Niantic has apologized for recent frustrations with EX Raid invitations and offered new clarification about how to get invited.
Invite-only EX Raids (currently the only way to obtain Mewtwo in the game) can only take place at certain eligible gyms, and players are invited only if they’ve recently completed a raid at that gym. However, in a post on Pokemon Go’s official site, Niantic explained that the recent wave of invitations to Mewtwo raids were impacted by a bug that caused some players to be invited to gyms where they hadn’t raided in several months.
“This bug has already been resolved, and future invites will better represent how the updated invitation process is intended to function. Most importantly, Trainers will only receive an invitation if they’ve completed a Raid Battle at that Gym recently,” the post reads.
Niantic also discussed some new changes to the invitation process. As previously revealed, EX Raids will still only take place at sponsored gyms and parks. But now “the number of Gyms that meet the necessary criteria for an EX Raid Battle will increase,” Niantic says. More players will also be invited to each raid, and Niantic says players with a high level badge at a particular gym are now even more likely to get an invitation. Players who raid the week before invitations are sent are also more likely to be invited.
“We appreciate the feedback many of you have shared over the past several weeks and apologize for any frustration the latest batch of invitations may have caused,” Niantic concluded. “We're constantly monitoring feedback shared on various social media and support channels, so please continue to share your thoughts on your preferred channel as we continue to fine-tune this feature.”
Mewtwo has been in Pokemon Go since August 2017, but has only ever been available via these EX Raids (previously known as Exclusive Raids). Since then, the system has been divisive, prompting several complaints on Reddit and frustrating many players due to the lack of clear information regarding eligibility.
Pokemon Go most recently added 23 new generation 3 Pokemon, bringing the total number of Hoenn Pokemon currently in the game to 100. Legendary Pokemon Kyogre was added to the game last month and will continue to appear in raid battles until February 14.
For more on Pokemon Go, read why I flew 1,750 miles to catch a single Pokemon as well as some thoughts on the current state of the game, including EX Raids.
Andrew is IGN’s executive editor of news and currently has 343 Pokemon in his Pokedex. He has still never received an EX Raid invitation. You can find him rambling about Persona and cute animals on Twitter.