Should you buy the Pokémon Go Special Boxes: Are they worth your coins?

Update: Legendary Raids coule be ending tomorrow, and the discount boxes along with them. If you want to keep Raiding and save some coins while doing it, stock up on the first box now.

Pokémon Go Fest is about to kick off in Chicago and new Special, Great, and Ultra Boxes have appeared in the Pokémon Shop to go along with it. Inside are Premium Raid Passes, so you can battle in more Raids, Pinap Berries, so you can get double Candy for your catches, and Lures, so you can attract more Pokémon to PokéStops to catch. That's a lot of stuff for a few little boxes but, the big questions remain: are they worth your Poké Coins? And which box is best?

What are the Special Boxes and how much are they?

Right now, Pokémon Go is offering:

  • Special Box: 480 coins
  • Great Box: 980 coins
  • Ultra Box: 1480 coins

What's in the Special Box for 480 coins?

  • 6 Premium Raid Passes (usually 6 x 100 = 600 coins)
  • 10 Pinap Berries (usually not available for purchase)

Doing the math, thats: 600 worth of Premium Raid Passes for 480 coins, or 20% off, with a bonus of 10 Pinap Berries thrown in. (Typically "free" if you spin enough Poké Stops.)

If all you want are a few extra Raid Passes and don't have a lot of storage room or interest in Lure Modules, get the Special Box.

What's in the Great Box for 980 coins?

  • 12 Premium Raid Passes (usually 12 x 100 = 1200 coins)
  • 20 Pinap Berries (usually not available for purchase)
  • 10 Lure Modules (usually 10 x 100 = 1000 coins)

Doing the math, thats: 1200 + 1000 = 2200 worth of Premium Raid Passes and Lure Modules for 980 coins worth of Premium Raid Passes for 480 coins, or 63% off, with a bonus of 20 Pinap Berries thrown in. (Typically "free" if you spin enough Poké Stops.)

If all you want are a bunch of extra Raid Passes and a fair amount of Lure Modules at a hefty discount, get the Great Box.

What's in the Ultra Box for 1480 coins?

  • 4 Incense (usually 4 x 80 = 320)
  • 16 Premium Raid Passes (usually 16 x 100 = 1600 coins)
  • 30 Pinap Berries (usually not available for purchase)
  • 20 Lure Modules (usually 20 x 100 = 2000 coins)

Doing the math, thats: 320 + 1600 + 2000 = 3620 worth of Incense, Premium Raid Passes, and Lure Modules for 1480 coins, or 60% off, with a bonus of 20 Pinap Berries thrown in. (Typically "free" if you spin enough Poké Stops.)

If all you want are a ton of extra Raid Passes and a bunch of Lure Modules and some incense at a hefty discount, get the Ultra Box.

Which is the best Pokémon Go discount Box to get?

  • If all you want are are some discount Raid Passes, get the Special Box.
  • If you want the biggest discount, get the Great Box.
  • If you want a ton of stuff at a hefty discount, and have room in your storage, get the Ultra Box.

Any Special Box questions?

If you've got any questions about the Special, Great, or Ultra Boxes, drop them in the comments!

Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.