Niantic’s hit mobile game, Pokemon Go, originally debuted way back in July 2016. At the time, the mobile spinoff was regarded as one of the most revolutionary games. Even though the original craze has died down, the game is still going strong, boasting healthy user engagement rates and revenue.
The studio has been constantly adding new Pokemon and features to Pokemon Go, which has certainly contributed to the game’s success. However, some in the community are still puzzled as to how the studio still hasn’t revamped the game’s horrendous battle system.
Pokemon Go Players Are Annoyed With Current State of Battle System
One of the primary concerns about Pokemon Go since the very beginning has been its lackluster battling system. The changes Niantic has brought to the game over the years have ultimately proved to be ineffective in making the game’s combat system something players would actually enjoy taking part in.
As pointed out by a Reddit user, to this day, Pokemon Go battles just boil down to simply tapping the screen really fast until you knock out your opponent. Even the complexities, such as TMs and QTE-esque special moves, don’t really elevate the experience.
While many trainers believe the game’s current battling system has some kind of skill attached to it, it doesn’t change the fact it’s simply dull. The problem is that it’s just restricted to three Pokemon, and most of the moves and abilities are not present. The battle system lacks the depth that mainline games bring to the table.
It’s sad to see that Niantic still hasn’t worked on revamping such a core feature of Pokemon Go. We can only hope the studio listens to the player’s feedback and brings the much-needed rework in the upcoming updates. Otherwise, interest in the game will simply wane, and players will start to move on.
Pokemon Go Needs Turn-Based Combat
The solution to solving Pokemon Go battles is switching to the famous turn-based combat from mainline games, which, at the launch, every player expected the mobile spinoff to come with.
If you’re unfamiliar with mainline Pokemon games, a turn-based system works in a manner where all trainer battles happen sequentially, allowing each player to take turns to perform various actions. The order of actions comes down to a Pokémon’s stats.
It’s a brilliant battling system that allows for strategic planning. Many fans have questioned why the developers haven’t switched to a turn-based combat system in Pokemon Go. It’s possible that Game Freak wants to avoid too much overlap between mainline games and the mobile spinoff.
There’s always a potential risk of hurting the growth of mainline series games if turn-based combat proves to be effective for the mobile game. Towards the beginning of the title’s life cycle, the battle system received tons of feedback, and fans were optimistic that developers would eventually bring updates and address the issues.
The problem is that with the game’s current state, many feel it needs to be given quality updates to solve core issues, and minor updates make the game feel stale.
With that said, can the mobile spinoff’s battle system be reworked in any other way? Let us know in the comments.
