Summary
For the first time since it launched, I got invested inPokemon Trading Card Game Pocket’sRanked Battles this season. I reached Ultra Ball Rank 2 on my journey, and had a pretty respectable win rate on my way there (and I blame most of my losses on me bricking the RNG draws).
While, for the most part, I had a lot of fun climbing the ladder, there were two things that frustrated me — no win streak bonus in Ultra Ball rank, and the fact that, for a period, I was dropping between Great Ball 4 and Ultra Ball 1. Thankfully, in a new post, the Pokemon TCG Pocket developers have confirmed that they will be rectifying things.
Rank Drops and Win Streak Bonuses Are Being Altered In Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket
In a newtweet, the Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket team outlined a pair of changes it would be making in order to “makeRanked Matchesmore enjoyable.”
The first change, which comes into effect from the season that begins around July, will see players finally receive a consecutive win bonus in Ultra Ball and Master Ball ranks. This means that, in theory, it should be a little easier to blitz through the ranks if you manage to chain a few wins together.
Secondly, beginning in the season that starts around August, once players reach Master Ball rank, they’ll no longer be able to drop to Ultra Ball, and once they’re in Ultra Ball, they’ll no longer be able to drop to Great Ball. This is clearly designed to avoid frustration and to help players feel like they are progressing with no major drawbacks.
The team adds that there are “currently no plans to change drops in rank that are applied at the beginning of the season.”
This feels like another major step in DeNA and The Pokemon Company listening to player feedback. Earlier this year, it was confirmed that Trading in Pokemon TCG Pocket would be altered to better suit the needs of casual players, following feedback thatthe system was broken from the get-go.
