USER SUBMITTED GUIDE | written by the one and only ChaterangaThe “Gym Rework” confused, challenged, and overall changed players opinions on battling over gyms. In the aftermath of the rework many players have been so consumed with the changes that they have not focused on the addition of Gym Badges.
This page helps clarify the benefits of having a golden Gym Badge.Leveling up your local gym now creates a dedicated stop for bonus items, as well as increasing your chance for more rewards from Raids.
Trainers have reported receiving up to 30 items from a gym on their seven day streak because they obtained their Gold badge. While others are reporting that Raids conducted at gyms with Gold badges are giving more Rare Candies or TM’s.
This guide will attempt to break down the features and criteria for unlocking the Gold badge at your local gym, and discuss some of the in game resources to help you better understand the Gym Badges.
By the Numbers
The game master file provides information on how Badge XP (BXP) is earned, and was discussed previously on Go HUB.
However, recent Reddit posts have had conflicting results and opinions about what affects or helps more with regards to gaining BXP.
Multiple comments and posts refer to factors like Victories, Time Defending, or Berries fed, but most arguments come from the game files showing Raids as the best way to achieve experience.
Through my research the only sure way to guarantee you unlock your Gold badge is to defend a gym for 16 days. Whether it is a bug in the code, or Niantic isnt implementing the BXP correctly, in my focus group Victories and Raids had no effect in the overall increase in BXP. Feeding your defender, specifically the Pokemon you own in a gym, does add some experience, but feeding other players defenders does not add to their BXP.
Holding a gym for one day should net you 1440 BXP and a Raid should give you 1000XP, however in two controlled gyms (See picture below) the Raids had no change to the experience bar. The main factor that determined any real increase in unlocking the Gold badge was “Time Defended”.
Understanding the Time Defended
A common misunderstanding with regards to “Time Defended” is that the total time defended is not added from a defender until they are returned to you. Similar to players who think that a defender in a gym for 24 hours will net them 50 coins, the new gym system does not calculate rewards until your Pokemon is returned to you.
A majority of players are organizing, or cross team collaborating, to knock each other out of gyms each day for the coin rewards so it is important to understand that the time you lose outside of the gym is reducing your ability to unlock the Gold badge faster. If you have a gym close to your house or residence and can stay in it longer you will unlock the benefits from the badge more quickly.
This is especially important for Raids at your local gym. In some cases you may share a local gym with a rival team and in that case use the in game feature that shows how long you have been in a gym to coordinate better, like giving each other a day at a time in the gym.
The Value of Gold
New players may not remember, but a past event gave six or more items to players during a colder time of year, and a lot of players enjoyed the fact that they could play the game quickly without grinding Pokestops. The new gym badge feature allows you to build up the gyms close to you, ultimately providing the same affect all year.
During the days of Summer no one minds taking long walks and gathering resources but when the weather changes having a gym that gives you 6-7 items, or multiple gyms that give you many items, will be a benefit to the players who earn these badges.
Niantic has used Pokestops in the past five major events, it is most likely that with future events the “Gymstops” will also give rewards as well, having a Gold badge on a gym could greatly help during these events.
Hopefully this guide has helped demonstrate the importance and advantage of Gold Badges, while highlighting the most important factors to unlocking it. Go for the Gold!
