Tuesday Tips: PokeStops!

[inkstone]

This community was partially inspired by conversations I've had with friends face-to-face and on Twitter about PokeGo. Due to the nature of the game, there's a lot you need to figure out on your own. And some of the things that seem like bugs are actually features because they're either level balancers or trying to encourage you to interact with other players.

So I thought: Wouldn't it be nice if there was a place where tips & advice could be shared? Because while PokeGo has been available here in the US for 3 weeks now, it's still rolling out globally, meaning newer players are always joining. In a nutshell: I want to save people from the confused flailing I went through the first few days of PokeGo gameplay.

So today, let's talk about our community's namesake: POKESTOPS

As you probably know from gameplay, PokeStops are those little landmarks where you can obtain resources. On your map, they're indicated by floating blue cubes that transform into discs when you're within range to interact with them.

Depending on your level, PokeStops drop:

• pokeballs (regular, great & ultra)


• razz berries


• healing potions (regular, super, hyper)


• revive potions


• eggs (2km, 5km, 10km)

Some tips & tricks:

• lure modules: You get lure modules as rewards at certain levels. They can be installed at a PokeStop by clicking on the white oval under the name. PokeStops with active lure modules installed are indicated on your map by raining pink cherry blossoms. What do lure modules do? They lure pokémon to the PokeStop! And they benefit everyone, not just the person who installed it. So if you have some time & are in the vicinity, head on over to take advantage. (Lure modules stay active for 30 minutes.)


• cool down time: After you hit up a PokeStop, it turns purple. It takes ~5 minutes to turn blue again -- meaning that you can spin the disc for more resources. But be careful! The PokeStop tends to turn blue before the ~5 minutes are up, which means you can't actually get those resources right then. So if you're camping out at a PokeStop, wait a few seconds after it turns blue before spinning again.


• x marks the spot: When you spin the disc and the PokeStop turns purple, you should see an x appear below the picture circle. Click that to collect your resources instead of tapping on each one individually. This is especially handy if you're in a moving vehicle (as a passenger! don't pokego and drive, please!) and trying to collect resources before they fall out of range.

Anyone have other helpful tips for PokeStops?



*** I like to be clever with titles, hence "Tuesday Tips." But don't let that stop you. If you have helpful tips you want to share with the community, feel free to do so any day of the week!

Comments

[ephemera]

A thing that is both apparently too basic for most tutorials to mention and non-obvious enough that it took me a day to figure it out, you have to swirl your finger around the "disc" of the pokestop image to "trigger" it.

[inkstone]

Good point! You can also just swipe your finger horizontally across the disc.

[chocolatepot]

Yes! The first time I went to one I accidentally attached my lure to it because I couldn't figure out how to activate it.

[meganbmoore]

I was playing with the spinning at work the other day for pokestops that were out of range just for fun then finally got unlazy enough (and it was finally a bit below 100 fahrenheit) to stop by one day and started spinning it while trying to figure out what I was supposed to do there.

[kittydesade]

Being way too much of a stats nerd I have discovered that Pokestops drop about 50-60% pokeballs and 5-10% everything else, depending on what level you're at and how much everything else there is.

I can probably break down the everything else a bit further and give the stats from each of the 5 days I did this if anyone wants. Just thought you might like to know.

[inkstone]

Huh, that's pretty neat! Feel free to share the breakdown with the community, if you like.

[senmut]

I am noticing that the PokeStops closest to gyms seem to be more generous in the amount of items given.

[inkstone]

You know, I haven't noticed that but that makes a lot of sense.

[yuuago]

One thing that I appreciate is that you don't have to be right on the Pokestop in order to smack it. I haven't quite figured out what the required distance is, but there are some that I can hit from all the way across the street, which is convenient for my lazy butt.

[inkstone]

It definitely makes it easier to collect resources on Your Route^tm efficiently!

[elfin]

It seems like it's roughly the same distance as what Ingress uses for its portals, and that's 40 meters.

[aguacatillo]

Pokestops don't give out items when your bag is full (350 items, you get a "your bag is full" message when you spin the pokestop), but you still get the XP for visiting them so I find it worth doing.

[inkstone]

That's good to know. When I hit the "bag is full" limit (it doesn't happen often because I don't live in the city), I usually start tossing out healing & revive potions because unless you're challenging gyms 24/7, you don't actually need as many as you'll accumulate.

[storme]

I have yet to find a need for revive potions at all, even when challenging gyms. I just heal with potions.

[inkstone]

It depends. I'm bad at dodging and have a tendency to challenge gyms defended by pokemon much stronger than my crew because you get more XP when you defeat them.

[storme]

I do that too! Even if my pokemon is entirely defeated, I don't use a revive to heal them up after -- I just use potions to heal from 0 HP.

(I am also level 20 -- which by local standards is barely competitive, we're in a pocket of many people who are level 25 and above -- so I also tend to ditch my potions in favor of hyper potions because I need about 20 of the lower-level potions to heal my pokemon. :D)

[moxieweed]

I wonder if eggs are totally random or if there's any kind of factor that can determine which you get.

I got two 10km eggs the first day I played, but haven't gotten any since, which is why I'm curious about it... My sister seems to get them all the time.

[inkstone]

I think it might be pretty random. There could be factors shifting drops one way or another but based on reports, there doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason.

[lilacsigil]

If it's hailing and you don't want to get out of the car but you can't quite reach the Pokestop, trying giving the phone to someone else in the car. They might be slightly closer! /poke-winter tips!

[inkstone]

Man, I wonder what PokeHunting is going to be like during the winter here in the U.S.!

[lizbee]

My friends and I were saying that we were relieved it dropped in the Australian winter -- we're scouting out air conditioned Pokestops for summer.