Pokémon Go update angers players by removing key features - here's what's new

The first significant update to Pokémon Go since the game was released almost a month ago has left many players disappointed after it chose to remove a key feature rather than fix it.

When the game was launched on July 6, it included a footprint tracker feature that allowed players to zero in on nearby Pokémon. Opening a box in the bottom-right corner of the screen would show nearby targets each with one, two or three footprints underneath them, indicating how far they were away from the player in intervals of 100m.

Shortly after the game was released, however, the feature stopped working, a glitch that was rumoured to be related to the Google Maps interface that the game uses. Now, in an update to Pokémon Go released over the weekend, the game has removed the step counter entirely, simply showing a list of close Pokémon in the “Nearby” box.

It is the most controversial change in the update to Pokémon Go, which came to iOS and Android on Saturday, and has also been held responsible for resetting players’ accounts. Here’s everything that’s new in the update.

Transferring Pokémon is easier

Sore thumb from scrolling down the screen to trade in those scores of Pidgeys? It’s now easier to trade in Pokémon for candies.

When viewing a Pokémon, instead of scrolling down, there’s a menu button in the bottom right of the screen. Select it and press transfer to transfer it to Professor Oak.

Favourite your best Pokémon

If you’ve ever accidentally transferred your best creatures, this is a welcome update. On the same menu as the option to transfer a Pokémon, you can select the “Favorite” button to save them.

This will prevent you from transferring them by mistake, and you can also rank your monsters in the Pokémon menu with favourites at the top.

Footprints are gone

You can no longer use the footprint indicators to try and track down nearby Pokémon.

This is a feature that has been broken for weeks, but many players are angry that game developer Niantic chose to scrap it rather than fix it.

Battery saving mode scrapped

The game had a battery saving mode in the Settings menu that would dim the screen when walking alone with your phone, saving valuable battery life.

The feature has now been removed from the menu, although it is unclear why. Gamers eager to save power can try tricks such as turning off AR mode and activating battery saver on their phones.

Damage values changed

Different Pokemon’s abilities in battle have changed to balance out the game. For example, Vaporeon, a notoriously strong creature, is slightly weaker.

The powers of many moves have also been changed, largely to make basic attacks less powerful and charge attacks stronger.

Third-party tracking closed

A separate issue from the update, but over the weekend several online maps that allowed players to find rare Pokémon, such as Pokévision, were shut down.

It appears that Niantic sent these services requests to take them down, warning that they violated terms of service. On Twitter, Pokévision said it hoped things would change in the coming days.

Customise your player’s appearance

At the start of the game, players were able to tweak their appearance by choosing clothes, hairstyles and so on.

They are now able to do this at any time by selecting their icon in the bottom left corner of the screen, hitting the menu button on the bottom right, and then choosing “customize”.

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk