The Pokemon GO gym update brings a totally new cooperative multiplayer feature to the table — raid battles. Before diving into the deep waters of raids, here’s everything you need to know.

Raid Battles are a special timed events that pit local players against a special, enhanced Pokemon. Raid Battles take place in Gyms, and include raid rooms where players can organize before taking on raid battles together.

Raid Battles are always local and require players to physically approach the target gym to encounter a raid battle. You can join private or public raid rooms, and raids can be tackled Solo or in Teams.

There’s so much more to know about raid battles, so let’s get right into the meat of this multiplayer Pokemon GO feature.

More Pokemon GO guides on The Escapist:

• Pokemon GO: How Gyms Are Changing | Motivation, PokeCoins & More
• Pokemon GO: Search Bar Tricks | Helpful Pokedex Organization Tips

Everything you Need To Know About Raid Battles

Raid Battles are included in the new Gym update, allowing teams of up to 20 to tackle empowered Pokemon “boss” enemies at local gyms.

• How To Join A Raid Battle
• Raid Battles are located in local gyms, marked with a large egg over the gym icon.
• A raid timer is located over the egg. When the timer reaches zero, a Raid Boss will appear.
• Raid Bosses are randomly generated and come in 5 difficulty levels.
• To enter a Raid Battle, you’ll need a Raid Pass. Raid Passes can be acquired free (daily) or purchased from the premium store.
• You can only acquire one (1) Raid Pass per day, and you can carry only one (1) Raid Pass in your inventory. Free Raid Passes are acquired when spinning gyms.

Raids have a 5 minute timer.

The Gym Update turns Gyms into local PokeStops, allowing you to spin and earn rewards for visiting. Free Raid Passes are only acquired from Gyms.

Raid Battle Rewards

Raid Battles feature unique, special rewards that are totally new to Pokemon GO. There are lots of rewards, so let’s break them all down here.

• Legendary Pokemon Passwords: The developers at Niantic say that it will be possible to earn passwords to unlock Legendary Pokemon through Raid Battles.
• Catch Raid Bosses: For completing Raid Battles, you’ll also be able to catch the Raid Bosses in their normal, de-empowered CP state. Attempting to catch a Raid Boss will use freely-provided Premier Balls instead of your own inventory. Raid Bosses are confirmed very difficult to catch.
• Technical Machines: Two types of TMs (or Technical Machines) are confirmed as rewards for Raid Battles. TMs can be used once to randomly unlock a new move for a Pokemon, and come in two varieties — one for Quick (Tap) Moves, and one for Charge (Hold) Moves.
• Golden Razz Berries: Makes capturing even easier than the common Razz Berries. Using the Golden Razz Berries will also fully restore Pokemon’s Motivation Meter.
• Rare Candy: Special (and Rare) item that will instantly power-up any Pokemon.

TMs and Golden Razz Berries are 100% new additions to Pokemon GO, with the Golden Razz Berries refilling the Motivation Meter, also a new addition to the Gym Update.

Free & Premium Raid Passes

As described above, Free Raid Passes can be collected once per day from Gyms. One Gym spin allows you to collect a Free Raid Pass, but only one Free Raid Pass can be stored in your inventory at a time.

Premium Raid Passes are sold in the in-game shop, allowing you to spend real-world cash to unlock more Raid Battle Passes. Only one of these Passes can be held in your inventory at a time, but you can purchase more throughout the day as they’re used.

Raid Difficulty Levels

Raid Battles have five (5) difficulty levels. Level 5 is reserved for Legendary Pokemon only.

• Tyranitar, Dragonite, Blissey are examples of Level 4 Raid Bosses.

To check Raid Battle difficulty, look at your Nearby screen.

How Do Raid Rooms Work?

Raid Rooms are a community feature, allowing up to 20 players to join a room and organize a gym meetup or prepare a strategy for attacking a Raid Boss.

Players can create Public or Private Raid Rooms. Private Raid Rooms can be locked with a password — passwords are set by selecting four Pokemon from the menu. You’ll have to share the password with friends to let them join.

Public Raid Rooms can be joined by any local players, and are an easier way to organize Raid Battles when you’re in a location with lots of idling Pokemon GO players.

That’s everything important you need to know (so far) for the brand new Raid Battle feature in Pokemon GO. Check back soon for more updates and info on these features as they’re rolled out internationally.