Why Niantic Discontinued EX Pokemon GO Raid Pass: The Full Story

While Pokemon GO is now dominated by Normal Raid Pass, Premium Raid Pass, and Remote Raid Pass, years ago, there was another raid pass that was popular among the community due to its exclusivity and the potential rewards. Prior to COVID-19, Pokemon GO had three raid passes through which the trainers could take part in raid battles. While the normal raid pass and premium raid pass were accessible to all, the third raid pass, known as the ex Pokemon GO raid pass, was invitation-only.

Over time, the ex raid passes became a big part of the game, allowing trainers to gather with their friends at a scheduled time and a certain gym to take down the raid boss and earn special rewards. However, when COVID-19 hit the World, the ex raid passes were halted by Niantic, and over time, it slowly disappeared from the game.

In this blog, we will take a look at the reasons why Ninatic discontinued the Ex Pokemon GO Raid Pass. However, before that, let us understand what an ex raid pass is and how the invitation worked.

What is Ex Pokemon GO Raid Pass?

An ex Pokemon GO Raid Pass is a special and invitation-only raid pass that allows players to take part in an exclusive raid battle. The raid date and time were already scheduled prior to the day of the raid battle. The details were sent out to the trainers along with the invitation to the game.

These raids generally featured a powerful and exclusive Pokemon that was not available in normal raids. Naturally, it took quite a few trainers' collective effort to take down the raid boss. Deoxys and Mewtwo are a couple of the most favorite ex Raid boss in their time.

How to Get An Ex Raid Pass in Pokemon GO?

To keep it short, you could only battle in an ex Raid if you had an Ex Raid pass in Pokemon GO. This is strictly an invite-only pass and was not available in the in-game store. Here's what it required to get an ex raid invitation:

• You would need to do several raids (using normal and premium raid passes) in specific gyms in Pokemon GO that had an Ex Raid Tag.
• After a certain number of raids (3-4 raids in ex raid gyms throughout the week), a small number of trainers who raided at those gyms would be selected for the ex raid invite. If you were lucky, you would get more than one invite.
• Each ex raid invitation came with a specific date and time, along with the name of the gym where the raid would take place.

Considering the exclusivity of these raids, it seemed a great idea on paper. For a long time, the community also enjoyed the whole idea of ex raids. However, the randomized invitations slowly became a subject of criticism in the Pokemon GO community, and COVID-19 hit the final nail in the coffin.

Reasons Why Niantic Discontinued EX Pokemon GO Raid Pass

Ex Pokemon GO Raid Pass enjoyed the same popularity in its time as the remote raid pass. However, there are many reasons why Niantic decided to discontinue it after COVID:

• Remote Raid Pass: It is safe to say that the Remote Raid Pass's concept was the final nail in the coffin for the ex raid pass. With COVID-19 putting a stop to physical interaction, ex-raid passes served no purpose in the game. With the arrival of the remote raid pass, trainers were able to take part in raids remotely from the comfort of their homes. Ultimately, the remote raid pass was everything that the community had been asking for.
• Specific Date & Time: While the scheduled time and date meant managing your duties to have time to attend the ex raids, more often than not, it was hard for trainers to manage it week-in and week-out, especially since these raids took place during the weekdays and during the traditional working hours.
• Spoofing Issues: To increase your odds of receiving ex raid invites, the best practice is to take part in raids on ex gyms as much as you can. This is something that the spoofers (players who used the mod app) exploited, and boosted their chances to receive multiple invitations by taking part in raids in numerous ex-raid gyms throughout the World.
• Low Participation: At the end of 2019, there was a low participation noticed in ex raid battles. This was mainly due to the randomized invitations. Moreover, for the trainers who did not play within a community, receiving an ex-raid invite would mean nothing, as the trainers were not able to communicate with other invited trainers to participate and take down the raid boss together.

While these raid passes are discontinued, one of the best aspects of the ex raid pass was that the Pokemon who were featured were rare as they were not obtainable from normal raids. Want to know more about rare Pokemon? Check out our guide to the rarest Pokemon in Pokemon GO.