Guide – Massive Mass Outbreaks in Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is only a few weeks old, but that’s not stopping Game Freak from releasing some fresh content in the form of a brand-new update called Daybreak. While Daybreak offers some new challenges in the form of battle challenges, the most notable change is the introduction of a new mechanic called “Massive Mass Outbreaks.” Similar to traditional Mass Outbreaks, where a horde of 15 or so Pokémon of the same species invade an area of the map for a short while, Massive Mass Outbreaks cranks it up to 11, allowing for upwards of 15 or more Outbreaks to occur at the same time — on the same map! Want to take part in the madness? Here’s everything you need to know:

 

How to Trigger Massive Mass Outbreaks

 

Before you even start attempting to find a Massive Mass Outbreak, make sure you do the following things first:

Download the update: Download update Version 1.1.0. Simply go into the games mini-menu by pressing + on the games icon on your home screen and select “Software Update.”

Beat the game: That’s right! In order to take advantage of Massive Mass Outbreaks, you need to roll credits on the main storyline of Arceus. Once that’s done, head to the Obsidian Field Lands to start investigating!

Investigate Massive Mass Outbreaks: In order to start triggering Massive Mass Outbreaks, head to the Obsidian Fieldlands Heights Camp and speak to Mai who can be found standing near the edge of the camp with her Munchlax. Once you find her,  she’ll tell you about a new anomaly occurring in the Fieldlands that she needs your help investigating. Of course, that anomaly is a Massive Mass Outbreak! In order to fully unlock Massive Mass Outbreaks across the entire world map, you will need to complete Research tasks 95-102, each of which will have you investigating Massive Mass Outbreaks in every area of the world map. Complete each one of these tasks to unlock Massive Mass Outbreaks permanently. 

 

 

Understanding Massive Mass Outbreaks

 

Now that you’ve unlocked Massive Mass Outbreaks, it’s time to understand them a bit better. 

 

The World Map:

 

 

From Jubilife village, A Massive Mass Outbreak is identified on the map in a similar fashion to a traditional Mass Outbreak, except, this time, a question mark icon will appear on the map where an Outbreak is occurring. If a Massive Mass Outbreak does not show up on you map, travel to another area and then travel back to the village and try again. It can take a few attempts for a Massive Mass Outbreak to appear, so be patient.

 

Area Map:

 

Once you find a Massive Mass Outbreak on the World map, travel to the area where it’s occurring. Unlike a traditional Mass Outbreak, the Pokémon included in a Massive Mass Outbreak are a mystery, with only a question mark on your map to mark their locations. Like I said earlier, expect up to 15 of these to be occurring at a time.

 

 

There are two ways to unveil the mystery Pokémon. The first way is to simply fly to a location where an Outbreak is taking place. Once you see the Outbreak, it is clearly marked on your map.

The much faster way to do it is by giving Mai’s Munchlax a tasty snack. Speak to Mai and offer Munchlax five Aguav Berries. Once it has its fill, it will simply unveil all the Pokémon in the Outbreak for you. What a nice little fella! 

 

 

Time Limit

 

Another difference between traditional Mass Outbreaks and Massive Mass Outbreaks is the time limit. For whatever reason, Massive Mass Outbreaks only stick around as long as a storm is brewing. So if you want to inspect each and every area of the map, make sure you do it quickly. In my testing, I typically get around 10-15 minutes to hunt for Pokémon before the storm subsides. Luckily, the game warns you with a message every few minutes to let you know the status of the storm.

 

Icons

 

Some Pokémon in a Massive Mass Outbreak may have a small icon above their heads on the map, indicating there’s something special about them. Two icons are known to exist as of right now:

Berry Icon: If a berry icon is on the Pokémon’s face on the map, it indicates that they are likely to drop Aguav Berries when you capture or defeat them. These berries are used to feed Munchlax so he can quickly ID Pokémon on the map for you.

 

 

Star Icon: The star icon indicates that a second round of Pokémon will spawn after you capture or defeat the first wave. Typically, all of the Pokémon that appear in the second wave will either be the evolved form of the first wave, or Alpha variants of the first wave. Typically, if a Pokémon with a star icon has no evolution, the second wave will be made up entirely of Alphas!

 

 

Shiny Hunting

 

Once again, like Mass Outbreaks, Massive Mass Outbreaks have a significantly increased chance at catching a Shiny Pokémon! In the wild, the base odds of finding a Shiny Pokémon is 1/4,096. In a Mass Outbreak, that goes up to 1/158. A Massive Mass Outbreak, however, is 1/315. There are ways to increase these odds even further, like obtaining the Shiny Charm or maxing out research for the Pokémon you are hunting; but either way, odds are good you will encounter a Shiny before long in a Massive Mass Outbreak.

 

Pokémon Legends: Arceus v 1.1.0 (Daybreak) introduces Massive Mass Outbreaks, which are widespread outbreaks across a map. They have a modestly higher shiny rate than regular wild Pokémon.

Here are the revised shiny rates for the new patch! pic.twitter.com/f72T350lzX

— Anubis (@Sibuna_Switch) February 27, 2022

 

While Shiny rates are high, Game Freak did make some changes to hunting Shinies with their latest update. Previously, you could easily save your game and head back to village to try a Mass Outbreak again until you get a Shiny. Unfortunately, going back to town will now 100% end your Outbreak session. So you only have one shot at each Outbreak. This is also true for traditional Mass Outbreaks as of Version 1.1.0.

 

More Pokémon Legends: Arceus guides

 

Looking for more help with Pokémon Legends: Arceus? Check out our other guides!

 

 

Leave a Comment