 Going into Season 1, I was extremely optimistic that the lag and bugs encountered with the servers from pre-season would be a thing of the past. It turns out that is not the case. People are losing matches due to server lag in an already difficult ranking up system. People have been speaking out, but nothing has really been done. Can we all continue to lose matches and tons of MMR points due to server problems?
Common Lag That Causes A Loss There are certain times when the server lags that pretty much guarantees you a loss, when you would have won otherwise (assuming a good matchup of course). These are the following:
Sadly, even on powerful WiFi connection, I encounter one of these issues at LEAST once in a set of five battles. Recently however, it’s been more often occurrence. More on this later. Lag In Action Many PvP enthuisiats have been trying to lead the charge on suspending or making changes to servers for GBL. Among them is Taco. Even though he had plenty of energy to smash Umbreon with a super effective move, it simply would not go off. Why? His connection was not registering with the server, but the opponent’s was. Then there’s my recent bout with insane lag. I was on LTE connection, had fine download speeds, but my upload was rather low. Perhaps that causes the lag? Regardless, I was taking damage when the counter was counting down to battle (not shown in video because I was so shocked and started recording afterwards)! Potential Fixes How can this all be fixed? I have a couple ideas. For one, before you go into a battle, perhaps the game can check in the background and see if your internet connection is strong enough to battle. This could cut down on any lag the user may face on their end. If it’s not, then the game could tell you. No use going into a battle you are going to lose right? Also, from my experiences, I encounter the most lag when I’m battling people from other countries/across the world. Dedicated servers for specific parts of the world may potentially fix this. Lastly, beef up the servers more if nothing else? This is all more easily said than done. Hence, these or only some of my ideas. Conclusion The server issues are plaguing the GBL scene right now. It’s very discouraging to lose to an issue beyond your control. Plus it doesn’t help that you drop more MMR points from going 2W-3L than you do gaining by going 3W-2L. That, however, is a topic for another article coming soon (see my video here discussing how the ranking system needs changed). I’m curious to know if you guys have any suggestions for the fix. Would you like GBL to be down until it is solved? Comment on our Twitter post or below!
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 Pokémon GO Tricky Pokémon event is here! Also known as the April Fools event, this special in-game trick festival lasts from April 1st through April 7th and brings Stunfisk into the world of Pokémon GO. Shiny Croagunk is making an appearance and there’s a plethora of tricky Pokémon to catch. Note: this event is not an April Fools joke, it’s an actual event. Event summary The event lasts from Wednesday, April 1, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. to Tuesday, April 7, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time. Important features:
New Pokémon: Stunfisk Stunfisk is making it’s Pokémon GO debut during the Tricky Pokémon event! Stunfisk will be available as Field Research task reward encounter during the event, and extremely rarely in the wild. Stunfisk is an ELECTRIC and GROUND type that maxes out at 2162 CP, making it ideal for Great League fights. Stunfisk’s move pool is also stunningly good, with Mud Shot as fast move and Mud Bomb and Discharge as charge moves leading the way. Stunfisk is a natural counter to Registeel, Azumarill, Skarmory, Alolan Marowak and even Haunter! Ahoy, another meta shakeup is coming! The best Stunfisk you can get is a 0/13/14 Stunfisk at level 27, which has 1499 CP. After the event ends, Stunfisk will no longer hatch from 5km Eggs. You’ll be able to encounter Stunfisk as Field Research task reward encounters or, if you’re very lucky, in the wild. New shiny Pokémon: Croagunk and Toxicroak Shiny Croagunk and Toxicroak are making their Pokémon GO debut as well during this event! We’re not sure how you feel about Toxicroak’s color scheme, but we absolutely adore it. Bring on the teal pink destroyer! Event-exclusive Field Research We will include the list of specific Field Research tasks here as soon as its known. Increased Ditto activity Ditto will be appearing more frequently in the wild during the event, so be sure to catch Pokémon that Ditto are known to transform into! We also have reports of Ditto transforming into more Pokémon species than before, and it seems this phenomenon will persist after the event ends. New photobombs  Event priorities and guide
If you can do one thing and one thing only during this event, catch and max out a Stunfisk for the Great League. Stunfisk will be an absolute beast in PvP and you don’t want to miss out on this opportunity. Judging by early reports from New Zealand, you will have to work for it, but try your best to get one. Aside from Stunfisk, this is an excellent opportunity to farm up on Croagunk candy and get a strong Toxicroak for Great League as well. Gastly and Haunter spawns are also increased during the event, which is a handy for getting a good Haunter for GL matchups. As you can see, the majority of Pokémon we’re mentioning here are PvP focused – this is something we all need to get used to, at least until the COVID-19 health situation settles down. For shiny hunters, the 5km egg pool and increased spawns should offer enough excitement throughout this week long event.  Niantic isn't done making it easier to play its location-based games while you're staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The developer has outlined some of its future plans for titles like Pokémon Go, Ingress and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, and it's quite clear that you won't have to step outside to make progress during the outbreak. Adventure Sync will better support indoor activities (say, running on a treadmill). Pokémon Go Raid Battles will be playable at home. Social features will help you keep in touch with players you can't see in person, and there are even plans to help you "virtually visit" real-world locations.
