In case news of its release has not yet swamped your Facebook feed, the long-awaited Pokémon Go is officially in the wild, and as addictive as expected.

But if you’re only just jumping in, here are a few helpful hints to make your grand adventure a little less confusing. You wanna be the very best? Like no-one ever was? This is the place to start.

1. Pokémon are tied to locations by geography and environment

Hang out near Sydney Harbour and you may be lucky enough to stumble upon a Gyarados… or get stuck with a Magikarp. Meanwhile, visit your local park and Caterpie, Pidgey and more will be yours for the taking. At this stage, though, show a little persistence and you can find Pokémon outside of their usual habitat.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

2. Don’t forget about your eggs

Throughout your travels you’re likely to amass a small egg collection (mainly from PokéStops). The hatching of these eggs, much like the original game, is tied to walking. Each egg is labelled with a mandatory distance – two kilometers, five kilometers, et cetera – so to incubate it, you must place your pride and joy inside an incubator and get your steps on.

3. Always catch multiples

Already have yourself a Rattata? Well that doesn’t mean your job is over. Every Pokémon you collect will come with a character-specific candy. Collect enough candies and you’ll eventually be able to trigger an evolution, so always catch multiples of the same fighters to build up your stash.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

4. Footprints equals proximity

As you explore the great outdoors, you’ve surely seen silhouettes of Pokémon that are within your vicinity. What you probably don’t know is that those tiny little footprints beneath each silhouette acts as a guide for just how far they are. The more prints, the further away the Pokémon is, and vice versa.

Pokémon Gois available on the App Store and Google Play Store now.

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine