Pokemon Go trainers call on Niantic to reverse recent Poke Ball “nerf”

Pokemon Go trainers have called on Niantic to reverse the “nerf” made to Poke Balls trainers receive from opening Gifts.

Pokemon Go has a ton of resources and items players can earn that are essential when playing the game. Items like Stardust, Candy, and Poke Balls are fairly common but tend to get used up quite quickly.

Thankfully, a fairly easy way to get helpful items is by opening Gifts. When a trainer opens a gift from another player, they have a chance of receiving items like Stardust, Potions, Eggs, Poke Balls, and much more.

However, some trainers have claimed they are receiving fewer and fewer Poke Balls from opening Gifts, and have called on Niantic to reverse the “nerf.”

Pokemon Go trainers notice fewer Poke Balls from opening Gifts

A post on TheSilphRoad subreddit sparked a discussion among the community. The post said, “The recent nerf to PokeBalls bundles size from gifts is yet another hit to rural players, and Niantic needs to undo it.”

The OP explained that “Some players rely almost exclusively on balls received from gift to play this game, and having that number cut by at least a third hits really hard.”

The recent nerf to PokeBalls bundles size from gifts is yet another hit to rural players, and Niantic needs to undo it
by u/505User in TheSilphRoad

They attached a screenshot as proof, which showed that opening a gift only gave them an Ultra Ball, three Poke Balls, and 100 Stardust.

Others in the comments also claimed to have noticed this change recently and agreed it has started to affect them in-game. “I knew it. I thought I was going nuts. I’ve been running out of Balls so quickly since the last [Community] Day and haven’t been able to gather them as fast as I used to.”

Some trainers wondered if this change was another move to push players to use the in-game store to purchase items. “They want us to buy them. Or travel more to harvest more data.”

While a few trainers were hopeful that this issue would get sorted out after Go Fest 2023, it remains to be seen. Until that time, trainers worried about running low on Poke Balls may want to manage them a bit more carefully going forward.