Before Mega Rayquaza even returned to Pokemon Go on June 29, players had already been vocal in their criticism of Niantic’s decision to lock the Legendary behind Elite Raids.
Unlike normal variants of Raids, Elite variants are extremely time-limited – each only lasts 45 minutes – and only allow in-person participation. These two limitations prevented Trainers living in rural areas from getting to battle the Flying/Dragon-type.
Casual players who were otherwise willing or able to take the plunge, though, faced a raft of further issues. Sharing their frustrations on Reddit, one player lamented: “As a casual player, I’m very disappointed in how this event was organized.”
“Instead of the usual raid day format, there were four different time slots on a 45-minute timer, with no obvious way for a casual player to know which eggs in the vicinity were for which time slot,” the complaint continued.
Claiming that the average player doesn’t know the distinction between normal and Elite Raids was another pain point, as was the requirement to use Niantic’s dedicated party-finding Campfire app to source other players looking to beat Rayquaza.
“The average/casual Pokemon Go player doesn’t even know what an Elite gym is, so why not make it all gyms like we are used to? Nothing about Campfire changes the fact that the Rayquaza Raid experience was terrible and not friendly for the average casual user.”
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Responses came to the OP’s defense, as one reply stated that even experienced Trainers found the entire affair exasperating.
“As someone who organized a schedule for a group that got well over 100 RSVPs on Campfire, I can say these were a pain for plenty of dedicated players too. The additional complications to how these work require a lot more explanation to the group you’re organizing.”
Others were equally empathetic. “This event needed the Campfire app in advance, so your community could plan properly. The lack of proper communication and clarity from Niantic is just baffling,” another said.
This latest discourse is just the latest in a stack of complaints about Pokemon Go’s Mega Rayquaza event. Whether the dissatisfaction will result in Niantic rethinking how Elite Raids work remains to be seen.
