Any tips for beginners?
Use the tracker
Possibly the most important tool in Pokémon Go is the
'Nearby' tracker. Click on the small bar in the bottom right of the
screen to call up any nearby Pokémon. Critters you have found before
will show in full, but new Pokémon will be indicated by a silhouette.
Check how far your chosen quarry is via the amount of footprints and get
on the move. If you’re heading in the right direction, the amount of
footprints will drop. Good use of the tracker will bolster your
collection in no time.
Visit Pokéstops regularly
It’s always worth dropping by Pokéstops (local landmarks like train stations, signs, shops indicated with a blue marker on the map) to restock your Pokéballs. They’re not infinite, but you will always find a handful at a local landmark to keep your stock healthy. Lucky eggs are also common at Pokéstops, which you can use to boost your XP. And you never know, you might find something even better if you’re really fortunate. To use a Pokéstop, visit the blue icon on the map and once the box changes to a Pokémon symbol tap on it. Then spin the picture in the middle to claim your loot.One handy hint for Pokéstops is that if you are travelling by car or train and see Pokéstops coming up, call up the icon and start spinning ahead of time. Once you're close enough you'll immediately activate the loot drop as you whizz by.
Aim true
Once you find a Pokémon you will still have to catch them. Once the critter is rendered into the environment, a reticule appears over it. The moving reticule is your timing gauge and difficulty indicator. Green is an easy catch, yellow medium, red hard. The higher leve a Pokémon, the more Pokéballs you might have to use to finally trap it.When aiming, once the reticule is at its smallest that's your best chance for a successful capture. Swipe your finger towards the Pokémon to hit it with the Pokéball. If you circle your finger around the ball before you throw, you can put a bit of spin on it for bonus points and showing off.
Good throws get you bonus XP and means you use less Pokéballs, so take your time. Also, while it's slightly less cool, if you turn off the AR effect that renders the Pokémon into the environment, they will stay still on your screen. Particularly useful if you are catching on the move.
Look out for leaves
You’ll notice fluttering foliage icons on the map at certain times, this indicates there is potentially a rarer Pokémon snuffling in that area. Go find out!Incubate those eggs
As well as Pokéballs and potions, you will pick up eggs at Pokéstops. You can then nurse them into hatching by popping them in your incubators and going for a walk. Different eggs take longer than others. So you might be able to hatch a new Pokémon after 2km or 10km. Though the effort on those longer should be worth it. To incubate an egg, you will find the ones you've collected in the Pokémon tab on your options. Tap on one and choose an incubator, then get moving. Oh and don't think you can just hop on a train to cover the distance, the game will know if you're moving too fast.Power up and evolutions
One of the main appeals of the game is training up your Pokémon and having them evolve into bigger, more capable creatures. In Pokémon Go, you can 'power up' by giving your finds stardust which comes with every Pokémon capture. Evolutions are triggered by offering a certain amount of 'candy' associated with that species.You collect candy by capturing that particular species. So make sure you bag every Pokémon you see. While you might get a bit fed up of seeing Pidgeys everywhere, capture enough and you'll have candy to evolve one in to a Pidgeotto. Only choose a handful of champion Pokémon to work on, and certainly only one of each species, and you'll have Pokémon powerful enough to rule the roost at your local gym when you take them into battle.
Go collecting in different areas at different times of the day
Some Pokémon are more active at different times of the day. So you might have more luck catching nocturnal species in the evening. Different types of Pokémon also inhabit different areas. The game pays attention to the topography on the map –countryside, water, buildings- so if you want a Magikarp (and who doesn’t) then you’re better off hunting by the lake. In both instances, be careful when tracking Pokémon.
Combine items for big gains
Incense items makes you pungent to Pokémon, meaning you will attract
more critters for 30 minutes while you’re out and about. To really make
the most of your half-hour, combine incense with a lucky egg to gain an
XP boost from your extra captures.
Look out for lure modules
A lure module is an item that can be used at Pokéstops to attract
special Pokémon to that area. You can set one off yourself, but the
twist here is that anyone playing nearby can reap the benefits of an
active lure. A Pokéstop with a lure enabled will sparkle purple, so you
are likely to find some other trainers playing nearby and you should
grab yourself a decent catch. This is the game’s most social aspect,
with reports of scores of trainers flocking to popular Pokéstops when a
lure is enabled. It is a lot of fun, but another feature to be careful
of. Which brings us to…
Safety tips
Please be careful playing Pokémon Go. It is a game which combines the
real-world and technology in a smart and compelling way. And its
potential to get people moving and meet up with like-minded people is
largely a very good thing.
However, caution should be paid to certain aspects.
- Always watch where you are going when tracking a Pokémon on your map and be aware of your surroundings, police are issuing warnings for people to keep eyes off their phones when crossing the street.
- Mind your battery. We’re not joking when we say Pokémon Go is a hungry game. It drains battery quicker than almost any app we’ve seen. You can switch on battery saver in the settings, but make sure you do it every time you turn the app on. Last thing you want is to go on an epic trek to a new area and find your phone without power.
- Check your security settings. Whether by accident or design, Pokémon Go seems to give the app full access to your Google account when you sign-in via that method. You can revoke that access by visiting your privacy settings on your Google account page. You should.
- Be wary of active lures at Pokéstops. The story of a gang using the feature to rob players carrying expensive smartphones at gunpoint sounds like an extreme case, but there is the danger of the feature of such a popular game being abused. Common sense is the best course. Do not go to some secluded backstreet Pokéstop in the middle of the night. That Jigglypuff can wait.
