A much-requested feature for Pokémon GO since COVID-19 restrictions kicked in worldwide has been the ability to join any raid you can see in-game, and Niantic has this morning announced they’re making that a possibility.

Here’s what we know so far:

• You’ll acquire a ‘Remote Raid Pass’ from the store and be able to carry multiple at a time.

• There will be a 1 Pokécoin bundle at launch with some Remote Raid Passes

• At launch, the price of the Remote Raid Passes will be 100 Pokécoins, although it sounds like they’ll go up sometime in the future.

• With a ‘Remote Raid Pass,’ you’ll be able to join any raid you can see on the nearby screen as you look around your in-game map.

• However, it was noted that up to twenty trainers can join a raid, with a limited number being remote raiders. What this means exactly, will need clarifying.

• Any Remote Raids you complete count towards any other normal raid challenges like medals or field research.

This following part is interesting and makes it sounds like Niantic is ready to strap Remote Raid Passes in as a full-time feature for the game.

“At launch, Trainers battling in raids remotely will have the same attack power as Trainers who are able to battle at the raid location in person. At a later time, the attack power for Trainers battling remotely will be reduced. Afterward, a Trainer battling at the raid location in person will have higher attack power than a Trainer battling remotely.”

It seems at launch and during the COVID-19 crisis that remote raiders will all be the same level. In the future, if the feature sticks around it could be balanced so those at home don’t get to play at full strength, and thus rewards players for attending the raid location.

Niantic is also toying with a feature that would let you invite friends to join a raid with you and the number of remote raiders that would be allowed to join any raid at one time.

There’s no official date or time for when these passes will launch, but you can bet its soon so keep your eyes on the store.

Some bonus tidbit from the announcement post:

• You’ll start receiving a Field Task every day at midnight now without having to spin a Pokéstop. These bonus tasks are activities you can complete at home and will take up a fourth extra Field Task slot. However, if you have all four full you won’t get a fifth.

• When you start running low on gifts now, your buddy Pokémon will apparently “venture to a nearby Pokéstop and bring you back some gifts.”

• In one swift move, you’ll know to be able to power up your Pokémon to the desired CP using the required candy and stardust at the same time.

• You can now activate another lure, star piece or incense to extend the time it runs for without having to wait for the original to finish.

• The battle screen is getting an update. Now you’ll be able to see a Pokémons type as well as if a move is super effective or not.

All of this sounds fantastic and I’m pleased with not only how Niantic is handling these challenging times but how they’re constantly tweaking the Battle Go system to be something special for trainers out there.

Let us know in the comments how you feel about the Remote Raid Passes and if it’s something you’d be using even when the world returns to normal.