Over the weekend, Pokemon Go hosted a Gigantamax Lapras Max Battle Day, during which the Pokemon appeared commonly at Power Spots within a certain time frame. While Niantic has made several tweaks to Max Battles since the feature arrived last season, players continue to air their frustrations with the steep requirements. Unlike traditional Raids, Max Battles can only be completed in person, and as the month of December is now upon us, players in areas that are rural or covered with snow feel like they’re being treated unfairly compared to everyone else. In many parts of the world, it makes it nearly impossible to participate.
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The developers of Pokemon Go want people playing the game outside. While most developers would just be happy with people playing their games at all, Niantic has made it clear that getting people to play the game outdoors is vital to the survival of the game. This has been a back and forth with the community for years now, but it really does make Pokemon Go much more difficult to enjoy for solo players. This was a point of contention when Niantic scaled back on Remote Raids, and it has become much worse following the addition of Max Battles.
On the Pokemon Go subreddit, many fans have been sharing their frustrations about Max Battles. User meecrob462 calls the feature “a slap in the face to the community, especially the rural folks.” Rural players have frequently argued that limitations on Remote Raids are a problem, and that’s been exacerbated with Max Battles, which recommend having 10-30 in-person players. It’s not that players are opposed to the game offering challenging content, but Niantic has designed a feature where skill isn’t the most important requirement. “Coordinating with groups of other people is the only real challenge,” writes user Stickyplants. “And that’s not fun. That’s what we do at work.” While Campfire makes it easier to create and join meetups, that adds to the overall time investment. “I just want to do one and be done without an hour of total drive time,” writes Reddit user House_of_Ell.
That’s not to say that all Pokemon Go fans are unhappy with Max Battles. On Reddit and Bluesky, players have been sharing stories of large groups working together to complete Max Battles against Gigantamax Lapras. It looks like the feature really is getting people out to play, and that’s helping to build up the overall community. Players have also praised the dropped difficulty that started with the arrival of Gigantamax Gengar. Some have found that Max Battles are now easier to complete with groups that are (somewhat) smaller.
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Right now, the most logical solution to Pokemon Go‘s Max Battle problem is allowing players to compete remotely. It remains to be seen whether that will actually happen, but it’s easy to see why players in rural and snow-covered areas might not be enjoying Max Battles at the moment.
What do you think of the strict requirements for Max Battles? Have you been able to enjoy the feature since it launched in the game? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
