Pokémon Go players have expressed frustration due to the lack of changes to the Gym feature and now they’re begging Niantic to take action.
In an Aug 16 Reddit thread, players demanded a “Major overhaul” to the Gym system that’s been “ignored” by Niantic since the game was released in 2016.
That thread surfaced after Routes brought yet another change to PokéStops, which have been at the center of several major updates in Pokémon Go over the last few years.
“Comparing this to Pokéstop’s that recently got Routes, it’s really laughable that Gym’s are stuck in the same place since 2017,” one player said on Reddit.
While the player complained Gyms haven’t received an update since 2017, some updates still brought changes to the feature later on.
In 2017, a rework brought a significant update to how Gym worked. They became discs like PokéStops, gave badges, and saw the Motivation mechanic replace the Prestige and level of Gyms. That’s also when Raids were added.
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That was the biggest Gym update in the game’s history. Later on, while PokéStops and Raids received successive changes, Gyms remained mainly untouched.
Pokémon Go players agree an update to Gyms is needed, either in the form of a rework to bring them a fresh feel or a quality-of-life update.
But they disagree with the statement that the first Gym system, as introduced with the game’s launch and before the rework in 2017, was better.
“The old gym system was terrible. You had to be in 10 gyms at the same time to claim max coins and you only got to hit that claim button once per day,” one player said.
“I wish they would make gyms more interesting and decouple daily coins from defending gyms… coins could be rewarded for both attacking and defending along with an alternate method like research or daily challenges,” they added.
Generally, players are annoyed about the method of obtaining Coins through Gyms. The only way to collect them is to have a Pokémon defending a Gym for a specific amount of time.
Players can keep their Pokémon there for more time by giving them food, but they will be kicked when defeated by opponents several times.
In 2020, Niantic rolled out playtests in Australia and New Zealand with new ways to earn Coins through Gyms, but it didn’t result in an official update. In that test, players could earn Coins by capturing Pokémon, battling Team Go Rocket, and taking snapshots.
This conversation frequently arises in the Pokémon Go community, as more time passes without Gyms getting any significant changes. In a previous thread earlier this year, one player suggested Coins should be given for fighting in Gyms, and players get the option to “call back” guarding Pokémon.
Overall, players are looking for quality-of-life changes rather than a full-blown rework.
