Pokémon Go raid rewards are getting better

Pokémon Go's raids are some of the best things in the game - a way to meet other trainers and capture ultra-rare Pokémon or, if you're a solo player, simply a way to gain a big dollop of XP and snag a 'mon with high stats.

So it's good news that raid rewards - which recently became rather swamped by the introduction of Potion items - are being improved further.

In a set of changes announced via Niantic's blog, the Pokémon Go developer listed some welcome tweaks:

• All raids will now receive the raid-exclusive Golden Razz Berry, which greatly increases your next catch chance.
• All raids will also reward Stardust - whether you win or lose.
• The prevalence of potions and revives will be decreased and the Potions which are offered will be higher strength.
• The chance of getting a TM will be boosted in Tier 3 or higher raids.

In addition to all of that, Niantic has now re-added Magikarp - the fan-favourite Pokémon to grind solo - into raid rotation.

Next, EX Raids, which currently offer a chance to catch Mewtwo.

EX Raids are coming out of beta with a change to the way they work. No longer will players be asked to just raid as much as possible over their area for a chance at a nearby invite. Instead, the invite system will now take into account your raiding activity throughout the game so far.

EX Raid invites will now be sent out based on if you have a "high-level" Gym badge for that gym (presumably, Gold?) and whether you raid a lot in general. EX Raids will also take place at a time which reflects when most people have raided at a particular gym in the past (so, no 6am raids for a gym frequented around lunchtimes).

All of which means you should just get an EX Raid invite (eventually) when the gym you frequent's turn comes around.

Finally, in other Pokémon Go news, today's latest total for the Global Catch Challenge has encouragingly passed the 1bn mark. Just 2bn more catches to go before Sunday to unlock Farfetch'd.