Want to participate in exciting raid battles against legendary Pokémon in Pokémon GO, but don‘t want to spend money on premium raid passes? Don‘t worry, you can still get free raid passes every day!
In this detailed guide, I‘ll explain multiple methods and tips to get free raid passes, use them optimally, and defeat powerful raid bosses. With the right strategy, you can raid daily for free and build an amazing Pokémon collection. Let‘s get started!
Overview of Raid Passes
First, a quick primer on the types of raid passes:
Free Daily Pass – You can earn one of these every day by spinning a gym disc. It provides access to any normal raid.
Premium Pass – These give raid access like the free pass but cost coins. You can stack multiple premium passes.
Remote Pass – Allows you to raid remotely without being at the gym physically. You can only hold 3 and they are harder to get for free.
As a fellow trainer, I know you‘ll be most interested in maximizing those free daily passes. So I‘ll focus this guide on tips and methods to get as many of them as possible.
Guaranteed Way: Spin That Disc!
The number one guaranteed way to get a free pass is to spin a gym disc after midnight each day. I set an alarm on my phone to remind me if needed. This will grant you one free raid pass per day to use as you want.
Here are some tips I use to optimize the daily free pass:
I avoid spinning any gyms until later in the day to give myself flexibility on when I can raid.
If I want to save my pass, I only spin PokéStops, not gyms.
I immediately trash any used passes so there’s space for the next day‘s pass.
I coordinate timing with friends so we can raid together with passes.
Using this method, I‘m able to raid every single day for free. It just requires a bit of planning!
Scoring Those Bonus Freebie Passes
Beyond the daily pass, you can occasionally score extra free passes through special events, research, and other means. I‘ll outline the main options:
Research Breakthrough Rewards
In the past, Niantic often gave away passes through weekly research reward encounters. Lately this has been rare but keep an eye out in case they bring it back.
Special Research Tasks
Completing certain stages of limited-time special research quest lines will reward a free pass. For example, the recent Power Plant event gave away a pass.
Community Day Boxes
Some Community Days offer free or discount boxes with passes. I love when they do this! Be sure to check each month.
Sponsored Events
Companies like Verizon will sometimes sponsor in-game events with free pass rewards for participating. I attend when possible.
Compensation Gifts
Server outages and bugs will often lead to Niantic gifting passes to all players. Hey, I‘ll take ‘em!
Gym Leader Battles
This feature is in testing but will eventually provide passes for defeating leaders like Blanche. Exciting!
Referral Programs
Referring new installs has resulted in packages with free passes. I always check for any active programs.
As you can see, the extra pass options are hit or miss. But over time, combining all these methods provides a nice boost. In the best months, I‘ve earned 6-8 free passes or more on top of the daily!
Using Passes Efficiently
Once I earn those precious free passes, I optimize my usage:
I coordinate timing with local friends and groups. Raiding is always more fun together!
I prioritize rarer tier 4-5 raids rather than waste passes on common tier 1-2 raids.
Before raiding, I power up optimal counters to ensure we can beat the bosses.
If a raid boss is low IV or not shiny, I consider fleeing rather than wasting balls catching it.
Staying selective helps me avoid wasting passes. I love when I coordinate tier 5 legendary raids with my friends using our free daily passes!
Making Raid Hour Magic
Without a doubt, Raid Hour is the best time to maximize your free pass value. Here are my pro tips:
I specifically save my daily free pass just for Raid Hour rather than using it earlier.
With so many raids, I take advantage of the gym control bonus balls for extra chances.
Before each raid, I check if the boss is shiny since that‘s a priority.
I cluster my raids near 2-3 close gyms to reduce walking time.
My local group coordinates in advance to ensure enough trainers at each gym.
In a single Raid Hour, I‘m often able to complete 4-5 raids or more using just my daily free pass thanks to good planning! It‘s amazing.
Optimizing Events
Certain events like Raid Days or Raid Challenge Days are also great for free pass optimization. Here are some of my tactics:
I try to stack two free passes during Raid Days by timing my spin and raids correctly.
During raid challenge events, I prioritize completing pass-requiring tasks.
I focus all my raids on the special event boss to boost shiny potential.
My local groups coordinate to ensure we have enough participants for constant raiding.
I check the various raid challenge requirements and target the ones I need.
Properly optimizing events allows me to complete the max number of raids with my free passes. It‘s super satisfying!
Remote Raid Pass Tips
Remote raid passes work a bit differently than normal passes. Here are some ways I maximize their value:
I save remote passes only for rare tier 5 bosses rather than waste them on low tiers.
I joined remote raiding Discord servers to find groups for top raids globally.
When possible, I still use my daily free pass in person rather than substituting with a remote.
I look for raids about to hatch to ensure enough participants.
If the boss isn‘t good IV or shiny, I consider fleeing to save my remote pass.
With smart remote pass usage, I can raid amazing Pokémon anywhere without traveling. Remotes are a game changer!
Maximizing Catch Bonuses
Aside from the passes themselves, I increase my catch odds using these bonus balls:
Curve + excellent throws – I practice these constantly to get as many balls as possible.
Gym control – I pick my team gyms when possible for that sweet bonus.
Friend bonuses – Coordinating with Best Friends gives the most balls.
Gym badges – I prioritize gyms where I have gold/silver badges for extra balls.
Stacking all possible bonuses results in way more Premier Balls to catch the boss. This helps avoid wasted passes from bad RNG escape luck.
My Favorite Gym: Lakeside Raid Base
Having a reliable home base gym close by provides huge raiding advantages:
It‘s my daily pass stop that I hit at the perfect time each morning.
I‘ve battled there constantly to get a gold badge and extra balls.
My team keeps it continually controlled for that bonus.
I host all my local raid groups there since everyone knows the spot.
Finding a perfect gym spot like Lakeside has made optimizing free raids so much easier for me. I highly recommend trainers set up their own reliable base!
Extra Accounts = Extra Free Passes
While Niantic doesn‘t officially encourage multi-accounting, some dedicated players utilize alts to earn additional daily passes. I have a few that I use minimally:
I created a couple alternate accounts during anniversary events for the bonuses.
I use my main to power up the alts with trades and raids.
I stagger daily pass collection times across accounts.
My alts function mostly as backups for my main rather than equal focus.
Owning a couple alts generates more daily passes but also comes with hassles. Use judiciously based on your personal goals and style.
Raid Apps FTW
Apps like PokeRaid have become essential for coordinating groups and maximizing free passes:
They show upcoming raids with timers at gyms near me.
I can easily track my daily pass status across accounts.
Scheduling groups in advance makes raiding simple.
Push notification alerts before my raids starts are clutch!
Third party raid apps fix the logistical headaches of raiding. I love them!
Key Takeaways for Free Pass Success
If I had to summarize the key tactics I shared for getting the most out of your free raid passes, they would be:
Carefully time daily pass collection. Never miss a day!
Prioritize rare bosses over common tier 1-3 raids.
Power up optimal counters to ensure raid success.
Maximize catch bonus balls through curves, badges, etc.
Capitalize on events like Raid Day and Raid Hour.
Reserve remote passes only for the best bosses.
Consider having a reliable home base gym.
Try raid coordinating apps to find groups.
With the tips provided in this guide, you can raid every day for free, catch amazing Pokémon, and become the ultimate trainer! I hope you found this helpful. Never hesitate to reach out if you need any other advice. Happy free raiding!
