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Following the latest news of a new variant of Raid Battle coming to Pokemon GO, many players rejoiced. The thought of a fresh challenge happily danced in the minds of fans looking for a change of pace in their favorite mobile experience. However, the euphoria was cut short for many after reading the fine print in the announcement.
The smiles of those looking eagerly forward to the new type of Raid Battle were promptly turned upside down after reading that the use of Remote Raid Passes would not be allowed. Fans quickly became furious at this realization and took to the game's subreddit to express their outrage at this new development.
So what are fans complaining about? Just how big of a deal is it that players are required to attend these Raids in person? Why are players so upset about this change? Thankfully, the community has given perfectly justifiable reasons for why this slight alteration in the rules leaves a bad taste in their collective mouths.
Redditors react to Pokemon GO's new Elite Raids
User Uunikana posted a thread on the official subreddit for Pokemon GO, displaying the contrast between Niantic's motivation towards making Remote Raid Passes obsolete. They displayed in their post that Niantic claims to be implementing these changes to make their game a "social experience" but poses some alterior motives.
One of the claims why Niantic is requiring players to challenge these Raid Battles in person is to track the movement data so they can sell this information to sponsors. While this may seem like a silly reason for concern for players in small towns, it has become more of a concern for trainers in big cities.
The coercion to convince players to use the AR scan feature is implied in this post as well. Using this feature in Pokemon GO will allow Niantic to track not just the time and area players are in but record the features and characteristics of their devices as well. Niantic claims this is so they can create more accurate maps.
Forcing players to stand outside to complete Raids as the weather grows colder in the northern hemisphere has been taken as Niantic making things deliberately difficult for players. Many feel that this change is revenue-motivated rather than being made for the benefit of their playerbase, which is always a sad thing to see.
As fans across the globe have taken this as another anti-consumer act on behalf of Niantic, many have moved on from Pokemon GO in favor of other titles in the franchise. One user even detailed how playing other Pokemon games has given them and their girlfriend more fun than the mobile game has in years.
On the other side of the spectrum, a player has pointed out how this might be a way Niantic is trying to bring Pokemon GO back to its roots. When the game was first released, Remote Raid Passes and longer registered distances for Pokestops were not present and only became such due to the pandemic of 2020.
While the changes Niantic is making have "anti-consumer" written all over them, many still seem to welcome these developments, a way to bring back "the good ol' days." However, other members of the community are not convinced.
