With the one year anniversary of Pokemon Go coming up, the game continues to evolve and adapt in order to keep its fan base happy after the game’s developer Niantic announced that two new mechanics will be coming to the game.
The first new feature is a complete overhaul to the gym system. Replacing the old prestige system is a new a new feature that only allows for six Pokemon in one gym at a time, with only one of each individual Pokemon allowed at once. That’s right, no more Team Valour gyms with five Dragonites and a Blissey. Trainers will have to work closely with their teammates to formulate balanced teams that are strong enough to withstand attacks from other trainers. You’ll also be able to collect rewards from a gym if it’s controlled by your team, similar to that of a Pokestop.
The game’s gyms will also be based on a new barometer called motivation. A Pokemon will receive a temporarily lowered CP number if it loses motivation, making it easier to defeat each time around. Pokemon will flee from a gym and return to its trainer if its motivation bar falls to zero. The motivation bar can be refreshed by feeding your Pokemon berries, meaning trainers can’t just stash their Pokemon in gyms forever and collect the daily bonuses. Trainers will also now have the opportunity to receive badges from gyms they have taken down and for keeping their Pokemon happy with berries.
Niantic is also introducing a new feature called raid battles, where trainers can meet up at gyms and work together to take down an extremely powerful Pokemon. Similar to the concept we’ve seen in MMORPGs over the years, the new feature will encourage players to work with their friends and other players to take down the boss and receive awesome prizes. Players can participate in raid battles by collecting raid passes from gyms or buying them from the in-game shop. When defeated, bosses will drop rare items like Golden Razz Berries and Rare Candies, some of which you can only get from taking down the bosses.
The new Pokemon Go patch is expected to come out sometime later this month. All gyms in the game will be disabled during this time, so if you’re one of the loyal ones that stuck it out, keep that in mind.