‘Pokémon GO’ Beta Leaked: Evolution, Time And Weather Sensitive Spawns, And Gameplay
Everyone is excited for Pokémon GO, one of the most anticipated mobile titles that will carry the legendary Pokémon universe. While we’re still quite a way from the release date of Pokémon GO, beta testers of Pokémon GO have already crossed the line and have come out with leaks to give users a peak of what the game will offer once it releases.
To date, Niantic have given a select number of players in Japan and Australia the chance to play the beta version of Pokémon GO. Since it’s still in beta, a lot of players are getting banned for sharing material and information about the game. However, even though Niantic is cracking down hard on leaked videos of Pokémon GO beta, a lot of users are still able to keep the leaked videos online, which show some of the most interesting tidbits about Pokémon GO.
One of the first videos to come out of the Pokémon GO beta shows the mechanics of catching the pokemon. No actual battle is needed to be done when catching pokemon, like how it was in the handheld titles. Rather, the player goes on to throw pokeballs at the wild pokemon, hoping their ball will be able to catch it. Although this is quite simplistic in terms of gameplay, pokemon beta trainers found that the real struggle lies in the finding of the pokemon.
Pokemon spawns in Pokémon GO will be place-sensitive, as we all know. Water pokemon will mostly be available around bodies of waters like rivers and lakes, while grass pokemon will generally by found in huge patches of garden and greenery. Neurogadget also adds that certain landmarks are crucial when looking for and catching rare pokemon.
“According to GOtrip, many Pokemon GO beta testers have noticed that specific areas in Australia seem to be spawning Rare Pokemon. One Reddit user, for example, commented that one patch of grass along his route to work has spawned a Ninetails, a Jolteon, a Porygon, and a Hitmonchan. Another Reddit user noted that the Adelaide Oval seems to be a Dratini farm since the Pokemon has been found there several times. The Oval also seems to have a Rare spawn point that has produced a Rapidash, a Pinsir, and a Licking.”
The report also reveals that apart from place, time and weather generally affects the behavior of pokemon spawning in Pokémon GO. Water-type pokemon, in addition to spawning near bodies of water, will also tend to spawn during rain showers. Electric pokemon, too, are more active when it rains, especially when there is a thunderstorm.
A Reddit user also came out with a report that pokemon spawns are time-sensitive, too. User obamas_arsehole was a beta tester of Pokémon GO but was banned by Niantic when he shared footage of the game on YouTube. But from the information gathered, it seems that certain pokemon will only come out at night, such as Ghastly. Prior to his nighttime video of catching Ghastly, no beta tester has yet to report sightings of Ghastly on their Pokémon GO map, which can mean that ghost-type pokemon will be very sensitive to the time you go out hunting.
However, while these are general observations found by Pokémon GO testers, some testers still report that the game will need more fine-tuning with regards to spawning. News Everyday reports a Reddit user’s statement on the matter.
“As far as I noticed (from different posts and comment, I’m not a beta tester myself) there is a wide range of pokemon appearing in the same areas. I’m guessing that in the final game pokemon will be more specialized to certain areas. Cant forget how a Magikarp was splashing around in a bush lol.”
Another Reddit user also shared an easy-to-understand evolution guide that explains how evolution will work on Pokémon GO. Unlike before, evolution will not actually be based on the experience points of the pokemon, but rather will require a certain number of evolution shards to be evolved. Evolution shards can be collected from catching the same pokemon over and over again so this can get pretty tough, especially when you’re leveling up a Magikarp, for example.
Pokémon GO was announced by Niantic last year, but as of now, no release date has yet been confirmed. Beta testers in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand are already hard at work to fine-tune the game before release, but we are expecting more beta releases in Europe and the U.S. soon.
[Featured image via Pokemon Go Facebook page]
