Pokemon Go players furious as Ultra Friend XP is still broken
NianticPokemon Go players can earn XP by raising friendship levels through daily interactions. However, a bug in the system is plaguing those using the feature, and many players are being shorted their XP.
Pokemon Go players are in a constant loop of experience grinding. Whether it is gathering up enough Stardust and Candy to max out Pokemon levels, or working towards XP goals to level up, the process can be long and grueling. Because of this, most fans of the mobile app will use any means possible to speed up the process.
While catching large quantities of Pokemon or paying for Pokemon Go event Special Research tickets can be good ways of amassing experience points, another option allows for quick grinding without the need to leave the house or waste Pokeballs. Players can earn XP by befriending and raising the friendship levels of those on their list.
However, there is a bug in the game that can be a real problem for players, and many are speaking out about it. Those who reach the Ultra Friend milestone of four hearts will earn a huge boost in XP – unless one of the players unfriends before both players collect their XP bonus. This will effectively short an unsuspecting friend their hard-earned XP.
Pokemon Go Players are fed up with the Ultra Freind XP issue
In a Reddit post on the Pokemon Go subreddit, user Interesting-Depth-31 shared an image of an Ultra Friend ghosting. The friend’s name is gone and even though the game acknowledges the friendship level, they are awarded “0 XP” for the milestone.
Pokemon Go players in the comments are just as baffled, with one stating, “It’s wild that people can’t just wait a few hours before deleting the other person. Even if it’s 100,000 xp for the other person.” and another adding, “they should put a 24 hours timer before you’re allowed to delete a friend after reaching ultra friends status lol”.
Other fans have pointed out that they have encountered a slew of bugs around friendship experience, including random deletions of friends from their lists, the wrong amount of XP being awarded following a milestone, and visual bugs that can be confusing for players to decipher.
While many players choose to say goodbye after hitting Ultra Friends, Pokemon Go should include a safeguard for both players, to ensure they both get the XP they worked for even if something happens to end the friendship.