Top tips after getting started

There are a number of sites out there with great tips for the basics of getting started. I don't want to write the same thing everyone else already has. The following advice should hopefully be something you haven't thought about yet, or haven't heard before. I hope you find it useful!

Edit: This page is in development, and we'll be expanding on these tips later, and formatting them better. But in the interest of getting this information out as soon as possible, we felt it would be better to publish them now so you can benefit from them!

General

• Save your stardust/candy until you're at a higher level (20+). It's mostly because by that point, you'll start catching Pokemon with already-high levels, and can choose amongst the best to level up.
• The appraisal system tells you about your Pokemon's underlying stats (individual values, or "IVs"). This can help you figure out which Pokemon is better to evolve.
• Hold off on using the "Rainer" Eevee naming trick to get Vaporeon until you're a higher level (20+). Same applies to Sakura and Tamao for Espeon and Umbreon.
• Only hatch 10km eggs in your limited-use incubators (if you have the patience). It's just a more efficient use of walking vs. incubator potential. If you don't have the patience, at least save one hatch for each limited-use incubator!
• To level up quickly, use Lucky Eggs while evolving stuff, and hatch 10km eggs during the evolution spree. Doing things like catching Pokemon and spinning Poke-stops aren't worth your time if you can avoid it; unless you're using a Pokemon GO+.
• Some Poke-stops are better to use a Lure Module on than others. Various factors contribute to this, but it's largely up to the luck of the draw. Test out your local Poke-stops and make note of which ones give you regular old Pokemon, and which ones give you more uncommons or a better diversity of Pokemon.
• Incense are best used when combined with some form of transportation (but be careful not to go too fast). The bus or on a bicycle are great! Be safe out there!
• Pokemon have fixed areas in which they spawn, generated by Niantic's user data. Sometimes spawn points aren't near a Poke-stop, but can have great spawns! It's worth it to learn where spawns are in a nest if you're hunting for a specific 'mon. Speaking of which...
• Certain areas are Pokemon "nests," and you can farm a certain kind of Pokemon in these areas.
• Areas with higher relative elevation (like hills or mountains) are more likely to spawn Clefairy and Dratini, similarly bodies of water inspire spawns nearby to produce water Pokemon.

Gyms

• You can earn 50 coins per day from gyms! You don't need to put yourself in loads of gyms to get 50 coins per day. Scope out your local area to see if any gyms hold for 8+ hours if you want to maximize your gym time.
• You can hold off an attacker by feeding your gym Pokemon a berry. But the most effective way to do this is to feed a Chansey or Blissey a berry, since it takes so long to knock these Pokemon out. Golden Razz berries are the way to go
• Be courteous with gyms. You only need one per day to get 50 coins. If you have plenty of gyms and someone is attacking one, unless you really need that gym let them take it. It's super frustrating to be out trying to get coins only to have someone waste your time by healing their Pokemon non-stop. On top of that, it doesn't always work. I've spent 30 minutes at a gym taking down a Blissey over and over just to win against a defender using Golden Razzes. At the end of the day I won, and they were out 10 Golden Razzes. But most importantly, we were both out 30 minutes of our time, which was a waste of both of our attentions and resources. But hey... at least I got my 50 coins.
• Feeding berries to Pokemon in a gym has a super rare chance of getting that Pokemon's candy. If you can, save your berries for rare Pokemon like Salamence, Tyranitar, etc...! You can also drop unevolved Pokemon (like Bagon) and then cram berries down their throat in the hopes of getting one of these elusive candies.
• If you're going to attack gyms after 10pm, be courteous. You receive up to 50 coins from a gym every day, and the time period turns over at midnight. So if you're looking to get into a gym, check how long the current user's Pokemon have been there. if they've been in the gym for a few hours already, it's nice to leave it alone until midnight. But if they've only been in the gym for an hour or two, I don't think it's too rude to take that gym for yourself and hope for 50 coins the next morning.

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More to come!