Pokémon GO Regidrago Elite Raid Weekend plagued by freezes, lost raid passes

The player community had mixed reactions to Pokémon GO's Regidrago Elite Raid that started on Saturday (11 March), with some reporting success in catching their first Regidrago while others bemoaned the event's failure after multiple problems prevented them from participating.

Elite Raids are a new Raid difficulty level that needs to be completed in-person (no Remote Raid Pass allowed), made available in EX Gyms worldwide.

This is in line with Niantic’s commitment to “real-world play” for the game.

Many players from cities and well-populated areas recorded their success in catching the elusive new Pokémon.

Renowned Singaporean Pokémon GO player “BrandonTan91” posted a video about his raid experience with a handful of players in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

While the raids went well, there were only a few Regidrago spawns in EX Gyms across the city, and the stats of the Legendary Titans caught were not desirable for PVP. Otherwise, the day was tiring but fun for BrandonTan91 and players around the area.

However, not all city raids transpired without a hitch.

A lot of players complained that they encountered lags and freezes or were suddenly kicked out of the game, like Twitter user @TheeHorveezee, who “fought through multiple freezes and restarts.”

Others were thrown out of the raids, with their raid passes lost, like Twitter users @iamdiegoporte and @Blitzin101.

No Regidrago spawns?

In one Reddit thread, multiple users also shared similar experiences, along with more bugs or fewer spawns.

A couple of players in Singapore, like Reddit users yipkwc and YouYongku, pointed out that despite there being plenty of EX Gyms in the country, only five spawns appeared at 5pm.

Meanwhile players from other populated areas like Vancouver, Washington, Oregon, California, and Mexico said that nothing spawned in their EX Gyms at 5pm local time.

Some players even had to deal with the harsh winter weather, like malolatamily, who had to skip other raid schedules due to the weather, only to find out that there were no Regidrago spawns at 5pm.

On the other hand, players from rural areas encountered a different type of problem.

While some spawned in EX Gyms in their area, some areas did not have enough strong players to complete the feat, like Twitter user SunnyMindsdet who found only four local players.

She also even said she might “quit #PokémonGOApp” and “it’s a game for city folks 🤷‍♀️.”

Pokémon GO content creator Ian Waterfall from the UK shared his experience on his YouTube channel.

While his experience was relatively okay, he also “addressed the elephant in the room” and described the situation for players in New Zealand, the East Coast, and other bugs that players and subscribers reported.

“Why, after 7 years, is this still a thing? I really don't know, it's not acceptable,” he said.

Niantic Support's official Twitter account tweeted an apology and added another Elite Raid day on 12 March for those in the GMT+13 timezone.

Despite this, players continued to complain that the issue wasn't fixed. Niantic has yet to release a statement regarding all the issues encountered in Elite Raids across the globe.

Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.

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