Niantic has announced Party Play for Pokemon Go: Here's everything you need to know
- Party Play is a new way to team up with other people in Pokemon Go.
- When in a Party, you can dish out additional damage in Raids.
- You can also complete challenges with your Party to earn various rewards.
Niantic has announced a new feature for Pokemon Go called Party Play. It allows you to join a group with other players and then work together to complete challenges alongside tackling Raids, with a little extra boost compared to usual. Today we're going to tell you everything there is to know about Party Play in Pokemon Go.
What is Party Play in Pokemon Go?
Since Pokemon Go launched in 2016, Niantic has focused on getting people outside and exploring. With Party Play the aim is to make those outings more social, whether that's with your friends or other people who are also enjoying the game. Alongside working together in real life, everyone's avatar will appear together in-game on the overworld.Once in a party, you will work together to complete a series of challenges, such as winning Raids, catching a certain number of Pokemon, or even catching a set number of a specific type. Once complete, everyone will earn some rewards for their efforts. Party Play also affects Raids, which we'll get to later in this article.
After teaming up in a party, you can see several stats, including the total Pokemon caught, the number of Shinys and even specific types. There's the option to share a summary after you disband your party on social media. If that's something you're into.
Joining a party
Joining a party in Pokemon Go is a straightforward affair. Simply follow the steps below:- Tap your “Profile” button in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.
- Swipe over past friends to the new Party tab.
- If you wish to host a Party, tap "Create". This will create a QR and a Party Code for other players to use.
- To join someone else's party, tap 'Join Party'.
- From here, you can either scan the QR code from the host's phone or type in the code to join the party.
Are there any restrictions?
There are a few things to remember when creating or joining a party:- You need to be physically present. There is currently no option to join a party remotely.
- You must be level 15.
- The maximum party size is four.
- The time limit for a part is one hour, although this may change during specific events.
- You will need to stick with your party, straying too far will result in a warning message that you will be removed if you go further.
- Trading distance is unaffected by being in a party.
- You cannot do Routes together, unfortunately.
And that's it for restrictions. There is no friendship level required to join a Party. In fact, you don't even need to be friends with players who want to get involved since all that's required is scanning a QR code or entering the Party Code. You can also invite players at any time, not just at the beginning. Additionally, any player can invite someone to join. It doesn't have to be the host.
Party challenges
There are two main things you can get up to in a Party. The first is working together to complete challenges. Right now these are fairly straightforward since Niantic wants to make this a more casual experience. But it might change in the future.So, the kind of tasks you can expect to receive will involve beating a few Raids or catching a specific number of Pokemon. You and your party will work together on these, with everyone's contribution counting to your overall progress. Once you've caught enough Pokemon or beaten enough Raids, you will earn some goodies.
These rewards might be some extra Poke Balls or event Mega Energy. This could change over time, but right now, these are the things you can expect. It's also worth noting that everyone gets the same reward, regardless of how much they contributed to the challenges.
Party Power in Raids
The second - and probably main - reason you would join a Party is because you can gain a crucial bonus in Raids. When you tackle one in a party, alongside readying your Charged Attacks, your Fast Attacks will increase a new metre called Party Power. Once filled, you can tap the symbol in the bottom left of the screen to increase the damage your next Charged Attack deals. It's a powerful enough boost that you can potentially beat Raids that a group of four usually couldn't.
Pokemon Go is available now on the App Store and Google Play as a free-to-play game with in-app purchases. You can download it for your preferred platform using the links below.
