Pokemon GO, the genre-defining AR Pokemon game from Niantic, has been out for over three years now. It’s popularity has only increased during that time, thanks in part to a constant stream of updates, new Pokemon and special events. One of the most requested features by thePokemon GOcommunity has always been the ability to battle other trainers, which Niantic are finally beginning to introduce this month.
The GO Battle League is anew PvP systemthat will allow players to compete with others in competitive matches. The full league isn’t ready to roll out quite yet, but preseason matches have been enabled. These matches allow players to challenge each other, but jumping into a battle isn’t as simple as pushing a button.
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Warming Up
The GO Battle League will become available to Trainers in waves, based on their Trainer level. The highest level Trainers will get first access, though theroll-out is currently pausedto “ensure a smooth feature launch and prevent server issues. No matter when a player gets access to the Battle League, the method for actually getting into a battle will remain the same.
To qualify for an online battle, a player must have first walked 5 kilometers that day. This will unlock the ability to play five matches, and can be done up to three times, walking a total of 15 kilometers. That’sa lot of walking, but thankfully it is possible to use PokéCoins to skip the remainder after just 2 kilometers. The closer a Trainer is to completing the goal, the less coins it’ll cost.
Be The very best
Although the Battle League hasn’t yet launched fully, it will be arriving soon after its preseason period. The current plan is for theGO Battle Leagueto be divided into Seasons, each of which will consist of three leagues rotated every couple of weeks. As such, the current preseason schedule looks like this:
These testing leagues are designed to allow Niantic to observe how people are playing their game, which smashed itsearnings records in 2019. This means that they can make balance changes before the first real season rolls out. It’s best to think of the preseasons as beta or early access, as the developers figure out ideal settings for season length, rank thresholds and matchmaking.
Pokemon GOis available now on iOS and Android devices.
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