5 Pokemon GO mechanics that Niantic should improve next

While Pokemon GO has made vast improvements to its gameplay throughout the years, some aspects could still use some much-needed polish. With Niantic reworking and adjusting the Mega Evolution mechanics already present in the title, the company has shown that it is open to working on its gameplay to benefit the fanbase.

With 2024 set to be one of the biggest years Pokemon GO has ever seen, this year would be the perfect time for Niantic to refine some of the title's more clunky portions of gameplay. So, what are some things the developer should improve in the months to come?

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

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5 mechanics Niantic should fix in Pokemon GO

1) Buddy Pokemon

The Buddy Pokemon mechanic is one of the best features to come to Pokemon GO, but it is not without its shortcomings. The user interface for the AR picture mode and for playing with/feeding one's buddy is notoriously laggy and cumbersome to use.

The Quick Feed option added later has made things somewhat more manageable, but the feature is also notoriously grindy. Most players use it to grind candies passively for their Legendaries or creatures that need large amounts of candies to evolve, like Magikarp, Wailmer, or Larvesta.

Granting bonus candies depending on the Buddy Pokemon's Buddy Level would be a great way to reward players who engage with this feature while incentivizing others to follow suit.

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2) Remote Raiding

Official artwork for Pokemon GO (Image via Niantic)

Remote Raiding was originally implemented as a way for players to participate in gameplay despite the restrictions during the 2020 pandemic. This feature allowed trainers to challenge raids from all over the world in exchange for a new type of Raid Pass. However, as the pandemic died down, Niantic tried to take away its incentives to collect more location data.

With more reasons to challenge in-person raids thanks to Party Play and various exclusive raids that require in-person attendance, it may be time to loosen up on the heavy restrictions and regulations on Remote Raiding.

Many players need Remote Raiding for accessibility reasons, so restoring it to its former glory would be a huge win for the community.

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3) Party Play

Though one of its newest features, Party Play has quickly become one of the most beloved additions to Pokemon GO in a long time. However, it still has its fair share of kinks to work out.

For example, the rewards players can receive from completing Party Quests are nothing like they were in promotional imagery. As such, opting to grant participants a larger amount of rewards for these quests would be appreciated.

Some minor improvements to the servers would also be nice to see, considering how some players are still experiencing issues in this regard. With the occasional bug fix from the development team, Party Play could truly be the best it possibly could be.

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4) Unskippable cutscenes

A Pikachu evolving in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (Image via Game Freak)

A common complaint about Pokemon GO's user interface relates to the abundance of unskippable cutscenes for various occurrences. The cutscenes for hatching eggs and evolving Pokemon tend to be the most annoying for many fans. Allowing trainers to skip these cutscenes with a simple tap of the screen is a great idea.

Having so many cutscenes tied to such common actions in Pokemon GO greatly impacts the pacing of gameplay. Outside of these scenarios, the other cutscenes in the game often leave trainers groaning while tapping their screens rather than actually investing themselves in a watered-down story relating to the event.

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5) Eggs

Eggs as seen in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Eggs have become quite annoying for most casual Pokemon GO players. These items can clog up their respective collections, require a premium item to hatch, and rarely ever hatch the creature that trainers want. This has led many fans to avoid Pokestops and Gifts altogether in order to prevent such clutter.

A great way to fix this issue would be to make eggs easier to hatch. Giving players an extra Incubator would be the best way to solve this problem. When it comes to lackluster hatches, shrinking down the hatch pool for some events would give trainers a better chance of finding rare creatures. This would increase the incentive to hatch eggs.