It goes away on August 21
Pokemon Unitehas been out for a full year, andthe team is celebrating with some anniversary events.Quite a few events, actually! Whenever I’ve logged in during this period I’ve had a heck of a time delving into various menus to accept all of the login bonuses. But by far my favorite element of the event is thePokemon Uniteboss rush mode: a limited-time almost “MMO raid-like” set of encounters against three bosses in a co-op format. I hope it sticks around permanently.
So amid the introduction of Glaceon (July 21), Buzzwole (August 3), and Tyranitar (August 15), there’s a bunch of different campaigns and bonuses going on. You have several team-up/friend/invite-a-friend schemes meant to entice people to invite acquaintances into the game, the aforementioned login bonuses (which are tied to getting Glaceon for free, as well as anniversary cake bonuses); but the one that’s had the biggest impact for me is boss rush.
As a short five-minute diversion (or less, if you’re able to clear it fast enough), you’ll jump into a game with four other players and take on three waves of bosses to get the best clear time/score. The game takes from a pool of five bosses for the first two rounds, with a final showdown against Regigigas.
Interestingly,Uniteboss rush has MMO boss fight elements
A lot of typical MMO conventions apply, and some are taken directly fromWorld of WarcraftorFinal Fantasy XIV. One mechanic involves hiding behind a block of ice during the Articuno battle to avoid a blizzard wiping the party. Another has players strategically spread out to dodge shocking other players, with a giant area-of-effect ring emanating out of your character to denote said ability range. Although there has been a bit of telegraphed dodging and PVE fighting against bigger enemies in the regular game (like Zapdos), it’s never been shown off quite on this scale: and I’m intrigued.
Even against the smallish pool of enemies, I found myself wanting a full-time PVE mode to tackle whenever I’m feeling the fatigue of competitive play (which, inPokemon United, is often!). I have a lot of characters, costumes, and items at this point, and getting to use them against something other than the same old competitive fare is a great way to keep a lot of people invested in playing.
Maybe this mode is a test at the moment, but I hope it passes. You actually have two more chances to partake in it, as the first boss rush period has ended. The next one starts on July 31.
