The entirety of 2020 has been a wild ride thus far for Pokémon Go players, but it appears that Niantic is ready for some form of normality to return to the game. The developers will be removing multiple temporary changes made to adapt to COVID-19 from the game, Niantic announced today.
Effective Oct. 1, hatch distances will return to normal for all Eggs, increased Incenses effectiveness will only apply while walking, Buddy Pokémon Gift rates will return to normal, and Gifts will no longer be guaranteed at every PokéStop. This is a questionable decision considering a lot of players might still be stuck at home depending on where they live. But not all of the bonuses will be removed.
Players will still be able to hold 20 Gifts at a time in their Item Bag, your first Pokémon catch of the day will still give three times the Stardust and XP, and Incense duration will remain at 60 minutes despite the change in how it’ll work.
“Over the past few months, we’ve been making temporary changes to Pokémon Go to adapt to the changing global environment,” Niantic said. “Some of these changes will remain implemented for the foreseeable future, such as the ability to raid remotely, changes to the GO Battle League, and the increased distance at which you can spin Photo Discs at Gyms and PokéStops.”
There was no mention of whether damage for Remote Raids will remain the same or if it’ll finally be decreased to incentivize players to actually go and participate in raids at the physical location.
As a result of these changes, Niantic is adding more Incubators into the various in-game shop boxes. The “Special bonuses” section of the Today View menu will also let players know exactly what bonuses are being removed or added.
