Niantic has recently announced Peridot, a new virtual pet game that will rely heavily on Augmented Reality and real world exploration. Peridot release date is not known at the moment, but a beta version is available in the Malaysian Google Play store.
This article details everything we know about Niantic Peridot so far, including game mechanics, how Peridot breed and the core ideas Niantic is trying to push with the game.
What are Peridots?
Peridots are digital pets that have awoken after thousands of years of slumber. Peridot is an original franchise created by Niantic, and Peridots (or Dots for short) are the inhabitants of this world.
Each Peridot is a unique creature – there are no two same Peridots. Despite being unique and digital in nature, Dots are not NFTs (source), although Niantic is looking at this.
Each Dot looks different and they are able to breed with another. They are 100% unique, created via procedural generation and handcrafted assets.
Peridots differ from one another in a variety of characteristics:
- Different size, shape, colors and patterns
- Different personality, terrain preference, abilities, likes and dislikes, and other character traits
Peridots follow real-world archetypes and Niantic has revealed several archetypical characteristics they can follow (do note that this is a temporary list based on available press images): Kintsugi (Japanese art of repairing pottery), Unicorn, Metallic, Glitter, Peacock, Jester and Cheetah archetype.
Dots will breed with others and, using a system patterned after real-world DNA, birth new breeds of Peridot.
Your Dot can recognize different real-world surfaces such as dirt, sand, water, grass, and foliage and react to them accordingly.
Niantic Peridot gameplay information
You – the player – are called Keeper in Niantic’s Peridot. Keepers are tasked with caring for Peridots, breeding them, fulfilling their wishes (quest-like tasks), foraging for food around Habitats and discovering more Dot archetypes.
Niantic has shared that Peridots will not be able to die. There is no punitive element in Niantic Peridot. With the player’s permission, Peridot’s Adventure Sync uses the Health app on your device to enable the player to earn walking distance when the app is closed.
The majority of Peridot’s gameplay takes place in the real world. Players will be able to:
- take out their Peridot for a walk, find specific food for it by foraging around Habitats,
- teach them tricks, play with them and see them grow from a young age into adulthood,
- discover Nests (craftable items) and learn more about them in the wild,
- breed Peridots to discover new varieties and archetypes,
- collect items for your Peridot and find hidden treasures around the globe
Habitats and nests
Peridots require Nests to successfully breed. You, as a player, will have to craft one in order to help your Peridot breed. Keepers can collect Nest parts while foraging in range of a Habitat, which is the Peridot equivalent of PokéStops. Nests will be automatically crafted once you collect enough Nest Parts. There are many types of Nests and each can yield a different Archetype of Peridot.
Habitats are real-world locations on the map that can feature glittering and glowing particles. Keepers travel to Habitats in real-life in order to forage for Nest Parts and breed their Dots. In order to breed a Dot or collect Nest Parts, a Keeper must be within range of a Habitat.
Feeding your Dot and foraging for food
Feeding your Peridot is also important, as you can increase Dot happiness by regularly feeding your Dot a variety of foods. Dots can even gain special traits by eating a special food called a Dewdrop.
Dots can find food by foraging in different types of terrain. Foraging is when a Dot digs into the ground to search for food. Foraging in different types of terrain, such as unnatural ground (concrete or bricks), water, grass, foliage, dirt, and sand, will yield different types of food.
Each day, some foods will start to age. If you feed your Dot food that is too old, it may not make them very happy. After a certain amount of time, aged foods will spoil and the game will remove them from your bag.
Keeping your Dot happy
As all virtual pet games, Peridot also features a Happiness system that describes your pet’s willingness to perform actions. Unhappy Dots may act accordingly or refuse to forage, so keeping your pet happy is quite important.
Keepers can increase Dot happiness by:
- Petting
- Walking
- Foraging
- Visiting Habitats
- Using Dotnip
- Fulfilling Desires
Peridot Desires are tasks that your Dot needs your help to complete. Dots may get Desires to go on a walk, visit a Habitat, find some food, and many other things.
Breeding in Peridot
Keepers can breed Peridots to discover new Archetypes and create a new generation. Dots must be raised to adulthood in order to breed them with other Dots.
To breed, players need to visit a Habitat. There you’ll find matches for your Dot listed when you tap on the Habitat icon. There is always at least one here, a Wild Dot, but the others are Dots other Keepers have released in the world.
In order to breed successfully, Keepers need to unlock Traits for their Peridot and find Dots with matching Traits to breed with. The chance to breed successfully grows higher with the number of matching Traits. For Dots owned by your in-game friends, the chance to breed is 100%.
Nests
Nests are required for breeding. When you forage at Habitats, you have a chance to get parts of a Nest. Once you collect 5 pieces, a full Nest will automatically be crafted and you’ll be able to use it to breed with another Dot.
Some Nests are harder to find than others. They contain genes that will mutate the baby of two Dots that breed to have a specific look. If you use a Plain Nest, it won’t mutate the resulting Dot, but will just give a chance at breeding with the Dot you’re attempting to match with.
Each time you attempt to breed unsuccessfully, you’ll build a bit more of a bond with the Dot you’re trying to breed with and your next attempt will have a higher probability of success. When you succeed, you’re given the choice of three eggs, each of which will show you a hint of what your future Dot may look like.
Peridot gameplay videos
Niantic has released a few official gameplay videos for the game. The videos posted on TikTok (@playperidot) detail how Dots discover different food in different environments, how it looks when you interact with your Dot and how adopting your first Dot looks like.
You can find all of the videos in our Niantic shares first official Peridot gameplay videos guide.
Can Peridot players submit new real-world locations?
Peridot players cannot nominate real-world locations to become in-game locations at this time. Nominations are currently only available for certain qualified players of Ingress and Pokémon GO, and nominations are submitted for approval through Niantic Wayfarer.
Where Is Peridot Available?
Peridot is currently available for beta testing in the following regions:
- Malaysia
We’re not able to share details about when the app will become available to a larger audience.
Register your email address to receive the latest updates and find out when the app will be available for you here: https://playperidot.com/en