When Pokemon Go players look for raid help on Discord or Facebook Messenger, two of the most common responses are variations of:
On my way with 4 accounts.
and
I can help. Level 35.
Neither response is terribly helpful. While it’s nice to know the number of players that can help out and what their levels are, there’s more useful information. The person with four accounts could have four level 25s, which isn’t the best help for raids. The level 35 players could be a trainer that doesn’t bother to level up his or her Pokemon. Maybe the players on the way don’t have the right counters or they always use Pokemon Go’s recommended raid counters (which are rarely optimal). You’d be better served raiding with four high-level players that understand the Pokemon Go metagame than nine casual players that simply follow in-game recommendations.
In its current form, the only way to sort out top trainers from casual ones is through time and repetition. Raiding with the same players over and over again will help you learn if they’re extremely helpful or just bodies taking up space. Sure, one of the game’s goals is socializing, but wouldn’t you rather play with people that are good instead of people that think that Lugia is a good counter for Latios?
Solutions For Finding Quality Raid Partners
There are two potential solutions that wouldn’t be too hard for Niantic to implement. The first and less likely would happen during a raid’s countdown screen. It would be fantastic to see which Pokemon your fellow raiders have selected. Sticking with the Latios example (let’s go with solar-beam Latios in sunny weather), if you see a trainer loading up with high-level Rayquazas, Dragonites, and Salamences over middling Lugias, Tyranitars, and Kyogres then you’ll want to raid with him or her in the future. If they use the crap recommended Pokemon then it’s probably best to ignore them on Discord or Facebook (unless they bring you free donuts or are immensely charming).
Another solution would be to show the amount of damage each trainer did at the end of the raid. It would be easier to implement and require less data than showing each trainer’s team. While it wouldn’t show you the nuances of the solution above, it would give the most meaningful information. You’ll want to raid with the top three damage dealers over the deadbeat that battled with a Blissey just to save revives and potions.
Of course the argument against both of these solutions is that they (potentially) go against Pokemon Go’s social aspect. Taking the time to meet to get to know other trainers could lead to friendships. Quickly finding out which trainers are poor battlers could lead to squabbles and cliques. I suppose it depends what you want out of the game. Personally, I’d love to meet interesting people that know how to raid optimally. The two solutions above would be a great help with that.