"Practical Tips for those that Haven't Done a Raid Yet"

#PokemonGO: Hello there!There are quite a number of threads with suggestions on changing the raiding system and the like. However, I suspect some people haven’t even done a raid yet or are still overwhelmed with info. This post is to help people just get straight information and a few tips, especially those trainers just getting started with raids. Much of the info presented is based on questions I have been asked by trainers I have met, or that I asked myself on the first few bosses.Finding and Getting into a Raid-- Raids will show up in your Nearby tab under Raids only if you are in range of the gym – you will also get an in-game message if you are. “ In range” means you can see it on your map. The Raid tab will have a number displayed if there are any raids in range (no need to open the tab if nothing is displayed).--- If you see an egg, the time shown on the gym (or if you click on the gym and click on the egg icon in the lower left corner) is the countdown to when the raid boss will appear. If you see a shadow of a boss with the text “In Progress,” that means the boss can be battled (one hour raid timer is counting down). It doesn’t mean anyone is actually fighting the boss at that time, so just get over to the gym before the time expires. The time noted is the amount of time left before you can no longer battle the boss.-- The number of faces under the egg/shadow indicate the level of the raid boss, from 1 to 4 (4 being the hardest). If you defeat the boss, the shadow remains though.-- You can enter a raid up to the last second, so even if you get to the gym with only one minute left, you can start the battle.-- At the gym, spin the disc before you enter the raid. You won’t be able to spin it afterwards. It will also give you a free raid pass if you don’t have one and you have not got one that day yet.-- Click on the Battle button and you will have to use a raid pass. If you had one from a prior day and didn’t use it, you will be able to get another one after the raid so you can do two raids in that day for free.-- If you don’t have a raid pass in your inventory, you will be directed to the shop where you can purchase a premium raid pass which is only good for one raid.The Waiting RoomOnce you click on your raid pass you enter the “waiting room” of the raid. If you are the first (or only) person to join, you will have two minutes before you battle the raid boss. If you join after the first person you will have less than two minutes, basically whatever the time is at when you join.From this screen you have:-- The Raid Group – You will see the avatar of the other trainers in the raid, if any. The number of trainers in the raid is also displayed.-- Attacker Selection – The default attackers picked by the game are displayed. Pick your six.-- Quit – In the upper left you can quit the raid. If you quit, there is no penalty other than if you were in with other people you cannot rejoin them. They could also quit though, and you could start a new raid. Handy if someone starts the raid too soon. All they have to do is quit.-- Items – To the right of the Quit icon is the Items icon. You can access potions from this screen to heal prior to the encounter, but if you click on the Item icon, then your Attacker lineup will revert to the default. So do not use this function or if you must, do it before picking your attackers.-- Countdown Timer -- Battle begins when it reaches zero; other trainers can join during the countdown.-- Raid Code – You will see three images of starters in the code box. Don’t worry about it, that’s the general code for the open raid group you are in (it starts at three Bulbasaurs for the first raid group and increments from there) . However, if you had clicked on the “Private Group” instead of Battle, you would go to a screen to select Create Group and the three Pokemon images is your own group code then tell the trainers you want in your private raid that code to enter. They would select Private Group instead of Battle and enter the code you gave them.The Boss Battle, Defeat, and CatchYou have about three minutes to defeat the boss – actually 176 seconds.-- When you defeat the boss (it shrinks in size and CP), you will get items and 3,000 XP. Trainers will get different items. So some might get mostly Revives and another might get a TM (or 3). It appears to be random. Research is ongoing as to variables that might increase items (raid level, etc.).-- You will also get Premier Balls, the number of which increases based on your damage contribution and who controlled the gym before the egg appeared announcing a raid. Some people seem to think it is sneaky to take the gym before the raid starts so they get an extra two balls. Doesn’t work like that. No team will get the team control bonus in that case.-- Click on the Bonus Catch button at the bottom of the screen and you have a normal catch screen. However, you can only use the Premier Balls you earned to catch the Pokemon . You can use whatever berries you choose.-- You may have gotten Golden Razz Berries. If you don’t see them when you try to use them, they are displayed to the left of the Pineap Berries so you may need to scroll. You do not need to use the Golden Razz Berries on the Pokemon. Personally I use regular ones or none if I don’t care if I catch it or not.-- The Pokemon will flee once you run out of Premier Balls.-- After a successful catch, you don't get to keep any unused Premier Balls.-- If caught, the move set and IVs may be different between raid members. Everyone will receive a Level 20 Pokemon though.Panic Attacks-- If you lose connection at the end of the battle when the boss is defeated, log back in and click on the gym. It may look like you have to re-battle but when you try you may be back at the catch screen (assuming the raid timer has not expired and it is back to a regular gym).-- Same deal if your Pokemon Storage is full and you cannot catch the Pokemon --exit and reenter.-- If all of your Pokemon faint during the battle and time is left, you can reenter the battle.-- If you fail to defeat the boss, you can make as many attempts as you can before the raid timer expires without needing another Raid Pass .Tips-- Before entering the Battle:Spin the gym Disc, you can't after defeating the boss.Make sure you have room for items and Pokemon.Have or get your Pass.Know your type matching or consult the type chart before entering the battle. You want to maximize damage to the boss in the shortest period of time. Although level 1 and 2 raids are trivial for most players, level 3 and 4 raids can be challenging for small groups so you want to do your part!-- Do not use the default attackers unless you are sure they are the best for the job. Blissey has absolutely no place in a race to beat the clock.--Know the six attackers you intend to use before you even enter the Waiting Room. You have two minutes to organize your team, which means you should be sitting there snoozing for 100 seconds, stress free. I have seen people scrambling to organize the team because they didn’t know typing and/or the move sets of their own Pokemon.-- Watch for other players to join. That will help you gauge how rough or easy the fight will be. I have had lower level players standing near me thinking they just defeated a boss solo with one attacker when I was in the raid with them!-- If you joined the raid and no one else seems to be joining, you can always just quit and come back in a few minutes. Same if you see someone walks up while you are organizing your attackers. You can always quit and start a new raid. Of course this all assumes you have sufficient time left on the raid timer.-- You may be a dodge champ, but now is not the time. Most Trainers can defeat the level 1 raid bosses without dodging taking only minimal damage to just one attacker; Level 4 bosses are a clock race for a small group (4 or 5 trainers) depending on the boss. Also, depending on the boss, your focus should be just smashing the boss without dodging and just eat all boss attacks. You do not get the yellow flash to know when to dodge, but you may want to try dodging boss charge moves, especially single charge bar moves like Solar Beam. I don’t bother.-- If you have a Lucky Egg on, you will get 6K XP for defeating the boss, plus the double XP for the catch. However, the rewards screen will still display 3K XP. If you look at your Trainer page and note the XP before and after defeating the boss, you'll see that it is counted properly.-- Remember, there are two timers: one until the raid starts and one until the raid ends. Once you have used your Raid Pass for a raid, the Raid Pass is good until the Raid Timer expires (back to a normal gym). So if you fail to beat the boss, you can keep trying by starting a new raid on that same Raid Pass until the raid ends.Enjoy raiding! via /r/TheSilphRoad http://ift.tt/2sUZOX6