Evergreen
Raid Tiers in Pokémon GO
How Pokémon GO's raid tier system works: difficulty, recommended group sizes, passes and how to pick counters, explained without naming today's rotating bosses.
Raid Battles put a group of trainers up against one powerful wild Pokémon at a Gym, and the game sorts raid bosses into tiers that broadly describe how tough the fight is and how many trainers you'll likely need. The exact bosses occupying each tier rotate constantly, so this page sticks to the structure rather than naming who's currently in raids.
How raid tiers work
Historically, Pokémon GO has organized raids by a star rating, with higher star counts meaning a tougher boss and a higher recommended group size:
- Lower-tier raids (around 1–3 star) feature weaker bosses that a single well-prepared trainer, or a very small group, can often defeat.
- Higher-tier raids (around 4–5 star) feature much tougher bosses, including most Legendary Pokémon, and generally need a real group of trainers working together, especially at lower average player and Pokémon levels.
- Special or Mega/Primal raid tiers have existed at various points for Mega-Evolution-related or other unusual bosses, generally sitting at the difficult end of the scale alongside or above standard high-tier raids.
Because tier names, thresholds and which bosses appear where have all been adjusted more than once since raids launched, treat "how many stars" and "who's in it" as things to check in-game rather than facts that hold indefinitely. What stays true across those changes is the underlying idea: more stars generally means a tougher, more group-dependent fight.
Group size and remote play
Higher-tier raids are designed around multiple trainers attacking simultaneously, both because the boss has a lot of effective HP and because a shared timer limits how long the battle phase lasts. Pokémon GO has also supported joining some raids remotely rather than standing at the Gym in person for a while now, though the exact rules, limits and costs around remote raiding have changed more than once; check the in-game raid screen and official announcements for what currently applies rather than relying on a fixed number here.
Raid passes
Joining a raid generally requires a raid pass, and the game has historically offered more than one kind:
- A free daily pass, generally earned by spinning the Photo Disc at the Gym itself.
- Premium passes, purchasable and usable at any Gym.
- Passes for joining a raid remotely, distinct from the in-person passes above.
How many passes you can hold or use in a day, and their relative cost, has changed at different points in the game's history, so treat specifics beyond "you generally need a pass to battle" as something to confirm in the in-game shop rather than take from this page.
Picking counters by type
Whatever tier a raid boss sits in, the same principle applies: figuring out its type (or types) and bringing attackers with a type advantage matters more than almost anything else you control. Our type chart and individual type pages are built for exactly this, and remember that a dual-typed boss stacks its two type matchups together rather than using just the worse one.
Legendary raids specifically
Most Legendary Pokémon appear through the highest standard raid tier, rotating in and out over time as part of the event calendar; see our Legendary vs Mythical page for how that differs from how Mythical Pokémon are usually distributed. Our events hub also covers Raid Day and Raid Hour events in more detail, and finding raids and Routes near you if you're not sure where your nearest Gyms are.
FAQ
Do I need other trainers for every raid?
No. Lower-tier raids are frequently soloable, especially with a well-typed, well-powered attacker. Higher tiers generally need a group, though exactly how large a group depends on the boss, your Pokémon's levels, and any active weather or type-advantage boosts.
Do raid rewards depend on the tier?
Generally yes: tougher raid tiers tend to offer better rewards alongside a chance to catch the boss itself, though exact reward tables change over time and aren't something we list here.
For everything item-related, including how raid passes fit alongside other items, see our items page. The database hub lists every reference page, and the Trainer Hub homepage has the guides.