Pokemon Go confirms Max Battle nerfs for Gigantamax Gengar but fans still aren’t happy

Niantic confirmed that the difficulty of Gigantamax Raids in Pokemon Go will be softened with the arrival of Gigantamax Gengar on October 31.

In an October 29 X/Twitter post, the developer outlined the upcoming changes, stating it had “heard” players’ feedback. Among the adjustments deploying with G-Max Gengar’s debut will be a general reduction in difficulty compared with Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise’s Max Battles.

To make the experience more rewarding, defeating Gengar will award victorious Trainers with 25k Stardust each, with capture rates also receiving a boost.

Niantic didn’t specify if these nerfs would apply to future Gigantamax Pokemon or if it intends to continue reviewing balance for whatever ‘mons are added to Max Battles following Gengar’s debut with Part 2 of Pokemon Go’s Halloween event.

Some community members’ responses to the incoming tweaks proved positive, praising Niantic for listening to feedback.

“Thank you, Niantic. This will make G-Max battles more accessible for more Trainers,” one user wrote.

However, others believed Niantic had failed to address the core issue of Max Battles. Namely that too many Trainers are required to complete a Gigantamax encounter.

“It’s not them being challenging that’s the issue,” Serebii’s Joe Merrick stated, adding, “The challenge being needing 20-plus local people who are all prepared with max-level counters isn’t a challenge but a massive barrier for entry that pushes 98% of the player base out.”

“If you can’t beat it with four or five players I’m not interested. Huge Raid groups don’t exist anymore since you let people remote raid,” came another.

Whether persistent criticisms of how Max Battles are structured will prompt further revamps to Pokemon Go’s Gen 8-inspired mechanic remains to be seen.

In the meantime, you can lean on our explainer to help in your Max Battle adventures and keep tabs on all upcoming fixtures with our Raid schedule.