To truly master Pokemon Go, players need to take full advantage of the Pokestops they come across over the course of their travels — here's all the latest intel on how to get the most out of these locations.
Trainers have now had a few days to get to grips with Pokemon Go, and it's clear that the game is already a huge hit. As players spend more time with the title, more complex strategies are sure to emerge, and the experience as a whole is going to become lots more competitive.
Given the random nature of finding and capturing Pokemon, it's a good idea to take full advantage of the one resource you can rely upon — Pokestops. These locations are littered all over the place, and visiting them can reap some very useful rewards.
Finding Pokestops
When players walk around with Pokemon Go open on their smartphone, they'll occasionally see blue icons overlaid onto the map. These are Pokestop indicators.
The Pokestop icon will change once the player is close enough to make a visit — touching the Pokestop will confirm whether or not it's within range.
Once it's inside the trainer's purple perimeter ring, touching the marker and swiping the photo (flipping the coin, so to speak) will produce a number of bubbles containing items; popping these bubbles claims the loot.
Pokestop Rewards
At the moment, there are several types of items that a Pokestop can reward players with — however, this list might change as time goes on.
- Pokeball — Given that this is by far the most common reward, Pokestops are the most cost-effective way to ensure that you maintain a base level of Pokeballs that you can use to capture new monsters.
- Potion — Used to recover your the HP of your Pokemon following a battle.
- Razz Berry — A consumable item that makes it easier to capture a particular Pokemon.
- Revive — If your Pokemon faints in a gym battle against a rival team, this will restore them to half their maximum health.
- Lucky Egg — A consumable item that doubles your experience gained for thirty minutes upon activation.
- Egg — A Pokemon that will only hatch after you walk 2KM, 5KM, or 10KM while it's stored in an incubator.
There's no limit to how many players can claim rewards from a Pokestop over a particular time frame, but individuals will have to wait five minutes between swiping the symbol and retrieving a new set of rewards — the marker changes to purple when it's recharging and will turn blue again once it's ready. Only Pokeballs and Eggs are offered up until the player reaches level 5, at which point the rest of the list comes into play.
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Installing Modules
Modules are consumable items that can be installed on a Pokestop. At present, there's only the Lure Module available in Pokemon Go, although there's every possibility that more items of this kind will be added later on.
Lure Modules are souped-up versions of the Incense consumable that center their effect around a Pokestop, rather than an individual player. For this reason, they're used to their greatest advantage when other players are present at the location — unless they're representing a different team, of course.
These items are available from the in-game shop at a price of 100 Pokecoins for one module, or 680 Pokecoins for six. They're also distributed as one of the rewards handed out when the player reaches various levels.
Getting the Most Out of Pokestops
First and foremost, Pokestops should be used to save money — visiting enough should mean that players don't have to fork out money for Pokeballs, Potions and other essential items. Anyone living near an urban area should find enough Pokestops to restock their supplies in their vicinity.
However, there's also a social element to these locations, as installing a Lure Module benefits everyone in the area. That means that players can get more for their money if they share the financial burden of paying for the consumables: if a party of three each buy one and install it on a particular Pokestop in succession, the trio can enjoy 90 minutes of enhanced Pokemon population for the same individual price they would pay for 30.
Even moreso than the asynchronous gyms of Pokemon Go, Pokestops seem to be designed as a meeting point for trainers — which might suggest that they'll come into play when features like player-to-player trading are added. For now, they're good for two things; restocking items, and using up Lure Modules.
More Guides:
- How to Level Up
- How to Become a Gym Leader
- How to Win Battles
- How to Catch Pikachu as a Starter
- How to Hatch Eggs
- How to Rank Up Fast
- How to Get Pokecoins
Pokemon GO is now available for Android and iOS in select regions.