Pokemon Legends: Z-A Has a Problem With AFK Players

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Players in competitive matches of Pokemon Legends: Z-A are facing an issue with opponents who appear to be intentionally disconnecting or becoming inactive during battles. While the exact reason isn’t clear, it’s likely that players are deliberately avoiding playing to farm rewards – specifically, the Mega Stones offered for participating in ranked four-player matches.

Released on October 26th for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, Pokemon Legends: Z-A sold over 5.8 million copies in its first week, making it the best-selling physical game of 2025 to date, according to Mat Piscatella of Circana. While fan reactions to the game have been quite divided – with a 50% rating on OpenCritic – the strong sales suggest many players are still enjoying the monster-battling experience it offers.

Many Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s Ranked Match Players Aren’t Actually Playing

Recently, players have been noticing a strange trend in Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s multiplayer battles. Some players are either standing motionless or not attacking at all, confusing competitive players. Others seem to only attack when someone gets very close, suggesting they might have set up auto-attack and left the game. While the reason is unclear, many believe it’s related to the rewards offered for participating in Ranked Battles and how to earn them.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s Season 3 of Ranked Battles, which began on November 27th, offers rewards like Safari Balls, Mastery Seeds, Bottle Caps, and Nuggets. However, the biggest reward for climbing the ranks in the first three seasons has been Mega Stones – items used to evolve the original starter Pokémon from the Kalos region. Currently, players can earn Chesnaughtite. Many fans are unhappy with Game Freak for making these popular Mega Stones only available through Ranked Battles, and a growing number of players disconnecting or remaining inactive during multiplayer matches may be contributing to the issue.

Ranked Battles have faced criticism due to connection problems and lag, which might explain why players sometimes appear to be standing still. However, some believe players are taking advantage of the ranking system to climb the ranks without much effort. Reports suggest that even consistently finishing in fourth place can lead to rank increases, as winning isn’t the only way to earn points. With matches lasting just three minutes and rewards in Pokemon Legends: Z-A becoming more accessible since Season 2, some players may be using a simple, though unengaging, strategy of just participating to collect rewards.

Many players want the game developers to penalize those who are cheating, as it’s spoiling the competitive online experience for legitimate players. New rules were implemented before Season 3 to address players who try to unfairly influence matches by using multiple accounts, consoles, or save files. It’s currently unknown if Nintendo will address players who remain inactive during ranked matches before Season 4 begins. However, with the upcoming Mega Dimension DLC releasing shortly before Season 4, players might focus more on the single-player content at that time.

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2025-11-29 04:04