The biggest game craze of the year is undoubtedly the smash hit mobile game Pokémon Go. Fans young and old got out of their homes and on the move to hunt down their favorite pocket monsters all over the world.
On the heels of a very popular Pokémon Go Halloween holiday weekend event, Niantic has just announced new sweeping changes to the bonuses that Pokémon trainers can earn. The new system will provide great rewards for more active players and continue engagement in the coming winter months.
Niantic posted a blockbuster update today to let fans know about the new and upgraded levels of XP and Stardust that they will be able to soon earn by staying engaged in the game. The breakdown of what you can get is below:
Trainers,
We want to provide you a detailed look at a new feature coming soon to Pokémon GO - Daily bonuses! Trainers will soon be able to receive a bonus for certain daily activities, including catching a Pokémon or visiting a PokéStop once a day. You’ll earn a larger bonus if you do this seven days in a row!
Catching a Pokémon every day will earn the following bonus:
- 500 XP
- 600 Stardust
Catching a Pokémon every day for 7 days straight will earn the following larger bonus:
- 2,000 XP
- 2,400 Stardust
Visiting a PokéStop and spinning the Photo Disc every day will earn the following bonus:
- 500 XP
- A number of additional items
Visiting a PokéStop every day for 7 days straight will earn the following larger bonus:
- 2,000 XP
- A greater number of additional items
If you catch a Pokémon at any time on Tuesday local time, you’ll be eligible for the next daily bonus on Wednesday at 12 AM local time.
This is great news for players, as the higher you go in the game, the more XP is required to jump from level to level. Also, Stardust is always in great demand. You get 100 Stardust for every Pokémon you catch now and it can take thousands of Stardust to power-up a Pokémon when you get to higher levels of the game. The extra bonus items, like potions and balls, will be helpful too. The amount of balls needed to catch Pokémon just keeps growing.
The last big update from Niantic was on October 24th to announce their Halloween holiday event, which spanned from October 26 to November 1. Trainers were able to earn double the amount of Candy for every Pokémon that they caught, along with each time they hatched or transferred Pokémon, as well. They also were able to earn Candy for their buddy walk-along Pokémon four times as quickly, which really added up. There was also a changing of the guard when many of the common Pidgey, Rattata and Weedles were replaced with ghost Pokémon and other types that aren't normally as common in each players particular region.
Niantic is no doubt starting to combat the impending winter, which will no doubt affect the level of engagement of their users. A good portion of the United States will soon be dealing with bitter cold, snow and ice. The dedication of the Pokémon Go trainer is about to be tested in a major way. Its one thing to walk around catching and battling gyms during the summer when the warm winter sun is shining, but to keep that momentum going the game will need to keep player interest and make it well worth their while.
Players have been growing more and more restless as they continue to get to higher levels, catch most or all of the Pokémon available, and deal with Niantic's various sanctions. Niantic has spent an inordinate amount of time battling and shutting down third-party apps and maps that allow players to "cheat" and find the Pokémon without playing the game as designed. Niantic has also imposed speed regulations recently that drastically limit a player's ability to play in a vehicle. Previously you could still read Pokémon at nearby at higher speeds, but now you can't go over 25 miles per hour or your tray may go blank.
There is no denying the frenzy that Pokémon Go cause upon its initial release this past July. The game was an instant hit, but the downloads and level of player engagement have all been steadily dropping since August. Pokémon Go once firmly held the number one most downloaded spot. The game is now, for example, the third most downloaded mobile app in the Google Play Store, behind Rolling Sky and Taps to Riches. It remains to be seen if updates like this one can carry the game through to Spring and retain players.