Hearthstone players are mad, not because an aggro deck just killed them before they could even blink, but because of another regular bug-bear in Blizzard's card game: Blizzard.
As PC Gamer spotted, the house of Warcraft recently rolled out Hearthstone's "first interactive pet," the adorable King Krush, which looked like a huge win until the pricing and loot box rates behind this pet were revealed. You can either hit 0.1000% odds or pay up to a maximum of $158, and even fans of a digital card game aren't liking the optics there.
The King Krush pet is tied to Hearthstone's new Darkmoon Faire Treasures system, which Blizzard was all "excited" to talk about this week. "First pull is free!" reads the Twitter announcement, doing Blizzard no favors with all the drug dealing similes going around.
King Krush, and a suite of other Darkmoon cosmetics like Diamond and Signature Legendary cards, will be available from July 8 through July 29. "Every time the Faire comes around, there will be a fresh selection of treasures that may include a new Pet, Mythic Hero Skin, and other curious collectibles," Blizzard explains.
There are 10 total rewards in each rotating Darkmoon pool. You are guaranteed to get all 10 if you do 10 pulls, but you only have a few weeks to do those pulls. If this sounds like a classic FOMO time frame designed to incentivize spending and cultivate sunk-cost feelings, not unlike League of Legends' equally unpopular $200 gacha skin, that's because it is, but we're not done.
Your first pull is, indeed, free, but after that, "the cost increases with each additional pull." Blizzard lays out the odds of hitting each Darkmoon reward, and the escalating costs of each pull, in a dedicated support page.
Here are the key points. You have a 0.1000% chance of pulling King Krush at a base, but since the pool is on a knockout system, each non-Krush pull will up the odds slightly. With two things out of the pool, you have 0.3922% odds at the pet, per Blizzard's example. Hearthpwn made a handy-dandy Darkmoon simulator, complete with expense and updating odds trackers, to show how these pulls play out.
You may notice that almost every single simulation will end with getting Krush last. That's because, at best, with just one other rare thing in the pool, you'll have maybe a 6 - 7% chance of getting the pet.
This is where the cost of each pull comes into play. Assuming you do all 10 pulls, you'll be out $158 worth of the Runestone currency, according to Blizzard's own shop USD conversions. Most of that comes from the final pull, which costs $50, though the ninth pull isn't much cheaper at $30, and the eighth is $25 anyway.
"We can't wait for you to explore the enchanted relics and arcane delights of Darkmoon Faire Treasures," Blizzard said. "As with all new features, we look forward to hearing your feedback to ensure it feels fun and rewarding for collectors."
So far, the feedback has not been peachy-keen. Hearthstone players were not thrilled with the odds and prices here, lampooning the Darkmoon Faire, speaking out against its predatory gacha design, and proposing cheaper and more straightforward alternative ways to acquire it.
"King Krush deserved better than being paywalled for $158," reads the top reply on Blizzard's tweet, from Hearthstone content creator Zeddy. "This is the first pet ever, why would you not make it more accessible? So disappointing for such an adorable boy."
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