Pokemon Go players furious as “pay to win” Max Battles force them to buy Dynamax Legendaries
THE POKEMON COMPANYDynamax Articuno’s debut has caused a stir among Pokemon Go players for many different reasons, but mainly because of a game limitation that kept trainers from challenging the Legendary Bird.
The Dynamax and Gigantamax mechanics added with the Max Out season brought a new breath of air to Naintic’s mobile game. However, as soon as Max Monday events appeared, players started noticing big issues affecting playability.
To participate in Max Battles, players must pay a Max Particle fee first. This collectible can be obtained by visiting Power Spots or by walking, however, there are certain limits to them: Players can only earn up to 800 MP per day and they cannot store more than 1000 MP.
This means that trainers can’t challenge a Dynamax or Gigantamax Pokemon more than twice in one day, as they’ll run out of Max Particles and aren’t allowed to gather more. More so, if they use their Max Particles to complete a Timed Research or power up for a battle such as Dynamax Articuno, they might not even be able to fight it at all.
The Max Particle limit won’t let players enjoy the game
A Pokemon Go Reddit user posted a series of images showing how they missed the Dynamax Articuno Max Monday event because they used their Max Particles to power up Max Moves in order to prepare for a battle they were eventually not able to join.
The complaint gathered strength when the player noticed that the only way they could challenge Dynamax Articuno was if they used real-life money to buy Max Particle Packs from the in-game store.
Users showed their solidarity by sharing that the same had happened to them, with one writing, “Max Monday needs a Particle bonus”, alluding that the one-hour events should have a new MP limit so everyone can enjoy the fights.
Others were more harsh, with a user commenting “The entire Dynamax system is absolutely shameful” and another adding “Pay to win. Pay with your wallet”.
Some even angrier users commented on how hard it was to take down Dynamax Articuno, with one sharing “Articuno fled on me. I will never do another one. If that’s how these Dynamax raids are going to go it ain’t worth it. Hard enough to beat with 4. The Niantic developers purposely make it difficult to even enjoy the event. Evil stuff. I don’t recommend doing them. Waste of time and gas”.
Dynamax Articuno was the first of the Legendary Birds to appear on a Max Monday. Dynamax Zapdos will debut on January 27 and Dynamax Moltres will do the same on February 3.
The feedback over the first experience has been loud, so players will have to wait and see if Niantic applies any changes in the upcoming days.