Pokemon Go gets major update with at-home playing in mind

Niantic on Wednesday announced a whole host of new changes coming to Pokemon Go which look to keep the game fun and involved in these pandemic times.

Set to go live in the near future are features such as the ability to remotely access raids, automatically receive daily tasks, and help with collecting gifts.

One of the biggest problems facing Pokemon Go players is that they’re not really supposed to be out playing. They’re especially not allowed to be gathering in large groups. Beating a raid boss is pretty hard when you’re going it alone or can’t team up.

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As such, remote raiding is coming to Pokemon Go and it will let players access battles for raid that can be seen on the nearby screen. And while they’ll give players the same benefits as showing up in person at launch, things will change with time.

At midnight every day, you’ll receive a bonus task without having to spin a PokéStop! These tasks will be different from Field Research tasks you receive from PokéStops and will focus on activities that you can complete from home.

Another problem with being confined to the home is that you can’t pick up field research from spinning Pokestops. Moreover, you can’t get gifts to send to other players, either. To combat this, Pokemon Go will automatically add a Bonus Field Research task for players. Buddy Pokemon will also gain the ability to visit nearby Pokestops on your behalf to bring back gifts.

• With a Remote Raid Pass, you can access Raid Battles you can see on the Nearby screen from wherever you are.
• You’ll receive a bonus Field Research task daily without having to spin a PokéStop.
• As you run low on Gifts, your Buddy Pokémon will venture to nearby PokéStops and bring some Gifts back for you to send out to your friends.
• You’ll be able to power up your Pokémon to the desired CP by using all the required Candies and Stardust at once.
• After using a Star Piece, Lucky Egg, or Incense, you’ll be able to use more of the same item to extend the item’s effect beyond the usual 30-minute limit. No more waiting for an item effect to expire before you can use another one!
• Look out for other updates, including improved battle-screen design.

Other cool changes coming to the game are more in line with quality of life (QoL) updates to improve the experience. Look for the ability to activate multiple Lucky Eggs, Incense, and Star Pieces as well as being able to power up a Pokemon to a desired level in one move.

There’s quite a lot to unpack in the new changes and it’s an exciting time to be a Pokemon Go player. To learn more about the forthcoming features, head to pokemongolive.com.