1. Keep the app updated As our how to fix Pokemon Go problems guide demonstrates, there are some problems with Pokémon Go that can...
1. Keep the app updated
As our how to fix Pokemon Go problems guide demonstrates, there are some problems with Pokémon Go that can result in a frustrating experience when playing.
Thankfully, the creators of Pokémon Go are constantly updating the app to add new features and improve the stability of the game. Therefore, our first Pokémon Go tip is a rather straightforward one - make sure the Pokémon Go app is updated to the latest version.
To do this you can go into the app store you downloaded it from, search for Pokémon Go, and if there's an update waiting you should see a button to 'Update'. You can also turn on automatic updates for your smartphone.
A new version has just been released which improves load times (making the Pokémon Go app faster), transfer speeds are improved and glitches have been addressed.
2. Get Pikachu as your starter Pokemon
Before you dive into the world of Pokémon Go, here's a nifty tip to get the famous electric Pokémon, Pikachu, as your starter.
Sign up for a new Pokémon Go account and choose your player character. You'll be asked by the Professor to catch a Pokémon - and this is where you usually get the chance to catch the classic stater Pokémon Charmander, Squirtle or Bulbasaur.
Instead, walk away from them (in real life), and continue to walk away from them until your phone vibrates. The three classic stater Pokémon will appear again. Walk away again, and repeat that 3 to 5 more times and Pikachu should appear - allowing you to capture him as your starter Pokémon.
3. Rustling leaves equal wild Pokemon
Pokémon Go utilises augmented reality, but that doesn't mean you'll constantly be gazing into the world through your smartphone's camera. In fact, a great deal of the game is spent traversing a virtual map of the area you're currently inhabiting.
Since the aim of Pokémon Go is to collect Pokémon and train them into new evolutions, you'll need to hunt them down out in the wild. The best visual sign that one is nearby are plumes of leaves rustling on the map. Approach these random events to try and catch it. Remember this tip: different areas will house different types, so be sure to vary your location.
4. Master the art of capture
When you do decide to throw down with a wild Pokémon, there's just the small matter of actually bagging said creature and adding it to your growing roster.
Rather than battling a wild one as you would in a regular Pokémon game, Pokémon Go instead uses a special 'Capture' mode. The virtual world is swapped for the real one as your camera jumps into AR.
Focus your camera on the Pokémon in question and the white ring you use as a pointer will change size and colour - the smaller the ring, the more likely you'll be to capture the Pokémon.
Before you throw a Pokéball, check the colour the ring changes to - green equals easy, yellow equals moderate and red equals tough. Know these colours and you'll be on your way to mastering Pokémon Go.
5. Catch Pokemon by dropping the AR camera
Augmented reality might make for some pretty hilarious screenshots, but did you know using that particular feat makes catching Pokémon in Pokémon Go noticeably harder?
For this Pokémon Go tips, if you want to increase your chances of those Pokéball throws paying off (and avoid paying for expensive Master Pokéballs), then hit the button on the top-right of your screen that says 'AR' during Capture mode.
This will switch off your camera and take you back into the virtual Pokeworld. It certainly doesn't look as cool as seeing a Pokémon in your local park or on the beach, but it will improve catch rates
6. Don't be afraid to have doubles
Since the appearance of Pokémon is totally randomised in Pokémon Go (with factors such as time of day, location type and nearby landmarks all making a difference), there's a good chance you'll have the opportunity to catch more than one creature of the same type.
Naturally, you might be inclined to avoid wasting a Pokéball, but having duplicates has its uses. Extra Pokémon can be traded to Professor Willow for candy, which helps increase the stats of your best Pokémon and even helps them evolve. To do this, click the Pokéball icon, select 'Pokémon' and hit 'Transfer' by the Pokémon you want to drop.
