Pokemon Go Players Launch Petition Demanding Free Raid Passes

by Diane Samson / Aug 21, 2017 11:23 AM EDT

Despite the recently rolled out Gym update, Trainers can still receive 50 PokeCoins everyday in "Pokemon Go."

After a failed event in Chicago last month, Niantic is once again facing criticism regarding the new feature of "Pokemon Go," the Raid Battles. A new petition calling the video game developer to make significant tweaks to the augmented reality mobile game has recently surfaced online.

The issue, according to the petition, is the way Niantic is handing out passes that let gamers join Raid Battles. While a Raid pass can be acquired for free from near-by Gyms, gamers can also purchase the item from the in-game store.

The Raid Battles are quite special because it involves a stronger Pokemon taking over a Gym. Players have to team-up in order to take it down and, in the end, they are allowed to capture the Raid Boss and add it to their Pokemon teams. Over the past few weeks, Niantic has also gradually been releasing Legendary Pokemon in "Pokemon Go" through Raid Battles.

Needless to say, while the Raid Battles itself are free, purchasing Raid Passes can be quite expensive. That is why some "Pokemon Go" players, over 800 of them so far, want Niantic to be a little more lenient about handing out Raid Passes.

First, the petition demands that Raid Battles Level 1 through 3 should be free for all. The author of the petition explains that gamers do not want to use their Raid Passes on low-tier Raid Battles. Making them free would increase participation.

The petition also wants premium passes to have more than one use. A premium Raid Pass costs 100 in-game coins each so a dedicated gamer could spend more than $20 per week to participate in "Pokemon Go" Raid Battles.

It also would make sense if gamers can accumulate up to 100 Poke Coins per day from defending their respective Gyms. Currently, there are a 50 Coins per day cap across all Pokemon and Gyms.

In other news, Niantic has recovered from the disaster from their event in Chicago, Polygon reports that a "Pokemon Go" event in Japan last week was a massive success. More than two million players came out to join the Pikachu Outbreak where they also had a chance to battle and capture Mewtwo.