Ever since the release of Pokemon GO back in July 2016, a large number of players have been complaining about the game’s algorithm. Players who live in rural and suburban areas find it a tad more difficult to find and catch Pokemon compared to someone living in the city. Fortunately, after waiting for a very long time, it seems like Niantic has finally addressed the issue in the latest server-side update.
According to Slash Gear, the rather low spawn rate in rural and suburban areas is now a thing of the past. The site claims that Pokemon GO players from across the United States have registered an increase in spawn rate for sparsely populated areas. Some players even saying that there is a noticeable 10 to 15 percent increase in Pokemon spawns.
In addition to this, some Reddit users have reported that Niantic has also introduced some other server-side changes to the game. The previous 15-minute spawn-rate per location has now been deprecated. Instead, the spawn-rate per location is now 30 minutes. On top of this, Niantic has also lengthened the appearances of Pokemon from between 30 to 60 minutes.
Another thing worth noting is that the new update now makes it possible for a Pokemon to stay in one place with one-shot action. This means they will not run away and respawn in the same location after 15 minutes or so. Unfortunately, the noticeable changes were only for the US. It is unknown at the moment if Niantic will be implementing the same changes to other regions.
It seems like Niantic is doing its best to recapture the players it has lost over the months. It not a secret anymore that Pokemon GO has lost a considerable amount of players a few months after its release. However, with regular updates and events, Niantic is fostering growth for the game. On every Pokemon GO event held, a lot of old players are finding themselves enjoying the game once more.