Pokémon Go players have had their first taste of Gigantamax battles – the game’s toughest trial yet – and come away with a mixed initial response.
Gigantamax battles launched on Saturday with skyscraper-high versions of Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise to defeat and capture. The game makes clear you won’t be beating these critters on your own – 10 players is the recommended minimum, though Gigantamax battle lobbies cater for groups of up to 40, double that of regular raids.
Response to these battles has run the gamut online, with players in small communities once again raising complaints about a feature intended for large, co-ordinated groups. And even in said groups, the feature’s surprisingly complex set of mechanics – which involve proper MMO-style tanking and healing – seems not to have been well enough explained to an audience generally used to standing and tapping.
Still, Gigantamax battles are by no means impossible, as some early reports seemed to suggest. As the weekend continued, players began to group up and unpick some of the strategies behind the feature – and also use captured Gigantamax creatures from successful battles in their next fights.