‘Pokemon GO’ Ultra, Great, And Special Boxes: Which Is The Best Value, And Everything You Need To Know About Niantic’s Holiday Offers
Pokemon GO‘s 2016 holiday event is officially underway, and trainers all over the world are taking advantage of Niantic’s special, limited-time offers for its popular augmented reality game. With Ultra, Great, and Special boxes being offered and free Incubators being given away until early January, the developer appears to be getting quite generous to its millions of players. Notably, however, Pokemon GO‘s 2016 Christmas event carries many intricacies that players need to be aware of. Here is a brief guide on how to take full advantage of Niantic’s PoGO Christmas event.
One thing that trainers must know is that the Pokemon GO Christmas 2016 event is split into two limited-time offers. The first starts on December 25 and ends on January 3, and involves an increased hatch rate for the first Generation 2 Pokemon that have been released into the game. Apart from this, trainers could also acquire a free single-use incubator every day, with the item being awarded after trainers spin their first Photo Disc for the day.
As announced by Niantic in the official Pokemon GO blog, the game’s second limited time offer starts on December 30 and ends on January 8. This particular promotion involves lures and an increased spawn rate for some classic Gen 1 Pokemon. As for the lures, the special items would get a boost, lasting 60 minutes instead of the usual 30. Gen 1 starter families, which involve Charmander, Charmeleon, Charizard, Squirtle, Wartortle, Blastoise, Bulbasaur, Ivysaur and Venusaur, would also see a spike in their spawn rates during this period.
Apart from the Pokemon GO Christmas events, Niantic is also rolling out a couple of end-of-year sales for some of the game’s most important items. From December 25 to December 30, trainers could purchase specific gift boxes, each with a corresponding number of Incubators, Incense, Great Balls and Ultra Balls. There are three types of special boxes, the most basic being Special, followed by Great Boxes and finally, Ultra Boxes.
Lastly, Niantic would also be rolling out yet another end-of-year Pokemon GO sale. From December 30 to January 3, Niantic would be offering Bronze, Silver and Gold boxes to players. While the specifics of each box has not been released by the developer, Niantic has stated that just like the Special, Great and Ultra boxes, each of the Bronze, Silver and Gold boxes would come with a corresponding number of Incense, Lure Modules, Lucky Eggs, Poke Balls and Great Balls.
Currently, avid Pokemon GO fans from The Silph Road have noted that the boost in the hatch rate of Gen 2 Baby Pokemon has already been implemented, with numerous fans noting that they have started seeing the elusive new Pokemon hatching from 2KM, 5KM and 10KM eggs since Christmas Day. The availability of single-use Incubators has also been confirmed already, with numerous trainers stating that they did acquire the free item upon spinning their first Photo Disc on the first Pokestop they encountered on December 25.
What has managed to get a lot of trainers talking, however, are the Special, Great and Ultra boxes. The prices for the three boxes are quite reasonable, with Special Boxes (10 Great Balls, 2 Incubators) costing 250 Coins, Great Boxes (20 Great Balls, 2 Incense, 4 Incubators) selling for 550 Coins and Ultra Boxes (20 Ultra Balls, 25 Incense, 6 Incubators) costing 1500 Coins. While the Ultra Box’s deal seem to be the best choice for avid Pokemon GO players, numerous PoGO fans at The Silph Road have noted that this might not be the case at all.
The Pokemon GO Christmas event is geared towards two things. One is hatching the first batch of Gen 2 Pokemon, and the other is aimed at catching rare Gen 1 starter families. While some Incense and Great/Ultra Balls could definitely help in catching the elusive Gen 1 starters, the increased spawn rate of the classic monsters would not begin until December 30. For now, at least, Incubators are the most valuable items in the Pokemon GO 2016 Holiday event since they increase the trainers’ chances of hatching Gen 2 Baby Pokemon.
With this in mind, numerous Pokemon GO players from The Silph Road have advised that the Special Box, which costs 250 Coins, would the best deal for the December 25 to December 30 period since the little package comes with two Incubators. Thus, buying three Special boxes for 750 Coins would net players with six Incubators, which is far more affordable than the 1500 Coins that trainers would spend for an Ultra Box, which also comes with six Incubators. Of course, this particular strategy really only works for trainers who are attempting to collect all the Gen 2 baby Pokemon that are already available in the game. For those who are still avidly hunting for monsters in the wild, the Great and Ultra Boxes would be a better deal.
Pokemon GO might have missed its chance by not releasing the entire Gen 2 lineup, the Gen 1 Legendaries or the Trading System this December, but it has managed to create a compelling promotion for its wide player base nonetheless. With the 2016 Holiday Gift Boxes, Pokemon GO has managed to engage its players once more, offering deals that are truly value for money. For the 2016 Holiday Season, it seems like Niantic has opted for the safer, less risky road. Considering that Pokemon GO still has a lot of content, features, and creatures to roll out, however, doing so is not so bad at all.
[Featured Image by Niantic]
