If you’re about to take on your first tier 3 solo, here are some helpful rules of thumb.

Use the empty lobby trick to gain time

This trick skips the GO animation when the raid begins, bringing you directly into battle. Usually you can start ~3 seconds earlier than usual, even more on older phones. See our article to learn how to do the trick.

In general, dodge charged moves only

Dodging fast moves costs too much time to be viable. When a guide says that a Pokemon is reliant on dodging, it means dodging charge moves only.

Avoid wiping out with your first team

Wiping out brings up the “all your Pokemon have fainted” screen. If you don’t have a second team to rejoin the battle, you’ll have to revive the first team or use the recommended team.

If you’re the only player in battle, leaving battle causes the raid boss to regain a little HP. This can cost you enough time to ruin a solo attempt. If you’re way ahead, re-entry may be viable.

Dodge less if you’re barely timing out

Pokemon gain energy from taking damage. Therefore, tanking charged moves may let you use your own charged move sooner, increasing DPS. Dodging itself costs about 0.5 s.