Will Niantic reintroduce Pokemon Go bonuses amid new lockdowns?
A stream of ongoing bonuses were added to Pokemon Go following the initial madness in March. They were removed at the beginning of October but with new lockdowns on the horizon could they once again return?
Pokemon Go is a game that requires you to leave your home, at least to get the most out of it. However, the developers of the mobile game, Niantic, were quick to react to the initial lockdowns quickly making it playable from the comfort of your own home.
They achieved this through adding semi-permanent bonuses, in-game benefits if you will. Some of these still remain and will presumably stay for several months yet.
@PokemonGoAppCurrent bonuses
They can be found under ‘Special bonuses’ section within the Pokemon Go ‘Today’ tab in the app. They are currently as follows:
- Open 1.5x as many Gifts
- No walking requirement for the GO Battle League
- Boosted damage for Trainers battling remotely in raids
- 2x Incense duration
Removed bonuses that could return
With lockdowns being reintroduced all over the world though, Niantic may take the decision to re-add the following:
- Half egg hatch distance
- Increased Incense effectiveness
- Buddy Pokemon to bring you Gifts
- Increased Gift drops when spinning PokeStops
I really urge you to make some of these changes permanent. As someone who cannot walk any real distances, the ‘quality of life’ changes were the only way I could play the game anywhere NEAR normal. As it is, Pokemon Go is not accessible by so many people. Why change back?
— Brenn (@Traylantha) September 29, 2020
In addition to these bonuses, there have been an increasing number of Pokemon Go events in recent months. This could be another tactic to make the game more stay at home friendly.
That’s on top of Niantic adding remote Raid Battles. The usually hard to come by Remote Raid Passes can currently be obtained for free as well, so make sure you take advantage of it while you can.
Even with the half egg hatch distance, trainers unable to leave their homes will struggle hatching eggs, but with the discount in play it at least becomes viable. Meanwhile, catching Pokemon and Raid Battles shouldn’t be an issue due to the respective increased spawn locations and remote raids.