The Niantic team is also rethinking how it handles live events like Pokémon Go Fest, although it doesn't have more info to share at this stage. As with earlier tweaks, Niantic doesn't have much choice. It's hard to play a location-based game when you're discouraged or even banned from leaving your home. This just shows how much the company has to change if it's going to keep its player base active until it's safe to socialize once more.  Pokemon Go developer Niantic has had to cancel a number of this month's events due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but the Psychic Spectacular is going on as planned. The event is now underway, and it makes it easier to find Psychic Pokemon--and a new Shiny--for a limited time.
Until 10 PM local time on March 30, Psychic-type monsters such as Wobbuffet, Girafarig, Bronzor, and others will appear more frequently in the wild. You'll also have your first chance to find a Shiny Baltoy, as well as two new Gen 5 Psychic Pokemon: Solosis and Gothita. The former will be more common during the day, while the latter will appear at night. In addition to the increased wild spawn rates, you'll be able to get special event-related Field Research tasks from PokeStops. You're also more likely to hatch the following Psychic Pokemon from 2 km eggs throughout the event:
In other Pokemon Go news, Niantic is soon rolling out a handy new feature for the game called Today View. This tab will be located in the same menu as your Field Research and Special Research tasks, and it will display ongoing and upcoming in-game events and personal stats such as your daily streaks, making it easier to keep track of everything that's happening in the game. Landorus, the third and final member of the Forces of Nature trio, is also coming to the game soon. The Legendary Pokemon is slated to invade Raids beginning March 31, although it remains to be seen if the COVID-19 pandemic will affect Niantic's plans. Another Legendary, Lugia, was supposed to return to the game for a special Raid event earlier this month, but Niantic had to cancel that. Instead, Cobalion will remain in the game a little longer as a Go Battle League reward.  Pokemon Go developer Niantic has been making numerous adjustments to the popular AR game as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In addition to canceling a handful of events that were planned to take place this month (including this week's Lugia Raid event), the studio has implemented a variety of tweaks to make it easier to play the game from home, including a handy new feature that will help you keep track of what's happening in the title.
Niantic is introducing a Today View tab in Pokemon Go. This tab will be located in the same menu as your Field Research and Special Research tasks, and it will make it easier to keep track of what's currently going on in the game. Among other things, Today View will display ongoing and upcoming in-game events, as well as personal stats, such as your daily streaks and what Pokemon you currently have defending Gyms. Niantic hasn't announced when the Today View tab will go live in Pokemon Go, but it teases that it will be rolled out "soon." In the meantime, you can read more details about the upcoming feature on the official Pokemon Go website. In another attempt to make Pokemon Go easier to play from home, the game is now offering extra bonuses indefinitely. For the time being, you'll earn triple the normal amount of Stardust and XP for the first Pokemon you catch each day. The gift limit has also been increased; you can now open up to 30 gifts each day and carry up to 20 of them in your inventory. Finally, Niantic is offering a new, 1 PokeCoin bundle in Pokemon Go's in-game store every day. As previously mentioned, Lugia was scheduled to return to Raid Battles this week, but Niantic canceled that event. Instead, players will continue to be able to catch Cobalion as a Go Battle League reward until March 31. The Legendary Pokemon Landorus is slated to make its debut in Pokemon Go that same day, but it's currently unclear if the ongoing coronavirus situation will affect those plans as well.  The coronavirus pandemic is most lethal to the elderly and the virus' spread throughout Spain is the second most deadly in the world. So it's not surprising that police in Madrid, enforcing the city's lockdown measures, arrested a 77-year-old on Sunday for being out and about in the city, reports TeleMadrid. The septuagenarian's reason leaving his home? Having to catch 'em all, obviously.
Madrid police on tweeted a photo on Monday of the 77-year-old's ticket. The man was arrested at 1:30 p.m. for "hunting Pokemon," presumably in Pokemon Go, a mobile game that requires you to walk out in the real world to catch virtual Pokemon. Hunting for Pokemon in the streets, the tweet noted, was strictly prohibited. On Wednesday Spain's death toll, after reporting 738 new fatalities from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, exceeded China's to become the second highest in the world. The country, with a population of 46 million, has suffered 3,434 deaths, more than the 3,285 deaths China has reported. Italy's death toll stands at 6,820. Spanish officials announced a national lockdown of two weeks on March 14. Residents can leave the house to go to work, medical centers, banks, supermarkets and pharmacies. On Sunday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he wants the lockdown to extend to April 11, pending parliamentary approval. Spain's enthusiastic Pokemon hunter isn't the only one to break lockdown for new digital critters. A 31-year-old in Italy was fined by police last week for playing Pokemon Go in public with his daughter, reports Italy's Leggo. "I have to hunt Pokemon," the man reportedly told police. Niantic, the developer behind Pokemon Go, has encouraged players to stay at home. It's tweaked the game so that Pokemon spawn more frequently, so players don't need to go outside to find them. Incense, an in-game purchase which increases Pokemon spawn rates, has been discounted 99% and now lasts twice as long. Raid events, which see hundreds of players coordinate to defeat and catch powerful Pokemon, have been canceled.  Mobile app "Pokémon Go" has been reinventing itself to cope with Covid-19 conditions.
