Pokemon Go’s Remote Max Battles are Live, But With Some Trade-Offs

Max Battles debuted in Pokemon Go late last year, and the player community quickly grew frustrated with their inclusion. Gigantamax Pokemon in particular required a very large number of players to complete, and Niantic made it so these battles were not eligible for Remote Raids. This restriction really hampered the ability of players to actually take part, or find people to play with. Earlier this month, the developers announced an ongoing change to Max Battles, and players can now take part in them using a Remote Raid pass. However, there are some trade-offs as a result.

Over the last two years, Niantic has made a concerted effort to get Pokemon Go players spending time with the game outdoors. That has often led to conflicts with the actual player base, who want more freedom to enjoy the game as they see fit. The changes to Max Battles and Remote Raids seek to find something of a middle ground. Basically, players can now participate remotely as they’ve been requesting for months now. However, those who do participate in Max Battles in person will receive additional bonuses. According to Niantic, in person players “will earn more Premier Balls and XP than before.”

It remains to be seen whether this change will help to improve Max Battles and drive greater participation in the feature. Ideally, this should remove one of the biggest barriers to entry. Players still have to pay for the Remote Raid passes of course, and that price remains 195 PokeCoins, which is the same price it’s been since changes were made in 2023. Players also still have to spend the Max Particles before they can join Max Battles, though the limit a player can hold has now been bumped up to 1,500.

The changes to Max Battles occur as we’ve seen similar changes made to Shadow Raids. Pokemon Go did temporarily allow players to participate in Shadow Raids remotely for some special events, but now the option will be available permanently. Hopefully this is a sign that Niantic is starting to get a little more relaxed when it comes to its focus on people playing outdoors, and we’ll see the developers reward those that play the game “as intended,” as opposed to punishing those that don’t, or simply can’t due to their geographic location.

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In addition to these Max Battle changes, Pokemon Go rolled out another change this week meant to make it easier for players to participate in Raids. The new RSVP planner is now live, which allows players to schedule when they plan to appear at a Raid. Players can even see on the map screen when players have scheduled their participation. The idea being that players can see when other people will be there, and meet up to take down Raid Bosses.

How do you feel about Max Battles in Pokemon Go? Will you be participating in more as a result of this change? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!