Everything wrong with Pokemon GO Party Play so far

Party Play was just released in Pokemon GO. Every player thought the feature was going to revolutionize the gameplay experience in Niantic's mobile title. However, the reality could not have been farther from the truth. The mechanic is receiving a lot of criticism from the game's community. There are quite a few major bugs that fans feel the developer needs to address at the earliest.

This article talks about everything wrong with the Party Play feature in Pokemon GO.

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

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What's wrong with the Party Play feature in Pokemon GO?

Simulated Party Play gameplay (Image via Niantic)

Party Play in Pokemon GO holds a lot of potential that can enhance the experience of anyone playing the game. However, the feature feels like a barebones version of what it could actually be if Niantic had put some more thought and effort into it.

Judging by the feedback from the game's community, there are three major issues that are holding this feature back:

• Multiple accounts: A lot of the players saw this issue coming from a mile away. There were always going to be people with multiple devices/accounts who would not play fair. Having multiple accounts has been one of the biggest exploits in Pokemon GO, and there is not a whole lot that Niantic has done about it. With the Party Play feature in the game, the exploits are going to multiply exponentially.
• Players cannot use Routes while in a Party: This was a big mistake on Niantic’s end, as the Routes feature is something that can work flawlessly in tandem with Party Play. Routes is something that people have almost forgotten about, and Niantic missed a wonderful opportunity to revitalize it by pairing it up with Party Play.
• Not enough value: There are people who actively play this game with their friends. For them, this is just going to be a gimmick, where the only new thing would be the fact that they can see their friends on the game map. This is not an improvement to the experience in the title. You do get extra rewards for playing in a Party, but none of those rewards are enticing enough to actually use this feature in GO.

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How can Niantic make Party Play better in Pokemon GO?

Niantic first needs to address the multi-accounting exploit, as it gives cheaters an undue advantage, especially during special events like Community Day. With multiple accounts, players can get double bonuses from events and transfer a lot of the goodies to their main accounts. This needs to be dealt with, or legit players will be highly discouraged from playing Pokemon GO.

Niantic then needs to implement bonuses that players will get for using the Routes feature in tandem with Party Play. For instance, if they allow players to get more Zygarde cells by completing missions while in a Party, it would encourage people to care about the Routes feature as well as Party Play.

Lastly, Niantic needs to revamp the rewards and take it up a notch for people to be excited about the new feature. For instance, they could add rewards like encounters with rare beasts with chances of them being in their shiny forms.

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Is it worth playing the Party Play feature in Pokemon GO?

Simulated raids with Party Play (Image via Niantic)

There have been some upsides to Party Play. People living in rural areas can complete difficult raids now that they can play with their friends. This is a major plus point of the feature.

Furthermore, trainers can maximize the bonuses during Raid Hours if they play in a Party through the duration of the Raid Hour and complete raids with their friends.

It is not all bad with Party Play, but if Niantic does not pull its socks up, this feature will see a dearth of users like Routes.