Pokemon Go makes plenty of changes to help players through quarantine

To help those players who just want to catch Pokémon in these times of woe and distress, Niantic has announced that they will be making Pokémon Go cheaper and easier to play, while placing less emphasis on physical activity. Isn’t that kind of them?

We at Stuff kinda love Pokémon Go. It’s come a long way since those three blissful months after it’s initial release in 2016 and while it’s certainly got problems, most of the game’s pressing issues have been ironed out. Now it’s a great excuse to head outside and get some exercise as it’s grown into a Massive Multiplayer Online game that’s not only super popular but really good too. So in these times of lockdowns and quarantines, how are players meant to keep up with their catching? Niantic has already started implementing accessibility changes.

Considering that the best way to stock up on resources in Pokémon Go is to actually walk around and visit landmarks, set up in the game as PokeStops, people stuck inside will find this chore to be a touch difficult. Fortunately, Niantic is now offering a bundle of 100 Pokeballs for 1 PokeCoin. PokeCoins, the game’s premium currency, is usually used by players not wanting to actually walk around and offers in-game resources for real-world money. A bundle of 100 Pokeballs for just a single PokeCoin is some great value, even though you’ll still have to pay for it.

In terms of actual mechanics, Niantic has boosted the amount of XP and Stardust you’ll earn for your first catch of the day by three times. You’ll also now be able to open 30 gifts a day, meaning if you have enough friends you should never run out of resources.

While Pokémon Go was unfortunately forced into cancelling their next big events, Raid Hour and Lugia Raid Week, they’ve recently updated the app with a feature called Today View which will keep all players updated on the latest daily and weekly events, highlight the Pokémon you have in any gyms as well as what your daily spin and catch rewards will be.

Sure, one could argue that Niantic could be doing a little more to help out its active player base while they’re holed up inside but at least it’s something, right?