'Pokémon GO' Raid Battles: Niantic Lowers Level Requirement; Balancing Issue Raised
After some worries from eager "Pokémon GO" trainers, Niantic appears to continuously lower the level requirement for Raid Battles. Meanwhile, some players have started to find balancing issues in the new game mode.
"Pokémon GO" developer Niantic has recently added Raid Battles - a cooperative gaming mode still based on augmented reality - to its hit mobile game. This was part of the recent major update added by the company last week.
While the mechanics of Raid Battles seem to be very different, it is still partly linked to the presence of Gyms. Raid events are most likely to occur in an area where Gyms are present, and Niantic has added a "Nearby" button to help "qualified" trainers find the nearest one. However, the operative word is "qualified" because only players at certain levels can join the party.
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When the Raid Battles went live last week, it was somewhat restrictive since only trainers from level 35 and above could play. Level 35 is relatively a high requirement, considering that the highest attainable level in "Pokémon GO" is level 40.
On a good note, Niantic appears to be on the track of making Raid Battles available to more players. The latest update on the Raid Battles' level requirement was made Monday as Niantic lowered it down to level 20. The developers have yet to confirm whether or not this is going to be the final adjustment.
Meanwhile, a game review on Forbes raised some concerns with the Raid Battles' balancing issues. The report mentioned that, by experience, it seemed too easy to take down the tier-3 raid boss Alakazam (22,646 CP) that it merely required the same effort when going up against monsters from tiers 1 and 2.
So far, there have been 23 raid bosses reportedly found and divided into four tiers. Magikarp, with 1,165 CP, is supposedly the easiest monster to defeat, while the hardest encounter should be against a tier-4 Tyranitar with 34,707 CP.
Trainers are yet to discover a raid boss that belongs to Tier 5 — a rumored category for Legendary Pokémon.
