New Update
Players are now reporting that Rare Candy rewards from Tier 5 raids have reverted to their normal, pre-reduction levels. As such, the nature of this update is now largely positive and can be summed up as:
- Rare Candy rewards from Tier 5 has been increased/returned to original levels
- Rare Candy rewards from Tier 1-4 raids have been decreased/returned to original levels
- Tier 4 raids now give a guaranteed Charged TM on completion
We will continue to update as more developments are discovered.
Item Rebalance
Earlier today, @NianticHelp made an official tweet stating that Rare Candy rewards from raids have been rebalanced, and that Tier 4 raids will now start giving out guaranteed Charged TMs.
Trainers, thank you for your continued feedback! Starting immediately, Rare Candy rewards in raids have been adjusted, and we've added guaranteed Charged TMs as rewards in four-star raids!
— Niantic Support (@NianticHelp) December 5, 2019
This tweet, despite being so short and innocuous, could very well bring some long-term changes to Pokemon Go moving forward. As we reported roughly a week ago, Niantic has apparently been silently making changes to the drop-rates for raid rewards, Rare Candy particular, for a while now.
It seems that the changes have now been confirmed, and that the currently final totals have been set. Based on preliminary reports from the player-base, this is the general consensus:
- Rare Candy rewards for Tier 5 Raids have been kept at their updated, lower drop-rate
- Rare Candy rewards for Tier 1-4 Raids have been reverted to their previous, lower drop-rate
Please note that this is based on a very small sample size of player reports and has in no way been confirmed. However, this does seem to be the way that this situation has turned based on the information that we have now.
That said, this update is not all bad, as Niantic has confirmed Guaranteed Charged TMs from Tier 4 Raids. This is remarkable news for many. We actually covered the current TM system not too long ago, and this falls into the general category of one of our recommended fixes.
This said, some players are also claiming that the changes to the system are not yet implemented despite Niantic saying "starting immediately". This fact combined with the lack of firm confirmations as to what we currently have means that this bit of news may rapidly change in the coming hours.
What this Means for the Player-Base
Assuming everything mentioned is true, this update is a mixed-bag. As we discussed in the previously mentioned article about this very subject, Tier 5s have been devalued, though not as harshly as they were initially due to lower tiers reverting to their old Rare Candy drops. This is, without a doubt, the time to be frugal with Rare Candy! Until we know exactly what's going on, it's our recommendation that you think twice about any Rare Candy investments, as they may not be as easy to replace moving forward.
On the other hand, we now have a reliable source of Charged TMs for the first time since their release! This is huge, and its implementation method is almost ingenious, as it covers several bases all with one elegant move.
- We have a way to get Charged TMs whenever we need them
- Tier 4 raids fall into the cracks less, and have a genuine reason to exist
- Charged TMs are still not "common", and will take at least two people to obtain most of the time, allowing them to keep some of their value.
About the only down-side is the fact that Charged TMs as an event-reward are now less impressive, but that's a worthy sacrifice for a system that players have been asking for since raids were first released! Kudos to Niantic for this one!
So what do you think about these changes? Do you think that we'll see more changes in the coming days? let us know below!
