Primal raids, when 15+ (out of a potential 20) people get together, the challenge is relatively easy to beat without everyone using the best counters. This does not seem to be the case with Gigantamax Battles.
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Lack of transparency from Niantic on Pokemon GO with respect to Gigantamax battles
One of the aspects that are complicating things for players wishing to challenge Gigantamax battles is the lack of clarity as to how these encounters work in the first place. According to u/nathangome4 on TheSilphRoad, the biggest hurdles are the boss' single target Charged Moves.
Unlike raids, where the battle mechanics are now clear, Max Battle technicalities are still quite murky. u/nathangome4 pointed out that the Power Spot boss has two Charged Attacks. One intended for the group and one that is single-target. The latter deals a massive chunk of damage, potentially killing the attacker in one or two blows.
While it is possible to dodge these single-target moves, the window to do so is extremely brief. Additionally, the lack of a revive option in the middle of the battle means all parties are required to have dedicated healers (using Max Spirit). Communication, which was barely required in previous Pokemon GO mechanics is also of utmost importance in these battles.
Overall, the community's response to the first day of Gigantamax in Pokemon GO is quite similar—it is too much too soon. Going from fighting tier one and tier three Max Battles that can be soloed relatively easily to tier six monsters that obliterate groups of 30 in one go is an issue that the developers must address.