5 mistakes Niantic should avoid at Pokemon GO Fest 2024: Global

Pokemon GO Fest 2024: Global aims to bring many new additions to the game like Marshadow, Fusion, new costumes for certain creatures, and many more. Last year's iteration of the event had several issues that affected a large portion of the playerbase.

This means Niantic has some things it needs to fix before Pokemon GO Fest 2024: Global, not only in regards to performance, but in many other ways. Here are five mistakes the developer needs to avoid making in order for this year's event to run smoothly.

Note: This list is subjective and solely reflects the opinions of the writer

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5 things Niantic should avoid for Pokemon GO Fest 2024: Global

1) Server issues

Server issues plagued last year's GO Fest, leaving raids unplayable for many people (Image via Niantic)

Server issues are rather frequent in Pokemon GO. These glitches typically increase as Raid Battles grow more popular. Exactly why this happens is unknown, but it could potentially be due to an increase in server population during high-profile events such as GO Fests.

With this in mind, Niantic will need to figure out a way to keep these issues to a minimum during Pokemon GO Fest 2024: Global. Thankfully, since players will be more spread out for this event compared to their in-person venues, these population-related server issues should be minimal for most trainers.

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2) Region-exclusive Pokemon

Region-exclusive Pokemon during a global event would greatly restrict players from enjoying the full benefits of the experience (Image via The Pokemon Company)

When Niantic first introduced the Ultra Beasts in Pokemon GO, they did so the same way they were handled in the other games in which they debuted.

Different Pocket Monsters who were version-exclusive in the main series would be restricted to a specific hemisphere of the world. While this was done away with for subsequent releases of the critters, this debut still affected the community negatively.

With so many Ultra Beasts and Legendary Pokemon coming during Pokemon GO Fest 2024: Global, the number of raid bosses during the event will be quite varied for one location. If Niantic chooses to make every creature available globally, players could have hours of raid content to enjoy.

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3) Rotating habitats

Rotating habitats are good for keeping content somewhat fresh throughout the event's duration, but can be annoying for some players (Image via Niantic)

Rotating habitats are a part of most high-tier Pokemon GO events. These habitats break up an event's many wild spawns set throughout its duration. This is done to keep content fresh during long, multiple-day events. While this is a good idea on paper, it tends to get a bit annoying for those who actively play the game for long periods.

These habitats end up greatly restricting the potential spawns during certain time frames. This is especially true for players who may only be missing Pokedex entries for a couple of the Pocket Monsters available during an event. However, these few critters have their spawn times set across differing habitats.

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4) Paywall Pokemon

Niantic has been good about not locking Pokemon behind paywalls, but this has sadly changed (Image via Niantic)

Marshadow debuted during the in-person GO Fest renditions for this year. These events required players to pay for a ticket to participate, which made sense for these sorts of celebrations. Those who paid for their ticket got a special research that rewarded them with an encounter with the new Mythical Pokemon.

However, as of writing, it would seem that Niantic is still restricting this special research to those who purchase tickets. Even during Pokemon GO Fest 2024: Global, players will need to spend around $15 for the chance to get this creature.

To make matters more concerning, those who have a Marshadow from the in-person events will not be able to receive another from the global ticket, making it even less valuable.

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5) Making Necrozma rare

Necrozma is the big draw to Pokemon GO Fest 2024: Global (Image via Niantic)

Necrozma and two of its alternate forms, Dusk Mane and Dawn Wings, are the two biggest focuses of Pokemon GO Fest 2024. As such, they should be in the spotlight for a majority of the event's duration. Those who purchased a ticket are confirmed to be given a special research on the last day that reward an encounter with one of these forms. However, not much is known for those without the ticket.

While Necrozma will be a potential raid boss, various other Ultra Beasts will be available as well. This means the exact odds of a Necrozma spawning during the event are unknown. Hopefully, the Legendary Pokemon will spawn at least once per raid location during the event.