Anyone who started playing
Pokémon Go from the very beginning will surely remember the glorious summer of 2016 where you couldn’t g
o outside without seeing large groups of happy Pokémon Go players discovering the joy of interacting with, and catching, Pokémon in the real world.
However, venturing outside to play Pokémon Go isn't always possible, particularly right now as many players are having to self-isolate as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
So we've put together this guide on how you can continue to play Pokémon Go from your home.
How Covid-19 has affected Pokémon Go
(Image credit: Niantic/The Pokémon Company)
Coronavirus has swept through every country in the world leading to a global pandemic being declared. As a result several countries have declared a nationwide lockdown preventing people from going outside and therefore dramatically reducing the playability of Pokémon Go in a significant way.
It’s easy to scoff at the thought of Pokémon Go players being unable to visit Pokéstops or Gyms, but one of the prevailing positive things that emerged from the advent of the game was how it was changing people’s lives for the better - players were getting regular exercise, it was improving mental health and communities and friendships were developed. As a result the lockdown will have been a huge blow to the health and well-being of many Pokémon Go players.
Pokémon Go developers Niantic acted to put the safety of their players first and extended, delayed and then cancelled many of the events it had announced. In particular the game's Community Day, Raid Hour and Safari Zone events were stopped as they encouraged mass gatherings of players.
Beyond that though, Niantic has also done its best to make the most out of a bad situation by implementing a set of sweeping changes to the playability of Pokémon Go which are designed to enable players to still get their Pokémon Go fix from the comfort of their own homes.
What you can do on Pokémon Go from your own home?
(Image credit: Niantic)
Niantic has made many home-friendly changes so you can play Pokémon Go without venturing outside. In an
update released on March 12, Niantic made the following changes:
- Incense duration has been extended from half an hour to one hour
- The hatching distance for eggs has been halved
- Pokéstops now drop more gifts than usual
- Inventory limit of gifts has been increased from 10 to 20
- The number of Pokémon that spawn in the wild has been increased
- A bundle of 30 incense has been made available in the shop for the significantly reduced price of one Pokécoin.
In
a further update on March 23
, more in-game changes were made. A new one Pokécoin bundle is now available - this time for 100 Pokéballs. Both the Pokéball and Incense bundles are available until March 30 and then a new bundle will replace them on a weekly basis. In addition, the following changes were also made.
Safari Zone ticket holders are receiving in-game bonuses for playing at home, which include eight hour incense and a guarantee that all Safari Zone tasks will be able to be completed from home. The Genesect event has also been adapted so that anyone purchasing the event ticket could complete it from home.
Niantic has also announced a new featurec called '
Today View' which collects a whole bunch of useful information like streaks and current events in one place to allow players to keep tabs of their game better.
Tips and tricks for playing Pokémon Go at home
(Image credit: Niantic)
While the above changes from Niantic do certainly make Pokémon Go much easier to play at home, there are few other tips and tricks you can do to make playing Pokémon Go from your home a little easier.
If you are in a lockdown that allows for daily exercise, and there are gyms and Pokéstops within walking distance of your home, we’d recommend planning a walking or cycling route that incorporates them - but only if you are able to safely.
Pokémon Go also has many incredible online communities, including many local groups. It’s definitely worth checking them out. You can add them all as friends, battle them and send each other gifts to keep your stock of Pokéballs and eggs up during the lockdown. Plus when all this has blown over you have a new community of friends to meet!
And that’s it! Enjoy playing Pokémon Go from home and stay safe!
