A few weeks ago, Pokémon GO developer Niantic announced that a lot of changes are coming to the worldwide hit game starting on the week of 1 December 2020. Now that the day has come, we’ve had the opportunity to play with some of the new features, and needless to say, they have been needed for quite some time. Let’s take a look at what the Go Beyond update for Pokémon GO has in store for its players.
For starters, the level cap is no longer 40. Niantic has been teasing a level cap raise for quite some time now, and whenever asked about it, they have been quite coy about how they answered the question. Effective today, the level cap has been raised to Level 50, but getting there won’t be easy. Previously, levels were determined solely on the number of experience points you had accumulated; now for levels 41 through 50, not only do you need a grotesque amount of experience points, you also need to complete tasks such as catching 200 Pokémon in one day. One. Day. Your personal character level isn’t the only change in terms of leveling, as Niantic is introducing a new type of Candy called Candy XL, which will let you increase a Pokémon’s CP further than originally possible.
They have also modified the way that experience is divvied out by giving you more experience for doing certain things. For example, prior to today, getting an ‘Excellent’ throw would have only netted you 200 experience points; after the Go Beyond update, the same action gets you 2,000 experience points. This is a huge difference when you’re aiming to get to level 40 and above.
Another major change that is happening in the Go Beyond update is the implementation of seasons. Every three months, the in-game season will change just like it does in the real world. The season-Pokémon Deerling will play a role in this aspect of the update, with a new form of the Pokémon being available each season. Here in Japan, we’re currently in winter, so we will get the winter form of Deerling.
The next major change isn’t so much a change as it is an addition: the Pokémon found in the Kalos region of the Pokémon universe will be available in the game starting tomorrow 2 December 2020. There were a couple of Pokémon from Gen 6 that dropped into the game today, such as the new one-star raid Pokémon Espurr, but Niantic said to expect the Gen 6 Pokémon (including the three starter Pokémon) to be available from tomorrow. To kick off the addition of the new Pokémon, Niantic is holding a special event in the game at 10 a.m. local time from 2 to 8 December 2020. Throughout the event, Gen 6 Pokemon will appear in the wild more frequently ensuring everyone gets a chance to catch them.
Pokémon GO is now going on its fourth year of service. Each year Niantic has been doing everything they can to make the game as good as possible. Sure there were some bumps and mistakes along the way, but if one thing is clear, they are trying to make the game something that is still accessible to everyone, regardless if they’re a veteran player of Pokémon GO or a newcomer that has been putting off the urge all these years.