As soon as Giratina was released, Niantic gave us new Box Sales, and to no surprise, they bumped up the number of Raid Passes… sort of. Let’s see what the boxes have in store for us.
| Special | Great | Ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premium Raid Pass | 3 | 7 | 12 |
| Super Incubator | 3 | 10 | |
| Incubator | 2 | ||
| Star Piece | 1 | ||
| Incense | 3 | 6 | |
| Lucky Egg | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Price | 480 | 780 | 1480 |
| Box value analysis | |||
| Coin Saved per Box (Incubator & Raid Pass) | 120 | 520 | 1720 |
| Coin Saved per Box | 245 | 895 | 2470 |
| Percent Discount (Incubator & Raid Pass) | 20.00% | 40.00% | 53.75% |
| Percent Discount | 33.79% | 53.43% | 62.53% |
Before the verdict, I would like to reiterate that I chose to not use the standard price of Lucky Egg, Incense, Lure Module, and Star Piece, since the comparison should be more on the price of buying in bulk. It would be misleading to compare it to the base price which is in principle designed to be more expensive than bulk to encourage consumers to spend more. That being said, I used the bulk price of these items when buying an 8-item bundle.
Quick links to related guides:
Our Verdict
As expected, these boxes are more aimed towards raiding Giratina, but it’s executed poorly. The boxes are not really that good, and in general, the overall savings are almost as bad as the Special Trade Boxes. Let’s dive in to each box to see what they have in store.
Special Box
The special box made its return to the dark side. It’s not really worth buying knowing you can save a lot from the Great Box alone. I won’t even recommend it for those starting out, or those who are short in coins, unlike past Special Boxes. The only positive for this box is that this is the only box with a Star Piece. If you really need a single Star Piece, I suggest just waiting for the next set of boxes.
Great Box
This box gives the best value out of your coins when you just want Raid Passes. If you really are planning on buying Raid Passes, for just an additional 80 coins, you get 3 Super Incubators as well. It’s not the ideal sale we wanted, but if you really want the best Raid Pass deal right now, the Great Box is the one to buy in bulk.
Ultra Box
This box has fallen to grace. It’s literally the Mewtwo Box Sale but with two less Raid Passes, which made it almost as worse as the Ultra Box during the Special Trade Event. Sadly, this box still makes the best savings among the three boxes. 10 Super Incubators alone will save you 520 coins, and that’s not including the 12 Premium Raid Passes. Buy this if you like both Incubators and Raid Passes, but if you only like one over the other, Great Box for Raid Passes, Ultra Box for Incubators.
Overall thoughts
I said in my last analysis that it’s almost due for Niantic to release a good box. Now, I’m not really that sure if Niantic will go back to those days where we get around 20 Raid Passes. To be fair though, Giratina is not that powerful than we anticipated (getting Shadow Sneak over the far superior Shadow Ball), and some people are still trying to hatch Riolu, including me.
If there’s another positive, stocking up on Incubators will help you prepare for the rest of Generation IV, since every baby Pokemon except Riolu are still unreleased. That’s 7 Baby Pokemon you need to hatch to complete the Sinnoh Dex, which will definitely take awhile. Plus, past data mines hinted fitness goals that are related to walking, which pairs well with hatching eggs, and might be one of the goals once it’s released. If it’s not one of the goals, it’s still great to hatch the most eggs while trying to accomplish those fitness goals.
What will I buy? Ultra Box since I still need to hatch Riolu. If you would buy a box, what would you buy?
