Pokemon GO players have long expressed concerned about the game's EX Raid battle system and the seemingly random way in which EX Raid invites are sent out. The frustration is significant enough that even high profile Pokemon GO players have ditched the game saying that the lack of EX Raid invites has left them feeling dejected.
Developer Niantic has pledged to fix how invites are sent out and it seems that the results of these efforts are now being felt by Pokemon GO players. Many Pokemon GO players around the world say that they are suddenly receiving EX Raid invites for the first time. While this would usually be good news, not all players are responding positively to the change.
According to reports on social media, players are receiving invites to EX Raids at Gyms that they do not visit frequently. Some have only visited the Gym once, some are at Gyms that are on the other side of the world (visited on vacation), and some are being invited to Gyms that they have only visited and had never conducted a normal raid at.
Overall, the consensus is that Niantic is trying to send out more EX Raid invites to players who don't put all of their focus on a particular Gym and may only have Bronze-level badges at that location. Previously, it was understood that players had to have completed a raid or needed to have a high-level badge at the Gym in order to receive an invite.
The reason that some Pokemon GO players are frustrated is that they feel this change encourages GPS spoofing. GPS spoofing is when someone fakes their location in order to visit Gyms and PokeStops in other regions (and catch region exclusive Pokemon). It is a problem that has affected the game for some time and players argue that this latest wave of EX Raid invites will only make the situation worse.
This isn't the only thing that fans are upset about, though. It seems that at the core of all of this, Pokemon GO players are just disappointed at Niantic's lack of communication.
If the developer made a mistake with the EX Raid invite system initially then fans say that Niantic should admit it. Players also want to know - in explicit terms - what the developer is doing to fix the issue. These latest changes to EX Raid invites haven't gone over well and it's unclear when these concerns may be addressed, but some clear communication would go a long way.
Pokemon GO is available on Android and iOS.