Looks like the holiday and New Year event wasn't all Pokémon Go had waiting for us — they've also introduced new holiday event boxes. They're filled with balls, incubators, incense, lures, and more. They're not gift boxes because you have to pay for them, but they are sale boxes, which means there may be some value in getting them. And that prompts the question — are they worth it?
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What are the holiday boxes?
Here's how Pokémon Go described them:
This has been an exciting year for Pokémon GO! As we look ahead to 2017, we have one more surprise for you! We will be adding a few limited-time holiday item packs to the Pokémon GO in-game shop at a discounted rate. The morning of December 25 through the afternoon of December 30 (PST), we'll be releasing Special, Great, and Ultra Boxes. Items in these Boxes include Incubators, Incense, Great Balls, and Ultra Balls. From the afternoon of December 30 through the afternoon of January 3 (PST) we'll release Bronze, Silver, and Gold Boxes. Items in these Boxes include Incense, Lure Modules, Lucky Eggs, Poké Balls, and Great Balls.
Which boxes are available now?
From the afternoon of December 30 through the afternoon of January 3, PT:
- Bronze Box: 460 PC
- Silver Box: 980 PC
- Gold Box: 2480 PC
Oh, crap! Which ones did I miss?
These boxes are gone, at least for this year!
- Special Box: 250 PC
- Great Box: 550 PC
- Ultra Box: 1500 PC
For details on what you missed, if anything, see the archive at the bottom.
Can you get Great or Ultra Balls even if you haven't unlocked them yet?
Yes you can! All the boxes that contain Great or Ultra Balls are available to everyone, regardless of level.
What's in the Bronze Box for 460 PC?
The Bronze Box, which has a red ribbon, contains:
- 100x Poké Balls
- 8x Lure modules
There's nothing in this box that you can't buy normally, so it all comes down to the discount.
100 Poké Balls are normally 460 PC all on their own. 8 Lure Modules are normally 680 PC.
Doing the math, we get: 460 + 680 = 1140.
Bronze box gives you 1140 PC worth of Poké Balls and Incense for 460 PC. That's more than 50% off.
Basically, if you want a huge discount on Lures, with a pack of free balls to go with it, get the Bronze box.
What's in the Silver Box for 980 PC?
The Silver Box, which has a red ribbon, contains:
- 8x Incense
- 8x Lucky Eggs
- 8x Lure Modules
Again, nothing you can't buy normally, so what's the discount?
8 Incense will normally cost you 500 PC. 8 Lucky Eggs will normally cost you 500 PC. 8 Lure Modules, 680 PC.
Doing the math: 500 + 500 + 680 = 1680.
Silver Box gives you 1680 PC worth of Incense, Lucky Eggs, and Lure Modules for 980 PC.
If you need all three of those items, the Silver Box is a good deal. If you only need two, not so much.
What's in the Gold Box for 2480 PC?
The Gold Box, which has a red ribbon, includes:
- 50x Great Balls
- 25x Incense
- 25x Lucky Eggs
- 16x Lures
You can't normally buy Great Balls, only get them from PokéStops, so that in-and-of-itself may make the box worth the buy. To put it in context, though, normal Poké Balls cost 100 coins for 20, or 5 coins each. Great Balls, based on catch bonus, are worth 1.5 Poké Balls. So, that puts 50 Great Balls at roughly a 375 coin value (if you could buy them, which you can't.).
Incense is normally 1250 for 25, Eggs 1250 for 25, and Lures 680 for 8, which is 1360 for 16.
Doing the math: 375 + 1250 + 1250 + 1360 = 4235
Gold Box gives you 4235 coins worth of Great Balls, Incense, Lucky Eggs, and Lures for 2480 coins. That's roughly 50% off
If you want a PokéTon of everything, Gold Box is worth a look.
Are any of them worth it?
Here's the deal — if there's a deal!
- Lure Modules: The Bronze Box gives you 8 Lure Models at a decent discount, so if that's all you want, get this box.
- Great Balls: If you're unlucky at PokéStops and really want to get some, you can purchase Great Balls in the Gold Box. It's expensive, but you get 50 of them.
- Eggs and Incense: If you need Lucky Eggs and Incense, and Lures, you can go with the Silver Box and get a small discount or the Gold Box and get a big discount. It's expensive, but they'll last you a while.
How do you get a Pokémon Go Holiday Box?
Same as you get anything in Pokémon Go — from the Shop!
- Tap the Poké Ball button at the bottom center.
- Tap on Shop. (It looks like a present during the holiday event.)
