Pokémon GO's Dynamax Raids Are In Desperate Need Of A Major Fix

The way Dynamax Raids operate in Pokémon GO is far from ideal, and it's already clear that the feature deserves a thorough overhaul. Despite Dynamax Pokémon being relatively new to the mobile game, their handling has become another misstep for developer Niantic in the eyes of many. While Pokémon GO has already seen many controversies in the past, its treatment of Dynamax Pokémon could easily become the next major entry on that list.

Despite the Dynamax phenomenon itself being introduced to the franchise in 2019 with Pokémon Sword and Shield, Pokémon GO’s own rendition of the supersizing battle mechanic only recently arrived on September 4 2024 as part of its Max Out season. Naturally, this season revolves around the addition of Dynamaxing to Pokémon GO, although the Galarian Starter Pokémon have also finally made their debut. However, what should have been the triumphant unveiling of a long-awaited feature has quickly proven to be less than popular with many players.

Why Players Are Unhappy With Dynamax Raids

Dynamax Raids Have Failed To Impress

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The implementation of Dynamax Pokémon in Pokémon GO has been strongly criticized, and understandably so. In a post that has now received over 6k upvotes, Reddit user Great-Version7769 easily summarized the key issues and the frustration they cause, something which many others have commiserated over. The difficulty of battling Dynamax Pokémon has proven to be absurdly high in some cases, leaving many to see them as a waste of time and be unwilling to engage with them.

It should be noted that in some cases, Dynamax Pokémon can be defeated relatively easily. More specifically, the One Star Dynamax Pokémon which can be found at the game’s moving Power Spots are relatively weak, and provide a reasonable introduction to how Max Battles work. Three Star Pokémon, on the other hand, have proven to be vastly more difficult, something which Great-Version7769 exemplified with their experiences with Falinks. Due in part to Max Battles having no time limit, the player reportedly “spent 45 minutes not catching a Falinks” despite having prepared a strong team to face the Raid Boss with.

It is clear that the defensive abilities of Dynamax Raid Bosses can be far too high. Leveling up Max Moves to compensate will cost a player hundreds of Candies, an exorbitant price, and even then there is no guarantee of success. It is worth noting that the small roster of Dynamax Pokémon that have come to Pokémon GO also has an impact; a Beldum or its Evolutions can pose a greater threat to Falinks with their Type advantage, but only players with a strong Dynamax Charizard had a good chance to capture one while Beldums were available.

Niantic Needs To Come Up With A Solution

Players Are Threatening To Leave The Game

With frustration rapidly growing amongst the player base, it is clear that Niantic will need quickly to provide a fix for Max Battles. Of course, the most obvious route towards rebalancing Max battles is to decrease the defense and HP of the Three Star Raid Bosses, thereby making them easier to overcome. Similarly, as Falinks has shown, preparing for these raids requires an enormous investment of time and resources, which will not be reasonable requirements for many players. As such, lowering the cost to upgrade Max Moves would also undoubtedly be greatly appreciated by many.

Related Rarest Pokémon In Pokémon GO & How To Get Them There are hundreds of Pokémon to catch in Pokémon GO, but some of them are rarer than others, like regional exclusives or Armored Mewtwo.

Furthermore, although the gradual expansion of Dynamax Raids will naturally introduce more Dynamax Pokémon to Pokémon GO, Niantic should more carefully consider the effects of Type-matchups. Although plenty of Pokémon are difficult to catch in Pokémon GO, it can be hugely demoralizing to realize that not capturing and training one specific Type-effective Dynamax Pokémon can effectively lock one out of capturing another. Introducing more Three Star Dynamax Pokémon that are weak to their One Star counterparts would contribute to a much more manageable difficulty curve.

Currently, only ten basic Dynamax Pokémon (in addition to their evolved forms) have debuted in Pokémon GO: Wooloo, Skwovet, Beldum, Falinks, and the Kantonian and Galarian Starters.

It is clear that making some extensive changes to the way that Max Battles and Dynamax Pokemon are treated in Pokémon GO would be for the best, and would soothe the frustration currently felt by many in the community. If Niantic fails to act on these problems, it is easy to see the popularity of Dynamax Raids declining rapidly in the near future. However, rebalancing the feature to make future Dynamax Pokémon more accessible could easily reverse this trend, and make Dynamax Raids the exciting new addition to Pokémon GO that they are meant to be.

Source: Great-Version7769/Reddit