Pokémon GO players have been dealing with another wave of technical problems, and the timing could hardly have been worse. During the massive Mega Finale event, trainers reported serious network issues, lag, broken raids, and other problems that made parts of the event difficult or impossible to play.
The complaints quickly piled up as players attempted to participate in one of Pokémon GO’s biggest events of the year. More importantly, the problems arrived only days after trainers experienced another major technical issue involving GPS and connectivity.
For a game built around limited-time events, raids, and location-based gameplay, that is becoming a serious problem.
Mega Finale Hit By Widespread Problems
The Pokémon GO Mega Finale runs across September 5 and September 6, giving trainers access to several highly desirable Pokémon.
September 5 was particularly important because Mega Mewtwo X appeared in Super Mega Raids. Mega Mewtwo Y takes over on September 6.
Unfortunately, many players found themselves fighting something considerably less exciting than Mewtwo: Pokémon GO’s servers.
Reports from players described severe lag, connectivity problems, raids failing to work correctly, and general instability. Outage reports also spiked during the event, showing that the complaints were not limited to a handful of unlucky trainers.
That becomes especially frustrating when Raid Passes are involved.
Players may spend Premium Battle Passes or Remote Raid Passes to participate in raids. Losing one because the game stops functioning properly is understandably going to leave players angry.
Pokémon GO Acknowledges The Raid Problems
The problems became significant enough for Pokémon GO to officially acknowledge that network issues had affected raids during Mega Finale.
According to the announcement, the network problems were eventually resolved. Players who lost Raid Passes because of the technical issues were advised to contact in-game support.
Additional free daily Raid Passes were also made available on September 6 as compensation.
While compensation is welcome, it does not erase the frustration players experienced during the event itself.
Mega Finale is extremely time-sensitive. Mega Mewtwo X was available through Super Mega Raids on September 5, while Mega Mewtwo Y is featured on September 6. If technical problems prevent someone from participating during those windows, simply fixing the servers later does not necessarily replace the opportunity they lost.
And This Comes Right After The GPS Problems
The situation looks even worse because this isn’t the first major Pokémon GO technical problem we’ve seen this week.
GamingHQ previously reported on widespread GPS problems that temporarily left players unable to properly interact with the game. Some trainers reported that Pokémon disappeared from the map entirely, effectively making the game unplayable until the problem cleared.
Now, almost immediately afterwards, players have been hit by another significant technical incident.
One problem can happen.
Two major problems within days of each other, especially around a major limited-time event, starts looking considerably worse.
Limited-Time Events Need Reliable Servers
Pokémon GO relies heavily on FOMO.
Events frequently contain Pokémon, Mega Evolutions, bonuses, raids, research, backgrounds, and other rewards that are only available for a limited period.
Mega Finale is a perfect example.
Players have a very small window to participate in Super Mega Raids featuring Mega Mewtwo X and Mega Mewtwo Y. Armored Mewtwo is another major attraction, while Mega Chesnaught, Mega Delphox, and Mega Greninja are also part of the wider event.
When an event is designed around such limited availability, the servers need to work.
Players cannot simply return next week when the content may no longer be available.
Compensation Helps, But Players Lost Time
Giving affected trainers additional Raid Passes is certainly better than doing nothing. Players who directly lost paid or valuable passes should also make sure they contact Pokémon GO support.
However, Raid Passes are only part of the equation.
Players also lost time.
Some people specifically planned their Saturday around Mega Finale. Others may only have had a small window available to participate. Remote players could have been coordinating raids with friends across different regions.
A replacement pass cannot necessarily replace any of that.
That’s why technical failures during major Pokémon GO events tend to generate considerably more anger than ordinary server downtime.
Pokémon GO Needs To Get Its Stability Under Control
Pokémon GO is approaching a point where technical problems surrounding major events are becoming difficult to ignore.
The GPS problems were already frustrating enough. Following them almost immediately with network and raid issues during Mega Finale only adds fuel to the fire.
Mega Finale should have been about Mega Mewtwo X, Mega Mewtwo Y, Armored Mewtwo, and some of the rarest opportunities Pokémon GO players have received in quite some time.
Instead, a significant part of the conversation became about lag, broken raids, lost Raid Passes, and compensation.
Pokémon GO can hand out additional passes, but there is something considerably more valuable that players need during limited-time events:
A game that actually works when the event starts.
