Niantic unveils Pokemon Go gym changes and fans are furious

Kurt Perry
Zapdos raid from Pokemon Go trailer.

Niantic has proposed a change to improve Raid Battles in Pokemon Go but many players have been left unimpressed due to the cause of the issue in the first place.

At least for PvE, Raid Battles are the pinnacle of Pokemon Go offering powerful Legendary and Mythical Pokemon as well as various unique rewards.

However, a hefty nerf to remote raids in March 2023 saw Raids become much less accessible, with some fans even claiming it killed off their entire community. Later changes would improve the situation somewhat but the core issue remains.

Niantic has now revealed its latest plans to improve Raid accessibility but fans aren’t sold on the idea at all.

Pokemon Go fans left unimpressed by Niantic’s gym change proposal

In a tweet posted on its official X/Twitter support account, Niantic revealed, “Trainers, this month we will test doubling the number of Raid Battles per Gym during all five January Raid Hours in select locations globally.”

The proposal is expected to double the amount of Raid Battles available at each gym letting players pick between one of two options, at least in “select locations.” These split gyms will offer more choices and should make it easier for trainers to find the raid they need.

Unfortunately, this plan hasn’t done much to appease the community with the most liked reply stating, “You and I both know the problem you’re trying to fix is due to nerfing remote raids.”

Others chimed in with a similar thought process responding, “Just remove the remote raid limit. That’s what players want. This isn’t going to make people go out to do raids.,” and “Just increase the damn limit. 20 a day at 300 coins for 3 passes. Come on!”

A fair few players were more positive about the change and praised Niantic for introducing it, but even these trainers concluded that the change is an “adjacent solution to the real problem,” wanting Remote Raid buffs instead.

Niantic has defended the Remote Raid nerfs with Pokemon Go’s game director previously stating that they encouraged “unhealthy,” behavior. Given this and the time passed since the nerfs, it seems unlikely they will be reverted anytime soon.

About The Author

Kurt Perry is a British games writer who started at Dexerto in April 2023. He graduated from Staffordshire University in 2019 with a BA in Games Journalism and PR. Prior to joining Dexerto, Kurt contributed 900 articles for PC Invasion including over 350 guides. He's an all-rounder who is particularly knowledgeable about Call of Duty, Destiny, and Pokemon.