Pokemon Go
is a different game now than it was when it launched in July 2016. There are dozens of new Pokemon, the gym system has been completely overhauled, Raid Battles have been added to the game and a weather system has been introduced. But the one thing that could really give the game a boost is some semblance of progression or story. If you aren’t driven by simply “catching ’em all,” there’s really nothing to keep you invested in the game.
Thankfully, it looks like that’s about to change. A recent datamine from the sleuths over at The Silph Road reveals that Pokemon Go’s quest system is about to be totally reworked to feature story quests, challenge quests and characters to assign quests, which might make Pokemon Go feel like a more complete game.
Prior to the 0.91.1 update that began rolling out this week, there were only two objectives that players could complete as part of a quest: first catch of the day and first PokeStop of the day. After the update, there are now ten objectives, including walking a Buddy Pokemon, feeding a Pokemon, winning a gym battle and hatching an egg.
But the most exciting line of code in the latest update points to multi-part quests which could be more like the quests you would pick up in a full-fledged RPG. These might be handed out by quest characters, such as Professor Willow, who basically disappears after you pick a team in the current iteration of the game.
Details surrounding the new quest system are still sparse, but it appears that the quest characters have been given the ability to express themselves, presumably in order to congratulate you for completing a quest. There are also pre-conditions for quests, which means you might have to reach a certain level or earn a certain badge before you’re able to accept some quests. This suggests that new players will have to work their way up to more advanced quests.
None of these mechanics are live yet, but it looks like Niantic has begun to lay the groundwork for a quest system that could keep players engaged long after they’ve caught 150 Pidgeys. Pokemon Go might even be getting a story nearly two years after it launched. The developers have certainly had plenty of time to write one.