7. Go for Pokemon with better move sets
During your time with Pokémon Go, it's likely that you'll encounter more than one of the same Pokémon. If you do get a chance to capture a Pokémon you already have, take a look at the moves the wild Pokémon has (listed in the Pokémon's information screen after you've captured it) - they may have a better move set than the one you already have.
If that's the case, then remember this tip: capture the new Pokémon, then trade your existing Pokémon for an instantly-better fighter. It's ruthless, but that's the world of Pokémon Go.
8. Play at different times of the day
Different Pokémon appear at different times of the day, so if you're stuck doing the same journey each day, or there's an area you're always in, try visiting at different times to see what new Pokémon you can find.
It's also worth changing your routes to work or home every now and again to find new Pokémon while playing Pokémon Go - but be careful going to unknown places late at night. You may be addicted to Pokémon Go, but you still have to keep yourself safe!
9. Combine Razz Berries with Great Balls
If you encounter a rare (or just hard-to-catch) Pokémon while playing Pokémon Go, you don't want it to escape.
One of the best tips for making your life easier when trying to catch these Pokémon is by using razz berries in conjunction with strong PokéBalls.
Razz berries are items that you can feed to Pokémon to slow them down, making them easier to capture. Once the Pokémon has eaten the razz berry, throw a Great Ball, or an Ultra Ball, to capture the Pokémon. It will greatly improve your chances.
To use a razz berry, tap on your Backpack, then select a razz berry from the list of items. This will send it to the wild Pokémon you've encountered.
10. Spend your Pokecoins on lures and incense
Pokémon Go being a free-to-play game means there are plenty ofmicrotransactions in place to help you fill up on items with real world cash. And whether your increase your balance with actual dollar or the defence of gyms (more on that in the steps ahead), it's how you spend that moolah that makes all the difference.
Your first thought might be to stock up on that iconic commodity - the good ol' Pokéball - but the game actually provides you with plenty of free ones. If you visit every PokéStop on your journey, they should drop them pretty regularly. Now spend those coins on far rarer items such as incense to lures.
11. Use incense to get Pokémon when not moving
Unless you're hoping to jack in your job and take up Pokémon hunting full time, there are times where you'll have to stop walking around gazing into your smartphone for rustling leaves, PokéStops and other important landmarks.
When you're stuck at your desk or at home, you'll need to use lures to attract Pokémon to you. Pokémon Go uses items such as incense to do this and they'll prove some of the most important gear in your virtual backpack. Simply hit the Pokéball at the bottom of the screen, tap 'Items' and select 'Incense' to draw those creatures in - a purple ring around your avatar will show you it's in effects
12. Make incense more powerful
While using incense is a good way to attract Pokémon without moving, a Reddit user has uncovered code that shows by moving around, you can make incense work harder.
According to the code, using incense in Pokémon Go while standing still will spawn one Pokémon every five minutes.
However, if you move around you will spawn 1 Pokémon every minute - or every 200 metres you travel. So, if you want to really make the most out of the incense in Pokémon Go, make sure you move around while you use it.
13. Power up Pokémon before evolving
Pokémon Go doesn't quite make this one clear when you check the main stats of each Pokémon in your collection, but the power of an evolved Pokémon is directly tied to the strength it possessed prior to evolving. So to get some really powerful creatures at your disposal (especially if you're into touring gyms for XP) use plenty of candy and stardust to get those CP levels on the up.
Try to apply this tactic to the most formidable or useful Pokémon in your collection - this will make them ideal for leaving behind to defend gyms in your team's honour
14. Evolution equals full health
If you're a bit of a Pokémon Go gym bunny, chances are your trusty band of Japanese creatures have taken a bit of battering over the weeks. That's okay, everyone loves a bruiser, but what happens when some of your best Pokémon get KO'd at the worst possible moment? Well, there is a cheeky emergency trick you can pull.
You can feed candies and apply stardust to unconscious Pokémon (we don't know why either), but this means you can initiate an evolution on a downed creature. Ergo, your Pokémon will evolve and revive with full health.
