Pokemon Sword & Shield community discovers neat Max Raid trick year after release
Game Freak / The Pokemon CompanyA Pokemon Sword & Shield player stunned fellow fans when they revealed a nifty trick that makes Max Raids substantially easier.
Despite releasing over a year ago, Pokemon Sword & Shield fans are still discovering new things about the eighth generation title.
One Trainer revealed an obvious trick in Max Raids that somehow went under the radar for many players. The useful move makes AI teammates a little more bearable.
Game Freak / The Pokemon Company“New” Pokemon Sword & Shield Max Raid trick
Pokemon Sword & Shield’s Max Raid is the eighth generation’s most popular feature. The online mode brings Trainers together to take on ‘mon in epic boss battles.
Unfortunately, sometimes players have to rely on AI teammates – who are ineffective, to say the least. A player on the r/PokemonSwordAndShield stunned fans when they revealed a trick that forces AI teammates to use attack moves.
User ‘Glanix’ explained, “FYI you can use the move Taunt on the AIs to force them only use attack moves.” While the move is pretty obvious, it’s easy to understand why it would be overlooked in the online mode.
Despite being nothing new, many were floored by the strategy and had gone over a year without knowing how it works in the Sword & Shield mode. “I had never considered this. This needs to be a PSA,” one fan wrote.
The image that kicked off the discussion showed Sword & Shield NPC Martin using an attack move. The screenshot floored the community, who joked that AI being useful in the game was as rare as a Shiny.
“Impossible. He simply can’t attack, he must only use self buffing moves, you must have photoshopped it,” a fan replied sarcastically. Another exclaimed, “I feel this is more rare than a full odds shiny lol.”
While the trick makes teammates useful, several players pointed out that it would take three moves just to make your entire team use attacks. However, the strategy is perfect for when a human player drops out in the middle of the raid and gets replaced with an NPC.
Despite making its debut only a year ago, Sword & Shield is already on track to become the second-highest selling title in the Pokemon franchise. New modes such as Max Raids have made the Nintendo Switch game a smash hit.