Everything you need to know about Party Play in Pokemon Go
In the wave of new features added to Pokemon Go in this last year, Party Play is one that seemingly came out of left field. Unlike Shadow Raids or Routes, Party Play is a new way to play Pokemon Go with your friends. This feature requires you to be physically close to the people you are playing with, giving you quests to complete while you play together.
How to join Party Play in Pokemon GO
If you are looking to join or create a party, the first thing you need to do is make sure you have an account that is above level 15 in Pokemon Go. You will be able to find the Party screen by tapping on your avatar in the lower, left-hand corner of the screen. This will open the Friends menu, and if you swipe right, you will find the Party menu. From there, you can Create a party, which will show a QR code and number code for others to put in or you can Join Party, which will allow you to scan the QR code of the person creating the party or put in a code.
You can have a max of four players in Party Play at once, with a minimum of two players. Party Play lasts for a maximum of one hour per party. You can then rejoin and continue playing if you want!
How does a Child Account join Party Play?
If you have a child's account and want to access Party Play, a parent account, attached to the child's account, needs to grant access first. Once they have been granted access, the child can now see the Party tab. There are a few different features that are changed, for the safety of younger Trainers. Child accounts cannot create parties and can only join parties that are hosted by someone they are friends with on Pokemon Go. They also need to stay within the 500-metre range of the host, for their safety. If the host leaves the party for any reason, the child's account will also be removed from the party. The child account also will not see other user's avatars on the map, and other users will not see the child account's avatar on the map.How close do you need to be to the host in Party Play?
If you have a non-child account, you will need to stay within 1km of the host of the party. If you move more than 500 metres away from the host, you will get a warning that you are too far away and going to be removed from the party. This way of playing is meant to promote playing together, and you can even see your avatars really close to each other on the map, walking around together, if you do stick around each other!
What sort of challenges are there in Party Play?
The main part of Party Play is actually completing challenges. The host of the party is able to pick the challenge that everyone will be working towards, which is then shown at the centre of the top of the screen. You can also tap on that icon to see how much each member of the party has contributed towards the goal.There are a bunch of different challenges along with rewards, and in each round, the host will get three to choose from. Everyone else in the party can also see these choices, bringing out conversations on what to pick. These challenges are normally about spinning a set number of stops, beating a set number of Raids, or catching specific types of Pokemon or a number of Pokemon. The rewards are normal things like berries, stardust, different Pokeballs, etc.
What is Party Power?
If you are using Party Play in Pokemon Go, and then enter a raid, you will see a new button on the lower, left-hand side of the screen. When this blue circle fills up, you can tap it to double the power of your charged attack when fighting in a raid.
This power is a really strong reward for using Party Play, as it can actually replace one person in the raid, allowing players to take on raids that they previously could not play on their own. This Party Power is not applied to your specific Pokemon, so if your Pokemon dies, the Party Power will continue until it runs out! You will need to have at least one member of your party in the raid with you to use Party Power and the more members of your Party you have, the faster each of your Party Power buttons will fill up.
How do I leave Party Play?
There are a lot of reasons to want to exit Party Play a little earlier than the time limit. You can do this by opening up your Trainer Profile, navigating to the Party Tab, and then selecting Leave Party. You will not get your Party challenge rewards if you leave early, even if the party continues to complete them. If you are the Party host, when you leave, the remaining party members will get to select a new post. If you are in a party of only two and leave, however, the party will end altogether.At the end of a party, you will see a rewards screen that sums up everything you and your friends have achieved in the party.
How do I remove my Avatar from the map in Party Play?
You may not want to see your avatar on the map so that the other people in your party cannot see your location. You can do this by opening the Pokeball in the centre of your screen, and then hitting Settings in the upper, right-hand corner. From there, you want to select General, then scroll to Party Play. You will want to toggle off "ShareLocation with Party" and possibly "See Other Trainers on the Map". This is where all the settings are.
And that's everything you should want to know about Pokemon Go's new Party Play feature! Many people have felt that seeing other players on their map and taking on challenges together feels like how Pokemon should have always been. Others are super excited about the boost to raiding!
