The way I play Pokemon Go
I'm curios at how other trainers play PG. Being that PG is heavily revolved around RNG (moveset/CP). Like any other MMO or RNG based game I farm to get near the max for every Pokemon. Meaning at this moment I'm farming and trying to get my Muk, Venomonth, Ninetales, Goldduck and Primeape just to name a few past 15k CP.
How do you play PG?
1. Completionist (Only caring about the pokedex not CP lvl)
2. Live for Gym Battles (maxing only the chosen Big 7)
3. Farming to get near the max for all Pokemon
Answers
It works also your way. I have a lot of lvl 30 mons, but I give dust over 30 to big 7 (5 in my case, no ms Rhy and no tyra at all) and few other frequent attakers (venu and machamp quick moves get a +1 boost at lvl 32 when fight versus big vapes and blissey, lapras). Out of them, 3 Drago and HP vape are for attack, 2 blisseys and 4 Snorlax for defence, 2 gya for gym placement :). Same AT and WP Vapes, half defance, half gym placement.
Man, the RNG Gods have been nice to you lol. I just now got my 1st Dragonite. I've only seen 6 and caught 3 Snorlax. Same with Machamp and Rhydon. Because of the RNG, I'm decided to get at least 3 different type of pokemon per class. So instead of just having Jolteon, I now have Electabuzz (cp1617) and Magneton (cp1864) for electric. Instead of just Flareon, I now have Charizard(cp2155), Arcanine(cp2031) and Magmar(cp1638) I love Magmar :D
I originally had set my self two goals:
Complete Gen1 & become level 30.
I figured I would quit once I reached these goals, but I didn't. I continued to play but less active.
Then I set myself 2 new goals:
Complete Gen2 & Become level 35.
Now I've set my final goal: become one of the world's first (legit) rural/suburb players to hit level 40.
Side note goal; I'll continue to battle spoofers and cheaters as much as I can. I'm a competitor and therefore fighting gyms is my main task. I must admit it's pretty frustrating at times when you are basically the only team valor player remaining in your area.
Edit: Forgot to mention that I also play for medals. 4 more to go: Tiny Rat, Magikarp, Dragon and Pikachu
I could care less about the pokedex, and I really enjoy gym battles, except in my town which is 95% valor, and you are kicked out 15 minutes (or less) after you take down their level 10 tower. I love trying to get near the max for everything. I also have just learned prestiging, and love it's challenge.
(3) is probably the closest match for me. My goals have typically revolved around having efficient prestigers and high-CP defenders as a means to maximize gym coins/dust while minimizing time battling (so I'm not a (2)). I do want to complete my dex (because why not?) but I don't feel the need to do so as quickly as possible. I like to keep top IV mon even if they aren't particularly useful because, again, why not? So I guess I'd say I'm a (3).
I'm with you on that space cowboy. Having a complete Pokedex isn't much of a matter to me especically if the RNG Gods are not nice to you :( So getting my Umbreon (cp 1567) and Magmar (cp 1638) past 19k CP is my goal. Plus, still to this day I love that fight scene where Ash & Charizard stumble on a rare Magmar and fought on a volcano. Greatest fight as a kid I have ever seen (until DBZ came to the states)
It's all connected: walking drives my game, more interesting then fitbit... to hatch more eggs, need coins for incubators - that means gym defenders (free player here, luckily easy in suburbia to have 10 defenders). That means learning more about the game, best attacks for prestiging etc. I don't care to attack enemy gyms much as that's low reward IMO. Eventually the 'dex completion and near max PKM come from eggs and catches in wild.
I started for the exercise benefit (best exercise app EVER!!!), but now enjoy all aspects: catching them all (LOL, not enough to spoof), leveling up to the respectable mid-30's and above (now 33), maxing out my top attackers/defenders and as a result have started to really enjoy battling or prestiging gyms.
The game helps me relax and makes me smile after or during a stressful day at work (I used to miss a lot of lunch breaks, but now go for a walk and catch mons), which is priceless. (Not long ago, there was a corsola on the sightings, so I told my boss I had to take my break right now! LOL, didn't tell her the reason. And when I caught a wild snorlax in the bathroom at work it really made my day!)
I do this and that depending on the mood cos I'm easily bored. Except for pokedex, I cared about entries only for double xp. My biggest pleasure is getting a 'mon I like, powering it up and using in battles as often as I can. Then the novelty wears off and I look to evolve another. I walked around a Chikorita nest through rain and cold wind because I wanted a pure grass type against all the water stuff that sits in gyms, the Meganium I've got was VW/SoB but tiny so I had to farm even more candy. Guess my playing is mostly about nests at this point. I like to prestige because I get to use many "trash" pokemon I like, but lately most of my defenders have been kicked out, as if on cue (which is impossible because I leave defenders wherever I find an easy gym to power up). Yesterday I got up and went around the neighborhood to claim gyms and gather coins, just like in the old times when I knew jack sh!t about defending, but there were so many people and also road repairs and dust and I was hungry but worrying the 'mons will be kicked before I gather coins... long story short, to hell with coins now, I'll just go to a Growlithe nest on my way to a hardware megamarket 'cos I need a big bottle of carpenter glue for my paper-mache project. Yeah, crafting and Pokemon, that's the life.
