Raid Failures

What I love about raids in Pokémon Go is that with a little effort, know-how, and aid from other able Trainers if need be, one can have the chance to obtain good, interesting, or powerful Pokémon, or even all of the above. However, it's not always peachy, as raids can and do fail for a variety of reasons. I've already discussed "raid dramas" in a separate post, and this certainly fits into that, though it's a more specific case. And the points of failure for raids can be rather varied.

One such point of failure is the people involved in the raid. For raids that are doable singly, the point of failure is with the person, specifically the Pokémon involved; if they're not strong enough, then the raid fails. For other raids that need more than one people, the additional point of failure is having enough people to complete the raids. I've experienced both cases, and it's not pretty, especially when one has surrendered a raid pass. The problem is when it cannot be rectified on the spot, especially if a raid is near its end. Preparations are always vital to sidestep this.

The next point of failure is network connections, which becomes part of and adjunct to one of the raid dramas. Obviously, without a connection, one can't raid, let alone play, but it goes further than that. If connections drop in the middle of a raid, then it may lead to a cascade of failures, which can be distressing if this happens. While one can prepare to sidestep this failure, it may not be something that every Trainer has the luxury or possibility of preparing by themselves, so this may require a collaborative effort for preparation. That said, it seems to be a rare point of failure, which is why Trainers don't give it much thought... until failure happens with this point.

Just as rare as the connection failure is a very important point of failure. That point would involve the game itself. This is partly why I decided to write this post today. Today is a Wednesday, which means that normally it would be time for a Raid Hour, thanks to its persistence. However, the Raid Hour fizzled - it was canceled as it started its run in the first part of the world due to certain technical difficulties. Further details will need to wait for a later time, but because this is a rather important Raid Hour, many became disappointed, including myself. It's certainly rare for this to happen, and it has happened today.

Even with effort, know-how, and aid, it may still be possible for raids to fail - and they still do, even today. Sometimes, the blame may rest on certain people, while other times it may rest on infrastructure. Yet with the possibility of failure, it's still hard not to dislike and remain attached to raids for all the Pokémon possibilities they provide. The efforts of Trainers in raids will have to include reorganizing opportunities of failure into opportunities of success.

One year ago: A Restarted Fever?
Two years ago: What I (Really) Like About You - Pokémon