On April 6th, 2023 Niantic went through with a decision that reverberated through communities worldwide: the nerfing of remote raids. In an instant, Niantic changed how millions of players interact with this game. Many stopped raiding or even quit the game entirely. Others reached out to their local community for the first time. Global Discord servers that were once hubs for remote raiding fell silent. Local servers came back to life.
The remote raiding nerf has changed how we all play this game. Some of us have made new friends and become more connected to our local community than ever. Others have been left behind. This article explores what Niantic could do to improve the remote raiding system—namely, how they could encourage in-person raiding without excluding those who can’t.
Recap: What Changed
Prior to April 6th, 2023, remote raid passes could be purchased for 100 coins each and you could do as many raids as you wanted each day. On April 6th, the cost of remote raid passes went up to 175 coins each and a limit of 5 remote raids per day was established. While certain boxes can bring the price per pass below 175 coins, remote raid passes are still significantly more expensive than they were previously, even when discounted.
At the same time, Niantic also buffed in-person raids. The cost of in-person raid passes was reduced from 100 coins to 83 coins, with even better deals available from boxes. They also added better rewards to in-person raids including guaranteed XL candy for legendaries and a chance of getting a Rare Candy XL.
Between the remote raid nerf and in-person raid buff, the message was clear: go outside and raid with your local community. This, of course, is easier said than done.
The Flaw
The main flaw with Niantic’s plan is their mistaken assumption that all remote raiders are just people too lazy to get off their couch—or to be more precise, the assumption that all remote raiders could raid in person if they wanted. In reality, many remote raiders simply cannot raid in person even if they want to. Niantic told us to raid in person without properly addressing why people raid remotely.
These remote raid nerfs exclude the countless groups of people who are unable to consistently raid in person. These groups include, but are not limited to:
- Players in rural areas
- Players without access to transportation
- Disabled players
- Players who are busy with work, family, and other commitments
In-person raiding should absolutely be encouraged when possible, however, Niantic should also take steps to ensure that those who can’t participate in person don’t get excluded entirely.
The Solution
To make the remote raiding system more equitable, we must first acknowledge that not all reasons for remote raiding are the same. Remotely joining a raid in your hometown is different from joining one halfway across the world. A rural area with no local community is different from a city with a massive community. A person who can’t raid in person is different from someone who simply doesn’t feel like it. The price of remote raiding should account for these differences. Instead of having remote raid passes that everyone pays the same inflated price for, I propose doing away with remote raid passes and replacing them with something far more flexible: remote raid energy.
How Remote Raid Energy Would Work
At its core, remote raid energy could be purchased from the shop and would allow you to join raids with orange or green passes when you’re outside the 80-meter gym radius. Just how much remote raid energy you’re charged for each raid would depend on factors such as your distance from the gym, your location, and disability accommodations. This price flexibility would make it much easier to create an equitable raiding experience.
To help rural players and others without local communities, the cost of remotely joining a raid would be dependent on the amount of Pokémon GO activity near your current location. If there is a lot of activity, then the cost will be high to encourage you to link up with other local players. If there isn’t much activity, then the cost will be low.
To make raiding more accessible, Niantic could offer reduced-cost or no-cost remote raid energy to players with disabilities. Determining who is eligible would be a challenge, however, I am confident Niantic could find a way to do it if they truly care about accessibility—where there is a will, there is a way. Perhaps they could implement an accommodations system similar to what schools and employers have used for decades.
In addition to making raiding more inclusive, remote raid energy could also help strengthen local communities! If it is cheaper to remotely join nearby raids, then people will have an incentive to raid with their local community, even when doing so remotely! This will result in more people engaging with their local community. Even if these people don’t always raid together in person, it is likely that they will still meet for community days, trades, and other activities. Also, another way remote raid energy could encourage in-person play would be to reward it for doing in-person raids and other in-person activities.
Overall, the possibilities of remote raid energy are limitless. It would offer an incredible degree of price flexibility that would allow Niantic to encourage in-person raiding when possible but also allow remote raiding when and where that’s the only option. More ways Niantic could dynamically adjust remote raiding costs include:
- Reducing the cost of remote raids when there is inclement weather in your area.
- Lowering the price of remote raids for players in areas affected by a natural disaster or disease outbreak.
- Offering cheaper remote raids during special events.
- Decreasing the cost of remote raiding on holidays and other times when players in your community are less likely to be raiding.
Lastly, instead of having a limit of 5 remote raids per day, there would be a limit on how much remote raid energy can be used each day. This would result in a remote raid limit that is proportional to remote raid cost. Players who need to raid remotely will use less remote energy per raid, which also means they will be able to do more remote raids before they reach the daily limit.
What about my existing remote raid passes?
Niantic could easily convert existing remote raid passes into remote raid energy or PokéCoins.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if Niantic implements these changes, the result will be a raiding system that encourages in-person play while also being inclusive, accessible, equitable, and fair. And who knows, maybe Niantic will even make some money from this. 😉