15. Gyms and PokéStops equal coins
Coins are the in-game currency of Pokémon Go, but like most in-game currencies the AR-powered smartphone app is decidedly stingy when it comes doling out the cash. Thing is, coins are essentially once you breach level 20 as XP accumulates at a crawl so you'll need coins to buy key items from the store.
PokéStops do drop coins, but the rate at which they appear is so low you can't build any sort of strategy out of using bar pure chance.
Gyms, on the other hand, are much more generous with gold. Defending a gym grants you a tasty Defence Bonus that nets you 10 whole coins. Defend those gyms regularly to bank that moolah.
16. Study gyms before you attack
Pokémon Go's combat doesn't have the nuance or the subtlety of the main games it draws from, but it is still based on the same theories. That means certain Pokémon will be naturally stronger and weaker against other types. So if you're looking to go throwing a few Poképunches in your local gym, be smart and check out the Pokémon that have been stationed there to defend it.
Don't just select the most powerful creature on your roster, instead play smart and select a type that would cause more damage to your opponent's by default (water types weakening fire types, grass types weakening water types, etc). Sometimes a less powerful Pokémon will be far more effective than your favourite fighter.
17. Don't just win gyms - defend them
When you reach level five, the real Pokémon Go begins. Now you're at a high enough level you can begin earning in-game cash by joining one of three teams (Valor, Mystic or Instinct) and capturing or defending gyms.
Other trainers will leave some of their best Pokémon behind to defend them and you'll need to enter Combat mode to claim the territory as your own. Once you've won them, leave a Pokémon there to defend them.
Defending a gym for long enough will generate coin bonuses which you can then collect from the top right of the shop menu.
18. PokeStops equal prizes
PokéStops are Pokémon Go's way of turning special landmarks in your town or city into interactive events. Visiting these special points of interest will drop random loot, including Eggs for hatching new Pokémon (see our next step for Egg hatching tips), Pokéballs for catching new ones and Potions or Revives for healing your Pokémon while in Combat mode.
Be sure to visit these PokéStops everyday if in the same area, or open the app in new areas to reap the rewards of travel. To use one, walk up close to it, tap the blue icon then swipe it to make it spin. All your randomised loot will then appear.
19. Hatch Eggs by keeping the app open
Here's a handy Pokémon Go tip: much like any other Pokémon game, hatching Eggs for new Pokémon is still a thing - only this time you need to monitor said Egg like aTamagotchi to expedite the process.
Hatching rates are based on how many miles or kilometres you've walked with the app open - and until the special Pokémon Go wearable is released over here this is the only way to rack up that mileage. You'll need to make sure you put the egg in an incubator so that it registers your miles as you walk.
To check the progress of your Poké ovum, tap the Pokéball, then select the Eggs menu from the list. The Pokémon that's born out of each egg is also randomised, so don't get too disappointed if you get any doubles.
20. Buy a battery pack. No, seriously
If you've read any of the coverage Pokémon Go has received recently, there's a good chance you've heard the app is a real battery killer. Since it requires you to always have it open, while accessing Wi-Fi, GPS, your camera and more, the Nintendo app will suck even the newest of batteries down to the marrow in less than half an hour.
Nintendo says it's working on a solution, but in the meantime you'll need to find alternative means. For a start, you might watch to switch off the AR component permanently and invest in a portable power pack
21. Activate battery saver mode
If you're not in the mood to carry around an extra battery pack, you can also activate Pokémon Go's battery saver mode to prevent your handset from quickly running on empty.
Go to "Setting" in the top right corner and scroll down to battery saver. Select it and make sure it's checked. You can then turn your phone screen upside down, which will dim your display. You'll still be playing as the mode doesn't shut off the game or lock up your phone.
You'll save precious battery life, and can keep catching 'em all till your heart's content.
We've also got a video below where we test out some of the most popular smartphones in the world to see how long their batteries last when playing Pokémon Go.
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