How to Get More Premier Balls in Pokemon Go’s Legendary Raids

Pokemon Go just introduced Legendary Raids and players are learning just how hard catching a […]

November 9, 2017, 5:28pm

Pokemon Go just introduced Legendary Raids and players are learning just how hard catching a Legendary Pokemon can be. With a base capture rate of just 2%, players are finding they need all the Premier Balls they can get to catch Lugia and Articuno.

Raids give out Premier Balls based on several factors, which includes whether your team controls the gym the battle took place at, and how much your team contributed to defeating that Pokemon.

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There’s one other bonus that gives out Premier Balls that players are discovering for the first time. Players get a “Damage Bonus” for their individual contributions to the Raid Battle, which can net players a few more valuable Premier Balls. While that Damage Bonus has always been part of Raids, people have made an important discovery: that Damage Bonus goes away if all your Pokemon faint in battle.

Keep scrolling down for the best strategy of how to keep your Damage Bonus and get more Premiere Balls:

Save a Slot

Apparently, Pokemon Go‘s Raid Battle calculations reset when your Pokemon faint, which impacts the Damage Bonus calculation and possibly the Team Contribution bonus as well. This means that, even if you did a lot of the work when it came to beating Pokemon, you might lose out on several of those precious Premier Balls if all six of your Raid Attackers faint and you’re forced to re-enter battle with a secondary team.

While the general consensus in Raid Battles was to pick Pokemon that can dish out as much damage as possible, you may want to consider longevity when picking out your Raid Team. If you’re in a large group of 10 or more trainers, you may want to reserve your final slot for a high Stamina Pokemon that can absorb damage while you finish these Pokemon off.

Of course, the priority for trainers should be picking out the Pokemon that will help beat the Raid Boss. But, if you’re confident in your group’s ability to beat the Raid, bring a Pokemon that can eat a lot of damage to help your chances of retaining that Damage Bonus.

High Stamina Pokemon

The two best Pokemon for absorbing damage are Chansey and Blissey, which both have Stamina stats of 500 or better. Because there’s no Legendary Pokemon that has a Fighting-Type Charge attack, Blissey and Chansey will be able to absorb multiple shots. Of course, neither Chansey nor Blissey have very good Attack stats, so you won’t be helping your raid group much in battle.

Another useful Pokemon to consider is Lapras, which has the sixth highest Stamina stat in Pokemon Go and also has a moveset that would be useful in taking down Lugia in particular. A Lapras with Blizzard can do super effective damage to Lugia and it even earns a same type attack bonus as a Water/Ice dual type.

Other Pokemon with high Stamina include Wobbuffet, Snorlax, Wigglytuff, and Lanturn. Lanturn in particular might come in handy, as it has access to Thunder, which is the strongest Electric-Type move in the game.

These Pokemon should only be considered if your team is consistently fainting in battle AND your group isn’t having problems beating raids in the first place. While you don’t want to hurt your group’s ability to beat a raid, bringing a Blissey along might be worth the three extra Premier Balls.