Trainers, gym stagnation is a real problem, at least it has been for the past few months. Level 10 gyms are standing strong and there is not a lot of action going on.
Now is a perfect moment to snipe a few and gain some momentum for your team. You get some sweet coins also.
However, let’s see how we got here at the first place and what can be done to end it.
Not rewarding enough
Meet Joey, the average Pokemon GO trainer. Joey went Mystic, cause everyone in his group went Mystic. Joey doesn’t care about rankings and move sets he likes walking and catching.
There are a lot of players like Joey. The game does not incentivise players like him to go after gyms and Joey doesn’t care about coins he could get from gyms, it’s not enough.
Joey is the core of the problem, or better to say, the lack of gym appeal for Joey is the real cause of stagnation.
Luckily, engaging the casual player base is not a difficult problem to solve, with Halloween event being the prime example.
Here’s some moves that Niantic can do to fight the stagnation:
- Combat Weekends – awards double Experience and some Stardust for taking down gyms
- Glory of the Type – increased damage output for a particular Pokemon Type during event period
- Gang up! – groups of players get bonuses when taking down enemy gyms
Moreover, a schedule format could increase player engagement and create an interesting dynamic for gyms:
- Every second week is a Combat Weekend with Gang Up! active
- Every last week of the month Glory of the Type activates
Why would Niantic combat gym stagnation?
Money, that’s why. When you think about it, stagnant gyms earn more coins that contested ones. A lot more!
A contested gym often changes the controlling team, resulting in lower overall gym level. Lower gym level leads to overall lower coin rewards for Niantic.
That is pure money right there.
