Pokémon Go PvP revamped after competitive players "pushed the system to its limits"

• The Pokémon Go team has changed its PvP battle system.
• Where battle outcomes could be influenced by network connection and input latency, more emphasis on turns should now make results more predictable.

PvP battles in Pokémon Go have been revamped to focus more on skill over hardware and network conditions.

Traditionally, moves could deal damage mid-turn depending on a user’s network connection, sometimes allowing one player’s attack to take place before the other’s. Similarly, latency from laggier hardware could play a role in the results of real-time inputs.

This meant battles didn’t always go as expected and resulted in combat that was largely skill-based but part circumstantial even at high-level play.

Consequently, the Pokémon Go development team has decided to change how in-game combat plays out.

"Outcomes should be driven by player choices, not game state quirks, device differences, or momentary network hiccups," the team said.

"As the PvP community has grown more competitive, players have naturally pushed the system to its limits."

Combat and connectivity

The update to Pokémon Go’s PvP has made changes to reinforce turn-focused results "at a foundational level", with damage now resolved at the end of every turn instead of during it. Energy is also rewarded at the same time, making this more predictable, and one-turn Fast Attacks should now tie when used on the same turn.

The change comes as Go approaches its 10th anniversary, though PvP wasn't introduced until December 2018.

The change means less reliance on fast inputs and places less emphasis on a player’s local network speed. It also means identical game states and decisions should result in the same outcome each time. As a result, the Pokémon a player brings to a match and the decisions they make have become that much more important.

"From the beginning, Pokémon Go Trainer Battles were designed under two principles. The gameplay had to be fast-paced for the mobile landscape so that players could have short experiences while exploring the world, and battles needed to be dynamic enough to invoke a sense of skill when managing your Pokémon," the team explained.

"Rather than continuing to address these issues one at a time, the team took a broader approach by rebuilding the core battle system. The goal was to harden the foundations of all battle modes, including PvP, so that battles consistently reflect player skill while maintaining the fast, responsive feel players expect."

Starting next week, Go will commence the first-of-its-kind Road to Kalos event in the lead-up to Pokémon Day.