Pokemon Go confirms Max Battle nerfs for Gigantamax Gengar, but fans are still not happy

Joe Pring

❘ Published: 29-10-2024T11:09:29

Niantic confirmed that the difficulty of Gigantamax raids in Pokemon Go will be softened with the arrival of Gigantamax Gengar on October 31st.

In an October 29 X/Twitter post, the developer outlined the upcoming changes and stated that it had “heard” player feedback. One of the adjustments coming with G-Max Gengar’s debut is an overall reduction in difficulty compared to Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise’s Max Battles.

To make the experience even more rewarding, defeating Gengar will reward the victorious Trainers 25k Stardust each, with capture rates also boosted.

Niantic did not specify whether these nerfs would apply to future Gigantamax Pokemon or whether it plans to continue assessing balance for whatever mons are added to Max Battles following Gengar’s debut with Part 2 of Pokemon Go’s Halloween event.

・Gigantamax Gengar Max Battles will still be challenging, but we will lower the difficulty slightly compared to Gigantamax Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise Max Battles.
・If you defeat Gigantamax Gengar, participating trainers will award 25k Stardust each.
・Gigantamax…

— Niantic Support (@NianticHelp) October 29, 2024

Reactions from some community members to the incoming adjustments proved positive, praising Niantic for listening to feedback.

“Thanks, Niantic. This will make G-Max battles more accessible to more Trainers,” said one user wrote.

However, others felt that Niantic had failed to address Max Battles’ core problem. Namely that it takes too many Trainers to complete a Gigantamax encounter.

“The problem is not that they are challenging,” Joe Merrick of Serebii statedand adds: “The challenge of needing more than twenty locals all prepared with top-level counters is not a challenge, but a huge barrier to entry that displaces 98% of the player base.”

“If you can’t beat it with four or five players, I’m not interested. Big Raid groups don’t exist anymore since you let people raid remotely.” came another.

Whether continued criticism of the way Max Battles is structured will lead to further revamps of Pokemon Go’s Gen 8-inspired mechanic remains to be seen.

In the meantime, you can lean on it our explainer to help with your Max Battle adventures and keep an eye on all upcoming matches with our Raid schedule.