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When you recieve the Plus, I didn't quite grasp the directions on how to set it up and use it with the game. I'm not sure if it was me or something missing with the directions. After some trial and error, I figured it out.
First, it comes with a battery installed, so you don't need to get spare batteries. But it can't hurt, right?
Setting Up Your "Pokemon Go Plus" With Your Phone
When I received it, I pulled the battery tab.Activated my Bluetooth function on my phone.
When the Pokemon Go device shows up at the bottom of my available items list, I tap it. A vibration occurs and my phone says it's paired with the device. And then nothing. So don't look for any further confirmation there. It is paired up.
-Start your game.
Once started, go into the settings of the game, scroll to the bottom of the screen and to into your Pokemon Go Plus settings screen.
Here you can select if you want the device to trigger off of only Pokemon, Pokestops or both.
Keep in mind the game gives priority to Pokemon, so if you're on the move, you may miss snagging supplies from Pokestops. But when you pass gyms, you don't have to open the gyms to get to the Pokestop disk now.
Once you've set up in that screen, get out and you should or will see a dimmed out Plus symbol on your Pokemon Go screen on the right side. When you tap it, it will ask you to tap the Plus's button then it finds the Plus device and connects.
Now you're ready to go walking.
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How To Use the Pokemon Go Plus out on the road?
You can either wear it like a watch, attach the lanyard or just hold it in your hand. If you wear it like a watch, you'll be doing the two-handed mode, eliminating the real easy mode of using it.I carry it in my hand, with my thumb poised over the button.
When you're walking about, the device will buzz to let you know you are near a Pokemon or a Stop. You'll get a single buzz, repeating and a green light indicates a Pokemon is nearby. When you tap the button to engage the Pokemon, the device will then do short buzzes (whitish light) while it simulates a throw, then you'll either get a quick set of three bzz's if it escapes or five big buzzes if you caught it.
If you approach a Pokestop you'll feel a series of double buzzes (and blue light) - Hitting the button will collect your stuff and you'll get the telltale buzz when it collects successfully.
If you pay attention to the buzzing, you never once have to look at your phone or the Plus device.
Pokemon Go purists say this is not how the game was intended to be played, and I get that. Especially if you're looking for specific Pokemon. But if, like me at times, you want to just take a walk, not care what you collect, but build up your stardust amounts, this is an great way to do it and still grind it out. And when you're done walking, it's pretty fun to go through your newly collected Pokemon inventory!
One thing to keep in mind or be prepared for: You will go through a lot of basic red balls. But since most of my catches take 2 to 3 balls on average, one ball per shot is fine by me. By my math, I'm saving balls!
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So what the Go Plus does is it will dispense a single basic red ball to catch a Pokemon and you either catch it or you don't.
How good does it do?
After about 40 minutes or so of test play, it tried to catch 42 Pokemon and ended up catching 21 of them. Though I think there were a few that got away due to an interesting phone issue, but I'm not sure. More on that in a bit, but this looks like a 50% catch ratio.
To me a 50% catch ratio is pretty good. If I were interacting with the game, I know I would have gone through many more balls to catch a Pokemon since curiously, it takes two to three tosses to catch anything.
What's fun is if you go for an hour's walk, never look at your phone and get back to your home or office, it's kind of cool to open the app to see what showed up in your Pokedex!
Sure, you might miss a few things, but it's fun to see what you did catch. I've ended up with a few good Machamps, Hariyamas and other things. But mainly, it's a stardust collecting session. Especially when you launch lucky eggs and Star Pieces when you go walking! It's amazing how much you can collect in an hour!
Hint: NEVER look through your journal after walking and having used the Go Plus. Just focus on what you caught!
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What's Good About the Pokemon Go Plus
What I like about this add-on is that you can stop looking at your phone. Put the game on battery saver mode, turn it upside down and put it in your shirt pocket! Then you walk, get feedback from the device, and click to catch or collect.I once read that it can be used when the screen is blacked out,
Something else happened to me today was that while playing, my phone rang. Uh ho?
So I resolved that I was done playing and answered the phone and kept walking. DURING my conversation, the Plus buzzed and I was still able to try catching Pokemon! But of the three opportunities during my phone call, each one got away. I'm not sure if it was just random luck they got away or there is a catch with my situation.
This tells me you can talk on your phone and still play Pokemon Go with the Plus! Which comes in pretty handy if you've tossed out timed bonus items like Lucky Eggs or Star Pieces.
Rumors say that the device disconnects after an hour, but I believe that's an hour of non-use! Not sure, but it has not disconnected on me yet.
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A few different ways to use the Pokemon Go Plus.
One day you can set the device to spin Pokestops. On other days, you can set it to just catch Pokemon. It makes it simpler because sometimes you might miss Pokestops while you are on the move because the device is busy catching Pokemon and it does give priority to catching than spinning.I've tested it on a bicycle and if you're putting around slow enough, it works. I've also tested it on a commuter train that makes a lot of stops and the timing has to be right but it works. But the timing has to be right, the speeds slow enough, etc., etc..
Another test I did was cruising very slowly through town (at an ungodly early hour) in my car with the game set to just see Pokestops. It's amazing how much stuff I collected without having to drive and spin discs!
Also, using the Plus does not interrupt daily field research objectives. If you need to throw five nice shots, and have two in the bucket, using Plus did not interrupt the streak for me.
I find it a complete pleasure to be able to continue to pursue my game goals while taking a break from the emotional grind. Most of the time I'm collecting stardust to help evolve my heavy hitters. But when we're in special community days or other such focused events, it's obvious we need to interact manually with the game
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In the end, I think the Pokemon Go Plus is an amazing investment for the long term use of the game for the serious player who likes taking breaks. You're still getting out, getting your walk, visiting places, completing research tasks without even knowing it and what not.
Yea, it's fun.
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