Niantic has lowered the minimum Level requirement for Raid to Level 5. With this requirement now matching the regular Gym system, Niantic's blog post, and the new bug-fixing update, it is safe to assume that the Raid beta has come to an end. But what now and what changes still need to be made?
LEVEL MINIMUM: The new minimum Level has drawn some concern from higher-Level players. Having a 500CP Pidgeotto battling a Raid Boss Tyranitar is problematic. A low-Level players can take up spots in lobbies from high-Level players, meaning a Level 40 Trainer may have to try to take down a high-level Raid Boss solo.
The fix is simple: Niantic should only allow Trainers Level 5 to 19 participate in Level 1 and Level 2 Raids. This may draw some backlash from those low-Level players, but a Level 7 Trainer should not have a Tyranitar yet (unless they were extremely lucky in a bid encounter).
NEW RAID BOSSES: PNN has previously published an article about how Raid Bosses may have been withheld during the beta. In promotional screenshots, Pokémon such as Dragonite and Gyarados were featured as Raid Bosses. It seems that Niantic will eventually add new Raid Bosses, but not until the Raid hype begins to fizzle out. Still, keep an eye out for any unusual Bosses. To check which Bosses are currently obtainable, check the "Raid Boss Chart" page.
RAID PASS USAGE: In the beginning of the bug-fixing update, Raid Passes did not disappear from your inventory until the battle began. Trainers have been pleading for this feature so they don't waste their paid-for or free Raid Passes. However, reports have been coming in the pass-usage is back to its original style. Hopefully this will change back.
Good luck in your Raids, Trainers!
LEVEL MINIMUM: The new minimum Level has drawn some concern from higher-Level players. Having a 500CP Pidgeotto battling a Raid Boss Tyranitar is problematic. A low-Level players can take up spots in lobbies from high-Level players, meaning a Level 40 Trainer may have to try to take down a high-level Raid Boss solo.
The fix is simple: Niantic should only allow Trainers Level 5 to 19 participate in Level 1 and Level 2 Raids. This may draw some backlash from those low-Level players, but a Level 7 Trainer should not have a Tyranitar yet (unless they were extremely lucky in a bid encounter).
NEW RAID BOSSES: PNN has previously published an article about how Raid Bosses may have been withheld during the beta. In promotional screenshots, Pokémon such as Dragonite and Gyarados were featured as Raid Bosses. It seems that Niantic will eventually add new Raid Bosses, but not until the Raid hype begins to fizzle out. Still, keep an eye out for any unusual Bosses. To check which Bosses are currently obtainable, check the "Raid Boss Chart" page.
RAID PASS USAGE: In the beginning of the bug-fixing update, Raid Passes did not disappear from your inventory until the battle began. Trainers have been pleading for this feature so they don't waste their paid-for or free Raid Passes. However, reports have been coming in the pass-usage is back to its original style. Hopefully this will change back.
Good luck in your Raids, Trainers!