Pokemon Go's Remote Raids are now available for (almost) all players

Pokemon Go Remote Raid Pass — (Image credit: Niantic)

Update - April 27, 5pm EST: As of today, remote raids are now available in Pokemon Go for all trainers over level five, as developer Niantic confirmed on Twitter.

You can purchase a remote raid pass from the in-game store, and once you have one, check for eligible raids via the "Nearby" screen. You can also join a raid by tapping it on your map. As a reminder, note that while remote raiding doesn't bring any sort of disadvantage for now, it will eventually come with a damage penalty. In other words, you'll deal less damage than you would while raiding in person, for reasons that have never been clearly explained.

Original story:

Pokemon Go developer Niantic has finally detailed its plans to modify the mobile catch-'em-up to better accommodate players who are stuck at home due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Everything starts with the Pokemon Go Remote Raid Pass, a new item which will be added "soon." This will allow players to participate in any nearby raids without physically moving to the raid hotspot. As long as your target raid "is on the Nearby Raid view or tappable on the Map View," it will be eligible for remote participation.

"Only one Remote Raid Pass will be required to join the raid and you’ll only be able to hold a limited amount of Remote Raid Passes at a time," Niantic explains. "Be quick - while 20 Trainers can still join the same Raid Battle, only a limited number of Trainers can join with a Remote Raid Pass. Raid Battles that you complete with a Remote Raid Pass will still count towards any raid-related research and achievement medals."

At launch, each Remote Raid Pass will cost 100 PokeCoins, but there will also be special one-coin bundles that include passes. Note that participating in gyms remotely does come with a minor penalty, for some reason. It won't be applied when the remote passes first roll out, but after some time, fighting remotely will reduce your attack power compared to fighting in-person.

The Remote Raid Pass is the headliner, but Pokemon Go is also adding several smaller features and bonuses to make acquiring resources in-game more manageable. Here are the high points:

At midnight, you'll automatically receive a bonus Field Research task as long as you have an open slot. These tasks can be completed from any location.
As you run low on gifts, Buddy Pokemon of any level will automatically loot nearby Pokestops for you.
Pokemon will be easier to level using Candy and Stardust, and you'll be able to instantly push them to your target CP.
Star Pieces, Lucky Eggs, and Incense can be stacked for longer activation times. So if you pop two 30-minute items, you'll get a full hour automatically.