I seem to be in the minority who enjoyed playing 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokemon Go Tour: Hoenn last weekend. I spent the Saturday with my family, missing out on the (anecdotally, at least) increased shiny rates, only logging into the game once or twice over the day to see what was about. It was a very casual experience, but the event was free, so I didn’t feel like I was missing out or wasting money. This also allowed me to plan my attack on Sunday. I figured out which hours had the shinies I most coveted, and coordinated with my brother so we could play together – a rarity these days as he has moved cities. We headed to the biggest park in Liverpool in the morning, and it was a complete bust. Three hours, one shiny between us. As nice as it was to hang out, that’s not what you want from such a prestigious event. It was also really bloody cold, so we headed into the city centre for some lunch, a pint, and some raids.It was here that I found something I haven’t seen in years. After joining a Primal Kyogre raid, we noticed a group of eight heading towards the nearest Primal Groudon, all staring at their phones. I haven’t seen a raiding group for years, and we just stumbled upon a great group of people who we could relate to over common goals. Maybe that’s because I moved from a city centre flat to a terrace in the suburbs mid-pandemic, but in-person raiding feels like it’s died a death. A combination of lockdowns and remote integration have killed the social side of this hobby, and it was lovely to make a bunch of new friends on a random Sunday in February. 
We raided together for a couple of hours, a group of Scousers and Spaniards and more – one guy had such an excellent Scandi-Scouse accent that I couldn’t stop marveling at his intonations and intricacies as he told me about his latest ranked battles – and I had a ball. Some wanted Kyogre, some wanted Groudon. Some wanted shinies, some wanted hundos. Some just wanted the Candy and XP. But we all came together in a huddle after every Raid to check if anyone got the purple whale or green… whatever Groudon is. I was the lucky one. After getting my first shiny Groudon in the morning, I hit the jackpot towards the end of the day. Not 30 seconds after we were all lamenting our lack of shundos (that’s a Shiny Pokemon with 100 percent IVs, an incredibly rare combination with just a 1/4104 chance, or about 0.024 percent), my Kyogre glowed with that welcoming purple. I’ve already got a shiny Kyogre, but I was happy to add aꦆnother to my collection. In a group of new friends, congratulations were shared about, all pretty standard fare until I asked what the CP for a 100 percent IV was. “2351,” came the answer from a grizzled veteran of the group, a man with a thousand Golden Razz Berries but no Revives, and I couldn’t believe it. I’m not even sure what noise escaped my mouth, but everyone immediately understood. Celebrations were less muted this time, and it was a wonderful moment to share.
I might be a little biased by the results of my day, or that I spent some quality time with my brother, which is an increasing rarity as we both lead progressively busier lives, but I enjoyed Go Tour Hoenn. Sure, I only caught four shinies over the weekend, and only one in the wild, but 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:shinies are supposed to be rare. How many Pokemon Go players have got used to catch🌞ing double-figures of useless shinies, pink Slakoth or slightly-different-green Treecko, that they’ve꧑ forgotten how arduous shiny hunts are in the main series games or, worse, in the games of our childhood?
The problem lies in the fact that the best communal aspect of Pokemon Go – Raiding – is quite a costly affair. While I didn’t buy passes specifically for this event, the 20 or so Raids I did this weekend cost me about 20 quid. Even if you had a large group of friends for the Go Tour, I struggle to see exactly how much fun you would have had without Raiding. If you want lots of spawns, you need to buy Incense and/or Lures, too. These usually have boosted effectiveness and last for three times as long during events, but those bonuses were not active this weekend. The same goes for Eggs, which hatched excl♕usive regional Pokemon that could be shiny. Incubators cost yet more cash, and hatch distance wasn’t improved to make the prospect of handing over my salar🔥y to Niantic more enticing.
Go Battle League is in such a bad way at the moment that I struggle to call Pokemon Go pay-to-win. It’s not really winning if it’s PvE, after all. Players who transfer portions of their paychecks directly to Niantic will likely have more Stardust and Candy to level up their Pokemon, but if they’re not battling other players, it’s not pay-to-win. But, during events like Go Tour: Hoenn, Pokemon Go is definitely pay-to-fun. Whether you’re spending on Incense, Incubators, or Raid Passes, every element of the game requires your hard-earned cash in order to make the most of it. This is mitigated by bonuses during events like Community Days, but Go Tour: Hoenn would have been practicall♌y unplayable without premium items.
Personally, I would have preferred a paid, ticketed event, with half hatch distance, extended Incense times, and slightly boosted shiny rates. But then you’re asking players to shell out for a ticket instea𒁏d of items – it’s still pay-to-fun. However, 🌳in this instance, players could choose to play the event or not. There’s a bigger slice of FOMO that comes with an event occurring around you that you don’t have the items to make the most of. When the rewards are meagre, even when spending money, it feels unfair.
I’ll enjoy playing subsequent events with my newfound raid group, or hitting the park with my brother on a good Community Day (Goomy when?), but there’s no question I’ll have to ꧂spend money to do so. If the🌱re’s one message that Go Tour: Hoenn sent out more than any other, it’s this: free-to-play trainers need not apply.