In light of the recently announced remote raid changes due to come into effect on April 6th, many popular Pokémon and Pokémon GO influencers have banded together to share a new #HearUsNiantic message. In August 2021 when Niantic initially announced rollbacks to pandemic bonuses including the decreasing of Pokéstop radius, the previous iteration of #HearUsNiantic was launched in protest.
The planned changes are as follows:
Remote Raid Participation limits
- Trainers will be able to participate in a maximum of five Remote Raids per day
- This maximum may change and increase for special events
Pricing adjustments
- The price of the Remote Raid Pass three-pack will increase to 525 PokéCoins
- The price of single Remote Raid Pass will increase to 195 PokéCoins
- A Premium Battle Pass three-pack will be added to the shop for the price of 250 PokéCoins
There had been an increase in usage of this hashtag once the remote raid change announcement was released, with many trainers feeling unheard. With notable trainers in the Pokémon GO community, including thetrainerclub, pokedaxi, and the pokéminers, as well as those who from the main Pokémon community that doesn’t focus specifically on GO, such as Joe from Serebii and Pokéjungle, sharing this message, we expect it will pick up traction on social media once again.
“Dear Niantic
We are writing to you on behalf of your customers (the Pokémon GO community). We want to start off by letting you know that we love Pokémon GO. Not just Pokémon GO, but the franchise in general. We are and always will be passionate, loyal and vocal about our thoughts and concerns. We want Pokémon GO to succeed, and we want to be able to play this game (the game we love) for years to come.
Unfortunately, we, as a whole, feel unheard. Time and time again, our questions go unanswered; Our concerns are not addressed; And most importantly our needs are not taken into proper consideration.
As of now we specifically referring to the April 6 remote raid pass update. We do not agree with your decision, and the majority of us want you to know that “Limiting remote raids to five passes per day” will harm:
- Rural trainers who lack adequate local community support
- Trainers with disabilities who physically cannot get outside to play
- Trainers who have severe social anxiety who struggle mentally to get outside to participate in in-person raids
- Trainers who work night shifts and cannot participate during the day
- Single parent trainers who are managing children, a household and a career with minimal time to spare
And most importantly of all, the remote raids changes will limit our global interaction with our trainers who we have developed tight bonds with over the last three years.
Every form of trainer has equal and every right to play and enjoy Pokémon GO.
At the end of the day, the world has evolved and changed since the pandemic. The landscape of working, playing and interacting has evolved and changed. Trainers now work at home. Through the new work/life dynamic, rich communities were built. These communities are just as viable and strong as in-person communities. These communities are unique, special and one of a kind. And we know from the bottom of our hearts that there is equal room to have both types of community flourish simultaneously.”
“If Niantic’s goal is to get trainers outside, reward players significantly for doing in-person raids.
Reward:
- Guaranteed XL Rare Candy
- Increased lucky friend odds during first time in-person raid interactions
- Offer premium items such as incubators, star pieces etc from in-person raids
Incentivise the in person raids, but do not takeaway and squander what we have built globally over 3 years+.
Without remote raids, the opportunity to attend live events to meet with our global Pokémon GO friends will not be as exciting or robust.
We, as a global community, did not want the remote raid issue to come to this point, but as already mentioned, we are not heard. We are sad, distraught and discouraged, because our interactions with our global friends will no longer be free to accommodate for every type of global Pokémon GO trainer.
Please, for the second time, #HearUsNiantic. Talk to your community. Talk to us. Let’s have a discussion.
The answer is beyond creating scarce limitation for remote raids but creating a rich incentivized environment to encourage local community congregation.
Sincerely,
The Pokémon GO Community.”
At the time of writing Niantic has shared no official response to the response to their announced plans for remote raids on social media, bar the Ed Wu developer interview with Eurogamer we reported on when the announcement went live.
With reports of death threats, and transphobic and homophobic remarks being made towards personal accounts of Niantic’s staff, we urge the community to be constructive in their criticism, and not to harass staff on their personal social media. Whatever your opinion, there is a constructive way to voice that on social media, and we have previously shared our advice for providing feedback in a respectful way.
We have shared our own feelings on the changes in two articles, Remote Raid Pass Nerf by JRE, and a group piece sharing opinions from several of our writers.
