Everywhere you look online, you’d be hard-pressed not to find an article, meme, or news story about Pokemon Go. Undoubtedly, it is clear to see why people of all ages have been completely enamored by Niantec’s hit. As a player of Niantec’s last GPS-based augmented reality game — Ingress — I thought it could be a good idea to make my own list, but with a twist.
1) “GO Out!”
You remember outside, don’t you? The sun. The cool breeze. It’s beautiful, and there might be Pokemon. Yes, rumor has it that leaving your house — even if just for a walk — could lead you into catching all sorts of different Pokemon. To replenish resources and gain the most experience, the game is built so that you have to travel to PokeStops and gyms. Even if your inventory is full, you still gain XP for visiting spots — as they are accessible again, after a short cooldown period.
It could very well be possible to catch Pokemon staying at home, but you might find your 100th Ratatat a bit lackluster. If you don’t move around, you won’t find different Pokemon. Oh! And you also might consider calling someone from pest-control. 100 Ratatats in your basement, bud? Really? Come on.
2) “GO Everywhere!”
Ingress has exotic matter. Pokemon GO has,well, Pokemon. The thing that is the same is that you can find both everywhere. However, Pokemon GO gives you incentive to “change it up”. Different zones will contain different Pokemon. If you travel by a river, you might find a Staryu! Different landmarks might also hold rarer Pokemon. Unless you get around, you won’t see any of them. You might consider collecting your friends and going for a road-trip. If you live relatively close to a city with larger landmarks or a lake, you could catch some really unique Pokemon. You could also help your faction in more places than just your home-town, by strengthening a gym or claiming one yourself.
Of course, the cheapest way to get around is still your own two feet. You can walk, bike, skateboard, anything. Just get out and visit as many different areas as possible.
3) “GO Together!”
I might also add that it’s best to go as a group. In light of recent news, it’s always safest to go on long quests with your friends. There is always more safety in numbers. While this is true, there are also reasons why it is better for you in-game.
Gyms are tough. Not just enemy gyms, but friendly ones as well. You can help make your gym stronger by raising its prestige. However, one person trying to raise a friendly gym’s toughness could take a while. Go out with friends and — together — you could raise a gym’s prestige and level a lot faster. This is the same for battling enemy gyms. One person trying to chip away at a strong gym could take a bit, even with strong Pokemon. A bunch of friends attacking the same gym would deplete its prestige a lot faster, allowing you to claim it for yourselves.
Lastly, lures. If you have any, what point is there to using it in an area just for yourself? With more people, the group can help each other person catch more Pokemon. Teamwork is key guys. Share the wealth.
4) “GO Battle!”
One of the quickest ways to get XP is to battle everything. As mentioned already, don’t just battle enemy gyms. Also battle to help bolster your own. A stronger gym helps secure resources for you or your team.
Also, a good strategy is to claim gyms in areas where the distance to get to them might seem daunting to other players. Believe it or not, some people might not want to be as active as you. I mean: Yes, I know it’s in tip #1. Still, if John’s Pokemon isn’t crowned supreme ruler of the Empire State Building, then he won’t care about claiming your named bench in some secluded park.
Take many secluded gyms and put in higher CP Pokemon. For gyms and stops that are closer together– like a downtown core — try to remember that they will be often taken and retaken. Keep lower CP Pokemon there, so you can use your strongest to retake all the gyms in that small radius. This way, you can essentially “farm” xp, while getting all of the resources from the many other gyms that nobody cares to travel out to.
5) “GO Catch ’em All!”
Catch every Pokemon you can. New Pokemon give the most xp, but duplicates give you a specific Pokemon’s candy. These are useful for powering a Pokemon and evolving a Pokemon. Catch everything, because “transferring” them to Prof. Willow will give you another candy as well. What’s more important: even Charmeleon needs Charmander candy to evolve to Charizard. Don’t scoff at a basic Pokemon, just because you are looking to get it’s strongest form. It could be that you never find the evolved forms of specific Pokemon. So, start collecting.
If you were interested in these Top 5 Tips for Pokemon GO, you might be interested to see how it could also be a game-changer for future Pokemon games. For some insight on what that could mean, read How Pokemon GO Could Impact Future Pokemon Titles.
