It’s no secret that Niantic has made Pokemon Go‘s Remote Raids much worse over the last two years. From jacking up the cost, to placing limits on how many players can participate in each day, the developers have made it much harder to Raid remotely when it’s inconvenient to do so in person. These changes were made specifically because Niantic wants to encourage people to play the game locally, and sees that as important for the longterm health of Pokemon Go. It’s surprising then that the company has announced a positive change that we can expect to see during the Fashion Week: Takeover event and the upcoming Ho-oh Shadow Raid Day.
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For the first time ever, players will be able to remotely participate in Shadow Raids during these events. Considering that it’s the month of January, and many places are dealing with very cold temperatures, this should open up Shadow Raids to a much larger number of players. It should also make some of the tougher Shadow Raids a lot more manageable, which is a very good thing. At this time, it’s unclear whether this will be a running change for all future Shadow Raids, or if we should just expect to see Niantic open them up during specific events.
Whatever the case might be, this change is definitely a good thing. There was no real advantage to blocking remote players from participating in Shadow Raids. If anything, this was making it harder for local players, as well, because it results in a smaller pool of players to pull from. It will be interesting to see what comes of this change, and if it might open the door for other Remote Raid changes. One of the biggest complaints about Gigantamax Raids right now is that it’s simply too difficult to enlist enough local players to defeat them. Hopefully, Niantic will consider allowing players to participate in Max Raids remotely, as well.
The timing of this change is pretty convenient for Pokemon Go players. During Ho-oh Shadow Raid Day, participants will have an increased chance of encountering a Shiny Ho-oh. Shiny Ho-oh has a gorgeous gold and white color scheme, in place of the standard orange. This could be a really good opportunity for players to find one, either for use in Pokemon Go, or for sending over to Pokemon Home for use in the mainline games.
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The Fashion Week: Takeover event begins in Pokemon Go on Wednesday, January 15th at 12 a.m. and runs through Sunday, January 19th at 8 p.m. local time. The Ho-oh Shadow Raid Day event will take on Sunday January 19th from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. local time.
Are you happy about this change to Remote Raids? Will this make you more likely to participate in Shadow Raids? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter atย @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky atย @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram atย @Dachampgaming!
