Going Into Hibernation
tl;dr Bye for now and thanks!
Today I asked myself the question: Should I drive 20 minutes to sit all day at a crowded mall (which is the only place that I've ever seen more than two others raiding) and hope for a legendary raid to appear?
As things currently stand, that's my only path to getting any legendary - and given my schedule, today was the only opportunity before July 31.
The decision not to go today was the first domino, and ultimately the last domino was putting my trainer into hibernation.
Since picking up the game, my primary goal has always been to get at least one of 81 specific Pokemon from Gens 1 & 2. My secondary goals have been to do everything I could to prepare for getting those 81, and to get better and better versions of those 81. Legendaries happen to be in that set of 81.
I took it all in stride when CP was recalculated, moves were rebalanced, and the gym system changed. Even though I had to adjust my play, I didn't pick up the game because of any of those things being exactly how they were, so each change wasn't a huge deal to me. I'm not even bothered by low-level trainers having easy access to rare mons or Chicago trainers having hundreds of legendaries already; those things don't affect my personal enjoyment of the game at all.
However, as long as it's the case that my primary goal with the game might forever be unattainable - not just unlikely but potentially /impossible/ - it only seems sensible to set the game aside.
I'll keep checking GP for updates, at least for the next few months... and I'm optimistic that things will eventually change so that legendaries will become available for people like me who like to "Get up and go" but aren't willing to "Drive to a mall and sit around all day waiting."
Finally, I want to give a big thank you to everyone here who has put in the effort to share their knowledge and experiences in the Q&A, and to GP for providing so much information over the past year. Honestly: without it, the game would not have been nearly as much fun.
Answers
I wish the problem was finding raids. I live in one of the largest US cities, I can see 8 gyms from where I live, and I've seen dozens of Articuno and Lugia raids so far. At one point two days ago, 6 out of the 8 had one going on.
The problem is that people aren't showing up. The most I've ever seen at a raid is 3, except at the mall I mentioned. And the most I've seen there is 7, which might not even be enough (depending on how capable the other trainers are).
Thanks! To be perfectly honest though, I can hardly blame them... even if they were trying to be rude. Over the past year there have been plenty of posts from people frustrated with some aspects of the game and such posts can get wearisome for people who don't want to hear it.
I still wanted to say what I did, however. Hopefully my tl;dr helped some of the wiser weary folk save time by not reading the details.
Believe me or not , eventhough,I live in London Zone 1 ,Nobody at legendary raid. I gave up but try to do this
1. Use the website to see when and where level 5 raid boss then you just go there don't need to wait ( there will be some people there)
2.If people there , make a group WhatsApp,Line or Facebook for future social activities
3.the game change a lot now so hope you find something more fun if not just take a break I'm sure Niantic will add more features in the future and of course you always welcome to be back :)
I'm with you there, I hate social media (especially FB) and spend enough time playing this game that I don't need to add other apps to it.
Niantic should simply give enough in game advance notice that people so inclined can get together for a tier 4 or 5 raid. Why don't they? There would be no need for 3rd party apps etc. and everyone would have a chance.
Like you, I've had to resign myself that I won't get a legendary (at least not the way things are now) but I will keep playing for other reasons, especially the exercise incentive.
Best of luck to you, and I hope your hibernation is temporary!
Thanks! And I hope so too! I'm glad that your goals weren't too wrapped up in having a shot at legendaries (like mine were) and that you still have those reasons to play.
It's only been a day for me and I miss it already. That feeling will fade with time though. I'm sure. My dog will certainly miss getting the occasional sudden bonus walk. On the bright side, we'll probably get to change up our walking routes more often - instead of always going where the Pokestops are.
Dissapointing to hear this given that the last few days i have passed a fair few mystic gyms on my travels in work, however i have not been able to attempt one.
Hopefully soon i will be able to have the time to attempt one of these raids and hopefully there will be a few other players around to assist.
Actually, the one change that will help you is, ironically, making legendary raids less common. If it's a rare thing to get a shot at Articuno, then when it happens, more people will act on it, more trainers will show up to raid, and bigger raid groups will happen. Sure, some will drop out, but those that stay will have a higher density for the big raids, especially if Niantic comes up with an announcement system, like in the video, and gets the advance notice time and raiding window right.
So don't give up hope just yet, see what happens.
Indeed! And, like I said: I am optimistic (and just putting my trainer into hibernation). It would be great if they had one legendary raid per week per 10 square kilometers... or something like that... and gave the 48 hr (or even a 24 hr) notice to everyone nearby.
As it stands, Level 4 & 5 raids near me are nothing but temporary blocks on battling or feeding mons in gyms.
Hey trainer, I never reply or post here, but I had to respond to this post. I am a rural player. My hometown has 2 gyms and 1 stop that are a 5 minute walk from my house. The only raids I get to do are raids that I can solo, so tm's and rare candies are something I almost never see.
The other day I left work and drove past a stop that had an Articuno raid going on. I had resigned myself to the fact that I would never get any legendaries because of where I live and play, but to my surprise, there were about 15 people standing around waiting to start the raid. I joined them and caught it ( I also got 2 tm's, my first).
Don't give up. You have played this long for a reason. It's fun. I bet u have an amazing story about a meeting, or a catch, or a hatch, or anything. A reason you held on for this long.
Just my 2 cents.
Hey, I really appreciate that you dusted off your reply button for my post :) and I'm glad that you got an Articuno (and saw that there are at least 15 people who might show up for future raids).
Living in a big city, I haven't had to face the problems faced by rural players, but for now it seems that I'll face new kinds of problems because of where I live and play. In total I've done two Lvl4 raids, one Lvl3, and a dozen Lvl1-2. I haven't seen a TM, but I've had crazy RNG luck on evolutions and only really want a single fast TM to give my top Golem RT.
However, since there aren't enough players in my area to defeat a legendary raid, even the chance to improve that Golem doesn't mean that much to me anymore.
And ultimately, that's the problem. Without a reasonable chance of completing my primary in-game goal, the secondary goals either disappear or lose much of their relevance, and without those goals, much of the fun disappears as well.
So I'm not giving up; I'm waiting to get the chance to pursue my goals again - and although right now I'm optimistic that such a time will come again, I can't be sure that it will. That's why I think trainer hibernation is the best way forward.
