Max Mushrooms coming to Pokemon GO; here’s how they work

Max Mushrooms are coming to Pokemon GO, but anyone hoping for a shortcut to building up a roster of Dynamax-ready Pokemon will be disappointed.

The introduction of Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokemon to Pokemon GO hasn’t gone especially well for Niantic. The mechanic itself wasn’t especially popular when it arrived in Pokemon Sword and Shield. That was the case with Pokemon GO, too, as fans lamented its general similarity to existing raid battles.

Niantic is looking to add to the experience with the introduction of Max Mushrooms, but how do these actually work? And are they worth it?

What do Max Mushrooms do in Pokemon GO?

Max Mushrooms temporarily double the damage dealt by the user’s Pokemon during Dynamax and Gigantamax raid battles.

This is a marked difference from the Max Mushrooms introduced in Pokemon Sword and Shield. In the Nintendo Switch titles, players could collect Max Mushrooms on the Isle of Armor. Players could then cook these into a Max Soup, which is fed to Pokemon that were capable of Gigantamaxing. This allowed the player to toggle whether the Pokemon would Dynamax or Gigantamax in battle.

Pokemon GO players expected something similar; either the ability to let Pokemon caught regularly to Dynamax or to let Dynamax Pokemon take on their Gigantamax form. Neither has proven true, and that isn’t sitting well.

How much do Max Mushrooms cost?

In Pokemon GO, Max Mushrooms cost 400 coins. This works out to roughly $4.00 worth of the in-game currency, or eight days’ worth of free coins.

That’s a fairly steep price for a fairly limited reward. For comparison 400 coins can purchase two Remote Raid Passes. These passes actually offer access to the raid. Max Mushrooms do not make raids more accessible, but simply offer a boost to power. Given how difficult these raids are, how difficult it can be to mobilize a group of players for a local raid, and how many players are required for a local raid, that’s a generally poor value.

There are only a handful of potential uses, even at the hypothetical level. Pokemon GO players might be able to handle a three-star Max raid solo with the right team after using Max Mushrooms. There might also be situations where a party comes in just barely short.

Finding the optimal time to use Max Mushrooms will be extremely difficult, though. And unless players get it exactly right, they’ve just wasted a significant number of coins.