Pokemon Go keeps changing as players are encouraged to stay home
Amidst several new updates, the Lugia Raid Week and Raid Hour have been canceled
Niantic is continuing to update Pokemon Go as health and government officials encourage, and in some states order, people to stay inside amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
In several new blog posts, Niantic detailed a number of updates affecting the way Pokemon Go is played. First and foremost, Lugia Raid Week and Raid Hour have been canceled indefinitely. No replacement dates have been provided.
Pokemon Go is getting continual updates to "make gameplay more accessible and enjoyable at this time." Niantic says the following changes will stay in place "until further notice."
Your first Pokemon catch of the day now earns you 3-times more Stardust and XP than usual. You can now open up to 30 Gifts per day and carry up to 20 Gifts in your inventory at any one time. Likewise, Gifts are more likely to contain Pokeballs now.
Then there are the 1-Pokecoin bundles, which rotate weekly and are available in the shop as one-time purchases. The contents of the bundles change every week, but right now you can get one that has 100 Pokeballs. You have until Monday, March 30 to grab that bundle, at which point a different bundle will take its place.
Finally, the Pokemon Go interface has been updated with a new tab called Today View. The handy new tool allows you to quickly keep tabs on ongoing events, your Pokemon's stats in gyms, your daily PokeStop Spin and Daily Pokemon Catch Streaks, and upcoming events.
Niantic is far from the only company taking action against the potential impact of the coronavirus, which is continuing to spread globally at an alarming rate. For instance, here's every movie releasing early due to the threat of coronavirus keeping everyone inside.
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After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.