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In latest update, Pokemon Go devs swear actual features on the way
In spite of recent news that Pokemon Go’s playerbase is on a downhill slope, the latest update from Niantic hasn’t delivered anything that fans are clamoring for. Some believe that the game can be saved by implementing things like player to player combat, trading, and a better tracking system. Niantic has elected to develop none of these things in favor of adding features nobody really wanted in the first place. A bold strategy.
The big addition in this update is the “Appraise” feature. Players can now select any Pokemon and have their team leader give them feedback about the Pokemon’s quality. Although more hardcore players have worked out the nuts and bolts of min/maxing their pocket monsters, this feature should give more casual players better insight into which Pokemon are worth keeping and which should go into the candy grinder.
Appraise also adds some much-needed team leader presence. Now it feels like they have a more active role in the game instead of just being distant figureheads.
Niantic has snuck another “feature” into Pokemon Go with this update. In the past, training at friendly gyms would only reduce your Pokemon’s HP to 1, meaning you could get them back to fighting condition by just using potions on them. Now training Pokemon can faint, meaning users will have to use revives and potions when training.
Now training Pokemon can faint.
Players are split as to whether this is a pro or a con. On one hand, since Pokemon previously only fainted when battling at a rival gym, less combative players complained that revives were cluttering up their inventory. On the other hand, training now pulls from two item resources instead of one.
The update also includes some general tweaks and bug fixes for improved stability, but you can tell that Niantic is aware that their players are getting restless. Included in the release notes is the following promise:
We are still working hard on several new and exciting features to come in the future of Pokémon GO.
Will this include the kinds of things players have been wanting all along? The future of catching ‘em all remains to be seen.
