7 huge changes coming in Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Legendary The upcoming game takes the series into uncharted territory. by Robin Bea Jan. 21, 2022

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is out January 28 , bringing some massive changes to the series’ signature gameplay. From catching adorable creatures to traversing the world, nothing will be quite the same.

Here are 7 major changes that will shake up Pokémon Legends: Arceus

7. Time travel Pokémon Legends: Arceus is set long before any other Pokémon game, and that changes a lot.

Story-wise, the biggest change is in your goal. Rather than battling to be the very best, you’ll be working to create the very first Pokédex .

Trainer battles will be a lot less common, since humans haven’t turned Pokémon into pets when Pokémon Legends: Arceus is set. It also means the Elite Four doesn’t exist yet.

6. No place like home Rather than wandering the world with your Pokémon, you’ll stick close to home.

The only major settlement in Pokémon Legends: Arceus is your starting town, Jubilife Village . Smaller base camps are scattered around the game.

As you play through Pokémon Legends: Arceus ’ story, you’ll help develop Jubilife Village and unlock access to other parts of the Hisui region .

5. Arts and crafts DIY comes to Pokémon.

It’s been confirmed you’ll gather materials for crafting in Pokémon Legends: Arceus , but it’s not clear how important the mechanic will be.

You’ll be able to craft Poké Balls and other items at base camps. Presumably, this will keep you from having to return home to buy items whenever you run out.

4. Taking turns Pokémon Legends: Arceus shakes up the series’ turn-based battles in some major ways.

Battles are still turn-based , but the way turns work is changing. A Pokémon’s speed determines how quickly it can attack, which means they can ever get two turns in a row.

You can manipulate the turn order by choosing Strong or Agile attacks , which hit hard and slow or weak and fast, respectively.

3. A wider world Pokémon Legends: Arceus ’ open-world areas change more than the map.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus isn’t the first Pokémon game to have open-world areas , but they’ll be more expansive this time and let you ride a Pokémon.

You can see Pokémon wandering the open world and different types will react to you differently. You can even sneak up on some to capture them, or sneak past if they’re too big of a challenge.

2. A new Pokémon appears! Get ready for lots of new faces in Pokémon Legends: Arceus .

Like previous games in the series, Pokémon Legends: Arceus introduces new Pokémon and regional variants for existing ‘mons.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus also introduces more powerful alpha and noble Pokémon . Nobles are respected by the people of Hisui, but when frenzied, they turn into mini-bosses you’ll need to calm.

1. Evolution is evolving! The way your Pokémon grow could be in for changes.

Fans noticed that Pokémon in some trailers were still in unevolved forms despite being past the threshold for evolution, and a few potential explanations have been thrown out.

Pokémon insiders have claimed that evolving Pokémon will be a manual process initiated from a menu option, and there may be evolution requirements that aren’t tied to level.

We’ll see how these changes and more pan out when Pokémon Legends: Arceus is released on January 28 .

7 huge changes coming in Pokémon Legends: Arceus

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