Gamers are no strangers to spending a lot of time on unlocking in-game achievements, trophies, and awards. However, how exactly that time is spent can make a big difference, and that's why one Pokemon GO's player's calculations regarding wasted time earning a Platinum Hero Medal are so concerning.
Pokemon GO has a wide variety of available medals for its players, ranging from celebrating mundane activities like walking a certain distance to beating some of the toughest enemies in the game. The Hero Medal, in particular, is awarded to players in varying tiers based on how many Team Rocket GO members they've defeated in Pokemon battles.
Make no mistake, simply participating in the fights for the Platinum Hero Medal is quite a feat. Players are expected to face off against 2,000 Team Rocket GO members in order to unlock this particular achievement. However, it's the time that's wasted from entering the fight to completing it that concerns Redditor uscmissinglink. According to their calculations, players can expect to spend a whopping 16 hours and 40 minutes of simply waiting for the game to move on.
Uscmissinglink took a look at how long it takes to start and complete a battle, determining that 10 seconds are spent on previewing the match, plus over twenty seconds of post-match notifications. This doesn't include time spent actually playing and fighting, nor does it account for any potential lag that Pokemon GO users might experience due to a poor internet connection or a slower phone. Over the course of 2,000 battles, it really adds up to a significant amount of time.
Rocket Battles: You'll sit through more than 16 hours of unskippable animation sequences to get your Hero Badge to Platinum... from TheSilphRoad
Many players commented in the thread on how time sinks in Pokemon GO have discouraged them in various modes and activities, like the animation time spent purifying one of the many shadow Pokemon retrieved from a Team Rocket GO member, or even attempting to join raids. Others considered how much time they had already spent on this endeavor, having completed the battles necessary to earn the Platinum Hero Medal for themselves.
Pokemon GO has made many quality-of-life adjustments over time since its initial release, but so far, skippable animations for these sequences aren't among them. Niantic is often receptive to fan complaints and demands, though, so there could be some hope of at least shaving off some of the time players spend simply waiting. Pokemon GO has captivated players for years now, but the majority of those users would surely rather be spending their time actually playing than simply watching an animation or notification play out on the screen.
Pokemon GO is now available for mobile devices.