Pokemon GO x Simpsons meme sums up latest raid boss attack changes
Pokemon GO's recent raid changes have been receiving plenty of negative feedback as of late, largely due to trainers struggling against raid bosses who can now fire their Charged Attacks almost repeatedly. The frustration has culminated in countless complaints but also a bit of humor, as was seen on the GO subreddit with a Simpsons-themed meme by u/thefiend1111 that summed up the situation:
Due to the increased energy gain for raid bosses in Pokemon GO's recent update, bosses like Groudon (who has been a particularly significant issue, but not the only raid boss to cause frustration) have been capable of firing off Charged Attacks so regularly that many trainers feel as though they're being bulldozed. Some newcomers are even complaining of the same issue in lower-tier raids.
While it's true that Niantic initially stated that the abuse of Charged Moves by raid bosses would be fixed, trainers haven't noticed a significant change in raid boss behavior after the fix was made. Even if players manage to successfully dodge a Charged Move, they can end up getting hit by another in an incredibly short time, which is understandably frustrating compared to the past seven years of raids.
Moreover, plenty of trainers have leveled complaints at the dodging mechanic for not working as they hoped, leading to a successful dodge only for latency to result in their Pokemon getting hit by a powerful Charged Attack anyway. Some players have remarked that they haven't had any significant issues with the right group of trainers and the right raid Pokemon, but they seem to be a minority.
Even some of the trainers who reported not having much trouble with the raid boss changes in the comments to u/thefiend1111's post did concede that they were seeing more of their Pokemon fainting during raids, which would presumptively mean more healing items like Revives and Max Potions being used, which isn't exactly ideal for trainers even if they're adjusting well to the raid changes.
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What is the rationale for Pokemon GO's controversial raid boss energy changes?
Pokemon GO's raids have remained one of the most popular aspects of the game since their arrival in 2017, and while they had their issues (remote raids being limited and Elite Raids being considered too exclusive), trainers seemed largely content with how they operated. Shadow Raids even expanded on the Pokemon that trainers could team up to battle and catch.
While not perfect, one could argue that trainers were by and large fine with how raids have operated over the years, but the increase of raid boss energy generated (from 0.2 to 0.5 per point of health lost) has resulted in a ratcheting up of the raid difficulty. Raids are certainly meant to be challenging, but some trainers are pointing out that the difficulty increase is far too sharp.
Pokemon GO trainers have posted with regularity on social media in recent days that they've given up on raiding or have no interest in trying it due to the changes. Players have shared stories of losing all of their healing items and raid passes while having a plethora of Pokemon in the process. While not unanimous, these complaints are growing into a chorus.
According to Niantic, the change was implemented to increase stability, reduce lag from latency, and expand raiding in the future. However, Pokemon GO players are still lamenting the latency between the raiding party and the boss, and any changes to performance and stability have been dwarfed by raid bosses firing Charged Moves whenever they have energy instead of using 50/50 chance RNG.
Despite Niantic's explanation, trainers have begun to theorize that Niantic is making raids more difficult to railroad players into buying more items from the shop or to play the newly introduced and oft-maligned Max Battles. Although this is certainly a cynical view to hold, one can't blame trainers much when seven years of raiding was changed in a heartbeat to something much more difficult.
Hopefully, Niantic hears out the community and continues to address raids in a way that ensures they're accessible as they once were while still bringing the performance improvements that were intended. It might be a tall task, but it's one worth investing in to ensure that Pokemon GO trainers don't step away from raiding in the future.
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