Niantic made a statement on Twitter last night. The tweet, put out on their Niantic Support account, regarded the highly-controversial EX Raid Battles.
Trainers, thank you for your feedback on EX Raid Battles. We're working to improve the invitation system based on what we heard from you.
Whatever the change is, Niantic certainly needs to make one. Some would even go as far to say to completely get rid of EX Raids. We don't think the change needs to be that drastic, but (again) a change does need to be made.
PNN's TAKE: Personally, we like the concept (although not the current state) of EX Raids. Legendaries are already devalued for people with large-enough Raid groups. On the other side of the spectrum, Legendaries may remain permanent gaps in some people's Pokédex because six or seven Trainers couldn't get together at a Gym. EX Raids at least give a time, date, and Raid Pass out to everyone involved. So we are hoping Niantic changes the system, but doesn't delete it.
WHY PEOPLE ARE UPSET: Many people are upset because it is difficult to get an EX Pass, and would prefer Legendaries to be available in regular Raids or the wild. The regular Raid argument makes sense, but the in-the-wild argument does not.
People need to realize that wild Legendaries would be ridiculously rare, so you would probably never see one if you don't spoof (which Niantic is cracking down on). On top of that, the Legendaries would probably have a very high flee-rate like Abra and in the main-series games. So, if anything, you are more likely to get a Legendary via an EX Raid than in the wild.
Now, as far as regular Raids go, they are just a bad host for Legendaries. Some Trainers have already done over 100 Legendary Raids, which is crazy that this is possible over a few months. As we will discuss more in a later article, we are confident that Niantic intended to release all of the Legendaries in EX Raids. However, the coding they had to implement to shut down the server-strain brought by third-party tracking and spoofing services and the disastrous turn that GO Fest took made Niantic have no other choice but to release them through regular Raids. And unfortunately, the community (and we're not trying to sound like jerks when saying this) got spoiled and used to the easily-accessible Legendary Pokémon. Whatever you may hope, we are confident in saying that the Legendary Beasts will be the final Legendaries in regular, non-event Raids.
NEEDED IMPROVEMENTS: So what improvements need to be made to EX Raids? Firstly, and most importantly, there needs to be a set requirement and / or algorithm for receiving an EX Pass instead of having them being distributed seemingly at random. It could be doing at least three Raids every week, but something needs to be put out there (by Niantic, not by PNN and the other Pokémon media) to tell Trainers what they have to do.
Secondly, there needs to be a better date and time for the Raids. The last wave of EX Raids and the upcoming ones on Friday occurred / will occur at 12:00 P.M. Now, this does work for employed adults, but hurts children attending school. So these EX Raids should occur on the weekend, when the majority of people do not have a job requirement to prioritize.
Niantic just needs to improve the system. They need to make it fair, and targeted to Trainers who are more dedicated. High-level players and Trainers who log in to their game more often should be rewarded and prioritized. Also, they need to make the distribution system fair. If one person in a lobby gets a pass, everyone else in that lobby should, too. Niantic could also make the EX Raids more frequent (as in more than one wave every week), which would serve as a semi-compromise for those who want all Legendaries in regular Raids.
Niantic, please listen to the community, including this article. PNN likes the concept of EX Raids, but Niantic really needs to improve the system altogether. Hope you're enjoying the Halloween event, Trainers.
PNN's TAKE: Personally, we like the concept (although not the current state) of EX Raids. Legendaries are already devalued for people with large-enough Raid groups. On the other side of the spectrum, Legendaries may remain permanent gaps in some people's Pokédex because six or seven Trainers couldn't get together at a Gym. EX Raids at least give a time, date, and Raid Pass out to everyone involved. So we are hoping Niantic changes the system, but doesn't delete it.
WHY PEOPLE ARE UPSET: Many people are upset because it is difficult to get an EX Pass, and would prefer Legendaries to be available in regular Raids or the wild. The regular Raid argument makes sense, but the in-the-wild argument does not.
People need to realize that wild Legendaries would be ridiculously rare, so you would probably never see one if you don't spoof (which Niantic is cracking down on). On top of that, the Legendaries would probably have a very high flee-rate like Abra and in the main-series games. So, if anything, you are more likely to get a Legendary via an EX Raid than in the wild.
Now, as far as regular Raids go, they are just a bad host for Legendaries. Some Trainers have already done over 100 Legendary Raids, which is crazy that this is possible over a few months. As we will discuss more in a later article, we are confident that Niantic intended to release all of the Legendaries in EX Raids. However, the coding they had to implement to shut down the server-strain brought by third-party tracking and spoofing services and the disastrous turn that GO Fest took made Niantic have no other choice but to release them through regular Raids. And unfortunately, the community (and we're not trying to sound like jerks when saying this) got spoiled and used to the easily-accessible Legendary Pokémon. Whatever you may hope, we are confident in saying that the Legendary Beasts will be the final Legendaries in regular, non-event Raids.
NEEDED IMPROVEMENTS: So what improvements need to be made to EX Raids? Firstly, and most importantly, there needs to be a set requirement and / or algorithm for receiving an EX Pass instead of having them being distributed seemingly at random. It could be doing at least three Raids every week, but something needs to be put out there (by Niantic, not by PNN and the other Pokémon media) to tell Trainers what they have to do.
Secondly, there needs to be a better date and time for the Raids. The last wave of EX Raids and the upcoming ones on Friday occurred / will occur at 12:00 P.M. Now, this does work for employed adults, but hurts children attending school. So these EX Raids should occur on the weekend, when the majority of people do not have a job requirement to prioritize.
Niantic just needs to improve the system. They need to make it fair, and targeted to Trainers who are more dedicated. High-level players and Trainers who log in to their game more often should be rewarded and prioritized. Also, they need to make the distribution system fair. If one person in a lobby gets a pass, everyone else in that lobby should, too. Niantic could also make the EX Raids more frequent (as in more than one wave every week), which would serve as a semi-compromise for those who want all Legendaries in regular Raids.
Niantic, please listen to the community, including this article. PNN likes the concept of EX Raids, but Niantic really needs to improve the system altogether. Hope you're enjoying the Halloween event, Trainers.