1/8/2018
Tomorrow I’ll be participating in my first ever Ex Raid Battle! This was, believe it or not, my first attempt at getting an Ex Raid Pass and I completed only two (2) raids at this particular gym. After seeing several comments from people who’ve missed out time and time again I have decided to share with you all my strategy. Maybe I just got incredibly lucky, maybe these tips will help someone obtain this elusive pass.
First, find out where these raids have been held in the past. I’m fortunate enough that Orlando has a very active Discord channel with this information readily available. I can’t speak for elsewhere but I imagine the same goes for other major cities.
Here are some of the known Ex Raid locations for the Orlando area:
If your city does not have an active Pokémon Go Discord you’ll have to do some digging. These locations are usually sponsored gyms at Sprint and Starbucks. I, personally, found four gyms within reasonable distance of my apartment that were known to host Ex Raids.
I then checked which gyms were currently lined up to host an Ex Raid. Of those four gyms, one wasn’t hosting in late December.
With the exception of the two Altamonte locations the gyms are a fair drive from one another. Instead of taking the shotgun approach, spending a ton of money on gas, and trying to raise the Badge level of all four gyms, I focused solely on this one. Not just raids but gym battles, as well. I figured if it wasn’t included in this round the odds of it being included in the next were greater. Alternatively, If I focused on one that currently did have an Ex Raid planned I would run the risk of it being excluded in the following round. Despite having a high turnover rate, as Ex Raid gyms will, I was able to boost my badge to Silver in just a few weeks.
Basically, do a little research. Find known location for Ex Raids near you, then narrow that down to locations that aren’t hosting an Ex Raid in the coming round. As I said before, to-date I have only raided twice at this location. Both were Level 1 raids. The first raid gave me my Bronze Badge and the second was after I already had Silver.
A tip for anyone in Orlando who may be reading this as of early-mid January 2018; the following locations do not appear to have Ex Raids this round. Put your focus on them and good luck!
P.S. Yes, I blurred my trainer ID. No, my trainer ID is NOT TeamValOrlando. I do this just in case Niantic ever gets a bug up their ass and decides I’m somehow breaking their ToS and as a result bans my account. Call it paranoia but better safe than sorry.