At launch in 2016, "Pokémon Go" had to prevent players from spoofing their location by artificial means -- playing from home while whizzing from place to place in the game. Now, game studio Niantic is re-orienting the popular mobile app to help players stay where they are and stay involved in the game, per a March 23 announcement. A triple bonus for a first Pokémon catch (which can take place in the home), an increase on daily gifting allowance to 30, and a rotating selection of inexpensive 1 PokéCoin bundles encourage and reward players for treating "Pokémon Go" as a standard mobile game. In addition, Niantic is cancelling a group activity, the Lugia Raid, that would have run March 24 to 31. Perhaps controversially, given the seriousness of the Covid-19 pandemic, the event had previously been extended rather than outright cancelled. The changes reduce the "Pokémon Go" fanbase's impetus to travel beyond their immediate surroundings at a time when governments around the world instruct citizens to remain at home, drastically minimizing opportunities for Covid-19 infection. Niantic had already halved the distance players needed to walk in order to hatch a virtual egg, made PokéStops drop Gifts more frequently, further reducing players' daily coverage, and increased the quantity of Pokémon appearing in the wild in a March 12 modification. Players can also continue to make a one-off purchase of 30 Incense, a virtual item that attracts Pokémon to a single player, in exchange for a single PokéCoin (25 Incense usually cost 1,250 PokéCoins). "Pokémon Go" was not only at the forefront of Augmented Reality and geo-location mobile games, but carved out an incredibly lucrative niche for itself, accruing an estimated $894 million USD in 2019 via optional player spending, per Sensor Tower's industry analysis.  In order to help players stay at home, Niantic is making a set of changes that help a growing number of Pokémon GO players who are stuck indoors. The new changes are as follows.
Increased Daily Bonuses, changes to Gifts, and rotating 1 PokéCoin bundles
Right now, a new 1 PokéCoin bundle is available for you that contains the following:
Changes to GO Battle League
Lugia Raid Week has been canceled In other news, the following events have been canceled, postponed, or changed.
A new potential date could be announced on Pokémon GO’s official social media if the global health situation improves, so stay tuned. Cobalion raids extended until March 31, 2020 Cobalion will be with us throughout the entire month of March. Date + Time
Features
 When it comes to augmented reality mobile games, Pokemon Go is undoubtedly one of the best that is available on the market. The game was launched in 2016 and since then the game is running strong & has a very large community worldwide.
Pokemon Go game encourages players to go outside and perform in-game tasks and events. But due to Coronavirus outbreak, people are bound to sit in their homes. Many countries have opted for a lockdown of cities where the virus is spreading fast. Coronavirus pandemic has also affected Pokemon Go. Niantic has canceled March Community Day & Safari event in the wake of COVID-19. On March 12, Niantic also made some changes to Pokemon Go which will stay active until further notice. A one-time purchase bundle of 30 Incense is currently available for 1 PokéCoin. Also, Incense will also last for one hour. Egg hatch distances have been halved if they are placed into Incubators. Gifts are now dropping more often from Pokestops. Pokemon habitats have been increased and more Pokémon are currently appearing in the wild. Well, there is good news for Pokemon Go players as John Hanke, CEO of Niantic has confirmed that some more adjustments are coming to the game. This info was revealed, when a Pokemon Go player & Twitter user, DrachenspalterD asked John, How about if every player got an emergency stop until the crisis was over? John replied by saying “Working on more adjustments”. Have a look at the conversation down below. Well, many games are offering free skins, locked characters & various bonuses in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, to encourage players to stay home. So we can expect something similar from Niantic. We might see some daily login bonus granting balls & berries to players. We are keeping a close tab on all the developments & will update you with more information, whenever it arrives.  A Drive to Investigate (Genesect Special Research) is a ticketed story event that takes place from March 20 to March 26 2020. The ticket costs US$7.99 (or the equivalent in your local currency), not including any taxes or fees, and can be purchased in the shop.
The Special Research story event “A Drive to Investigate” has been designed to be playable without group gameplay. This page contains all information needed to complete the story event. Special Research tasks Step 1/5
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Ticket rewards A ticket to this Special Research story event grants you access to a unique experience! This event comes with the opportunity to access or earn the following.
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