POKÉMON GO: Pokéstop Scanning Guidelines And Practices Have Been Outlined By Developer Niantic

It seems as though every month brings new and exciting aspects to Niantic's mobile monster-hunting title Pokémon Go. As trainers prepare to celebrate the title's fourth launch anniversary, more and more creatures and features are being added to hype up the occasion and keep players interested.

One of the biggest draws as of late has been the addition of Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield's Galar dex. While the Galarian counterparts to Meowth, Zigzagoon, Darumaka, Stunfisk, and Weezing are all listed in the regular pages, a new Galar section has been added to include the evolutions of those species -- Meowth's Purrserker and Zigzagoon's Gene Simmons-looking counterpart, Obstagoon. The reason this is such a big deal is that Kalos and Alola, the Regions in Generation VI and VII, have yet to be added to the pages of the dex.

Another of the big additions as far as new features are concerned is the ability to scan Pokéstops. While this may seem confusing at first sound for anyone who hasn't played Niantic's flagship title Ingress, there is now a guideline for trainers to follow courtesy of Pokemon Go Hub.

Check out the following bullet points for important information on the new Pokéstop scanning procedure to see what you make of it for yourself.

• Please stay aware of your surroundings. Remember to watch where you’re moving. The last thing anybody wants is someone walking out into traffic while attempting to scan a Pokéstop that’s close to a road. Ensure that your path around the Pokéstop is clear before starting, and keep an eye on where you’re going. You can look away from the screen because keeping the Pokéstop within the frame doesn’t need to be perfect, and you can submit multiple Scans of that Pokéstop.
• The Pokéstop should be the main focus of scans, but it’s also helpful to have some of the surrounding areas included, especially for smaller Pokéstops. Specifically:
• Point your camera towards the Pokéstop while moving around it or near it. Consider moving in an orbit around the Pokéstop. The orbit can be circular, navigating around the accessible surfaces of the Pokéstop, or it can be broader, where you approach the Pokéstop from a distance and scan it as you approach.
• Multiple Pokéstop Scans of the same Pokéstop help us build better AR maps, especially when taken from different viewpoints, at different times of day, and with different lighting conditions. More Pokéstop Scanning coverage correlates with more places and times of day that AR features can work robustly. Your scans don’t need to be perfect, you can scan spots you’ve missed or scan half a spot and then do the other half after or scan the top and then the bottom.
• Pokéstop Scans of longer durations are typically easier to combine than many short Pokéstop Scans. While they say that multiple scans are fine if you can get the entire Pokéstop into one scan that is preferable.
• Move along public paths or walkways near the Pokéstop. While the main focus of the Pokéstop Scan should be the Pokéstop itself, please stay on public paths or walkways near the Pokéstop or surrounding area. If you would have to walk into private property to get a good scan of a Pokéstop just scan the parts of the Pokéstop that you can scan from public property.
• Flat Pokéstops (murals; memorial plaques; signage; etc.): Face the Pokéstop and walk laterally from one side to the other. If the Pokéstop itself is small, like a memorial plaque on a bench, please scan the entire bench versus the memorial plaque only.
• Medium Pokéstops (statues; playground structures; informational signs; etc.): Walk 360 degrees around the Pokéstop, if possible.
• Large Pokéstops (historical building; athletic fields; etc.): While staying within range of the Pokéstop, move laterally across the faces of the structure or building. Before starting your next Pokéstop Scan of the same large Pokéstop, take two steps back to overlap your new Pokéstop Scan with your previous one. If the Pokéstop is a park or athletic field, try to focus on free-standing elements that are most representative of that Pokéstop. If you are able to continue Pokéstop Scanning further, you can connect free-standing elements by getting two or more of them filmed in the same Pokéstop Scan.
• A few things to avoid, if possible:
• Standing stationary and making a circular hand motion (“wax on, wax off”) is not as useful as Pokéstop Scans made while walking 10 or more steps from your starting position. It’s best if you hold your phone stationary and move around or along the Pokéstop to get the best scan.
• Pokéstop Scans in extreme darkness may not include enough usable information.
• Blurry Pokéstop Scans. This can sometimes be improved by wiping the lens, tapping the Pokéstop on-screen before scanning, or moving more slowly.

What do you make of this new Pokéstop scanning guide? Check out the latest Pokémon Go features in the trailer below and share your thoughts with us in the comments!

With Remote Raid Passes, extra daily Field Research tasks, and more, your Pokémon GO experience will be getting even better!