- Tap on the Box you want to buy.
- Tap on Exchange For to make the purchase.
- Tap on the X button when you're done.
If you don't have enough coins to buy the box, you'll first need to make an in-app purchase to get more coins. That's right, real money for game money for game items. It's how the app economy works!
Can you buy multiple holiday boxes?
Absolutely! Pokémon Go is happy to take as many of your coins as you'll give them.
Help! Storage is full!
Yeah... all those new items take space in your virtual backpack. You can buy more storage if you want to.
- Tap the Poké Ball button at the bottom center.
- Tap on Shop. (It looks like a present during the holiday event.)
- Tap on Bag Upgrade (scroll down halfway to find it.)
- Tap on Exchange For.
- Tap on X to finish.
If you don't want to pay for more storage or your storage is already maxed out, your other option is to ditch items you're currently carrying, including Potions and Revives, to make room for the holiday box items.
- Tap the Poké Ball button at the bottom center.
- Tap on Items on the right.
- Tap on the trash can to the right of the item you're willing to discard.
- Tap on the + button to increase the number of items you're willing to discard.
- Tap Yes to confirm.
I generally dump basic Potions and Revives before I'll dump more powerful potions and Max Revives. If you're not fighting in many Gym battles, you'll have time to stock back up after the event.
These boxes are gone for this year, but I'm keeping the info around for reference purposes.
What's in the Special Box for 250 PC? (No longer available)
The Special Box, which is red with a green ribbon, contains:
- 10x Great Balls
- 2x Egg Incubators.
You can't normally buy Great Balls, only get them from PokéStops, so that in-and-of-itself may make the box worth the buy. To put it in context, though, normal Poké Balls cost 100 coins for 20, or 5 coins each. Great Balls, based on catch bonus, are worth 1.5 Poké Balls. So, that puts 10 Great Balls at roughly a 75 coin value (if you could buy them, which you can't.).
Egg Incubators normally cost 150 coins each. So that's 300 coins for two.
Doing the math, we get: 75 + 300 = 375.
Special Box gives you 375 coins worth of Great Balls and Incubators for 250 coins.
If all you want is to get a couple extra incubators for less, get the Special Box.
What's in the Great Box for 550 PC? (No longer available)
The Great Box, which is blue with red ribbon, contains:
- 20x Great Balls
- 2x Incense
- 4x Egg Incubators
Again, you can't normally buy Great Balls, you have to get them from PokéStops, but 20 Poké Ball cost 100 coins. Great Balls, based on catch rate, are worth 1.5 Poké Balls, which makes 20 theoretically worth 150 coins.
Incense costs 80 coins, so two would be 160. Egg Incubators normally cost 150 coins each. So that's 600 coins for four.
Doing the math, we get: 150 + 160 + 600 = 910.
Great Box gives you 910 coins worth of Great Balls, Incense, and Incubators for 550 coins.
What's in the Ultra Box for 1500 PC? (No longer available)
The Ultra Box, which is gold with white ribbon, contains:
- 20x Ultra Balls
- 25x Incense
- 6x Egg Incubators
Like Great Balls, you can't normally buy Ultra Balls, so that alone might make the Ultra Box worth it to you. 20 Poké Balls cost 100 coins. Ultra Balls, based on catch rate, are worth 2.0 Poké Balls, which makes 20 theoretically worth 200 coins.
25 Incense normally costs 1250. Egg Incubators normally cost 150 coins each. So that's 900 coins for six.
Doing the match, we get: 200 + 1250 + 900 = 3350.
Ultra Box gives you 3350 coins worth of Ultra Balls, Incense, and Incubators for 1500 coins.
If you want the most savings per item, get the Ultra Box.
So, were any of the earlier boxes worth it?
Depends on what you found valuable:
- Incubators: The Special Box will give you two 3-use Incubators for 50 PC less than buying them separately. So, if you want to stock up, this is the way to go.
- Great Balls and Ultra Balls: If you're unlucky at PokéStops and really want to get some, you can purchase Great Balls for the first time in Special and Great Boxes, and Ultra Balls for the first time in Ultra Boxes. (And get Incubators and Incense as well).
- Incense: If you were planning to buy Incense anyway, the great Box and Ultra Box give you the same bulk option but, Ultra Box in particular, throw in a ton of extra value as well. With Ultra Box, for just 250 coins more than it normally costs for the Incense, you get 6 Incubators and 20 Ultra Ball thrown in.
Any holiday gift box questions?
If you've got any questions about gift boxes, or the Pokémon Go holiday event in general, drop them in the comments!
