2021 Mystery Box Research - The Truth Behind $4,386 Worth of Boxes

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NoyAvargel wrote:

Edit : i honestly believe that they should add some mechanic that allow to break some duplicated items to small amount of shards based on the item rarity
to collect enough shards to use to buy an item from the box with no RNG
this will atleast assure that you can end up with the set after spending alot
the shards you get from breaking down duplicated items will be minimal.. that it wont worth for you to break down useful items that you didnt go after but still got.. but it will be worth to break second pair of gloves and boots that you have totally no use for.. so that maybe you gather enough shards to buy the 1 item tht refuse to come out

This is a really good idea.

As the saying goes, Las Vegas wasn't build on winners.

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Shagsbeard wrote:

The main argument against this is that you can't initially buy the items from the boxes. You have to wait. People don't like to wait.

That is one of the main reasons for me. Also, there's not much else I can really do with points now, though I know that I should just keep them for whatever comes out (I mean in the store, not boxes) at a later date, so I don't have to then buy even more points to get those things.

That's the tricky part though, when you have the points anyway, the content of the boxes is good and you get some idea in your head, 4 months is a looooong time.

Yup, I'm weak. Not proud of it, but at least I'm not in denial.



As for a solution, well, you'd think it'd be quite simple. Block me from buying boxes in the future, problem solved, right? Except, not really, because I would be locked out of existing content after supporting GGG since the early alpha days. Even if it would be done "for my own good", it would still feel like a stab in the back, because if they really want to help people like me, they would just stop selling these boxes and put everything in the store on release. It's honestly that simple.

If everything on the store was cheap or the supporter packs weren't hundreds of dollars, I'd be able to play devil's advocate and somewhat understand the decision to make a bit more out of their MTX through these boxes, but I don't see any evidence of a need for such things with prices like this. Through supporter packs they are asking for our support and through the boxes they are sucking us dry.


I'm weak, but not blind. So why do I still fall for it, you may wonder? Because I still believe in GGG and I don't think we're just cattle to them. I could name a few big studios that over the years have convinced me of such and have lost my support as a result, but not GGG.

You could say that it makes me blind, that I am in denial then. Maybe. Faith, like love, is a dangerous thing. But how empty would our lives be without it? I'll stop writing this philosophical nonsense. Don't mean to derail this thread.

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Xavathos wrote:

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Shagsbeard wrote:

The main argument against this is that you can't initially buy the items from the boxes. You have to wait. People don't like to wait.

That is one of the main reasons for me. Also, there's not much else I can really do with points now, though I know that I should just keep them for whatever comes out (I mean in the store, not boxes) at a later date, so I don't have to then buy even more points to get those things.

That's the tricky part though, when you have the points anyway, the content of the boxes is good and you get some idea in your head, 4 months is a looooong time.

Yup, I'm weak. Not proud of it, but at least I'm not in denial.



As for a solution, well, you'd think it'd be quite simple. Block me from buying boxes in the future, problem solved, right? Except, not really, because I would be locked out of existing content after supporting GGG since the early alpha days. Even if it would be done "for my own good", it would still feel like a stab in the back, because if they really want to help people like me, they would just stop selling these boxes and put everything in the store on release. It's honestly that simple.

100% also annoying part is when you already bought all packs available atm and no matter how many points you spent on the boxes you still lack couple of pieces and buying points without a pack feels like meh?

i really do think that they should make the boxes abit nicer so with big invest you can rest easy know you will ahve your set.. as i suggested before the shards system..

or maybe even something more simple.. these boxes are made with 2 sets/lines of mtx for example misery / suffering weapon for weapon body armor to body armor... so my ssimpler suggestion is maybe allow mixing 2 of the same body armor for the equal part from the other set..

for example lets say you have 3 suffering helm and 0 misery you could combine 2 suffering helms into 1 misery helm... or if you have 5 misery body armor and got 0 suffering body armor you couild sacrifice 2 misery body armors for 1 suffering.. so even if you had super bad luck you could still get that 1 piece that refused to come out.. if you spent alot

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NoyAvargel wrote:

100% also annoying part is when you already bought all packs available atm and no matter how many points you spent on the boxes you still lack couple of pieces and buying points without a pack feels like meh?

i really do think that they should make the boxes abit nicer so with big invest you can rest easy know you will ahve your set.. as i suggested before the shards system..

or maybe even something more simple.. these boxes are made with 2 sets/lines of mtx for example misery / suffering weapon for weapon body armor to body armor... so my ssimpler suggestion is maybe allow mixing 2 of the same body armor for the equal part from the other set..

for example lets say you have 3 suffering helm and 0 misery you could combine 2 suffering helms into 1 misery helm... or if you have 5 misery body armor and got 0 suffering body armor you couild sacrifice 2 misery body armors for 1 suffering.. so even if you had super bad luck you could still get that 1 piece that refused to come out.. if you spent alot

I get where you're coming from, I really do, but you're trying to make boxes fair and that defeats their underlying purpose. I honestly believe GGG want to do their very best in making their game as ethical as they can and it shows in the way these boxes are implemented. They could be a lot worse......

....but they are still there and I just don't understand why. GGG is against P2W, they're against RMT, they're against any kind of unfair advantage and they haven't broken their word on it.* Why have these boxes when their prices are already this high on the store? It would take all my supporter pack points and more besides if they just released box content in the store at full price, but at least I'd have the set and I wouldn't be left with a sour taste, sense of regret and self loathing.


I tell myself I'm helping great people bring their vision, their passion, to life. These boxes tell an entirely different story and GGG doesn't need it. They made it through the darkest days at the start without boxes, with a small team and a few loyal supporters. That number grew out of faith in them and in their vision. These boxes betray that faith, they don't belong in this picture. They'd be far better off without them. Go ahead, convince me otherwise.


* I know stash tabs are a grey area, I just don't want to get into that one in this thread. It's subjective anyway, let's keep it on topic.

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Xavathos wrote:

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NoyAvargel wrote:

100% also annoying part is when you already bought all packs available atm and no matter how many points you spent on the boxes you still lack couple of pieces and buying points without a pack feels like meh?

i really do think that they should make the boxes abit nicer so with big invest you can rest easy know you will ahve your set.. as i suggested before the shards system..

or maybe even something more simple.. these boxes are made with 2 sets/lines of mtx for example misery / suffering weapon for weapon body armor to body armor... so my ssimpler suggestion is maybe allow mixing 2 of the same body armor for the equal part from the other set..

for example lets say you have 3 suffering helm and 0 misery you could combine 2 suffering helms into 1 misery helm... or if you have 5 misery body armor and got 0 suffering body armor you couild sacrifice 2 misery body armors for 1 suffering.. so even if you had super bad luck you could still get that 1 piece that refused to come out.. if you spent alot

I get where you're coming from, I really do, but you're trying to make boxes fair and that defeats their underlying purpose. I honestly believe GGG want to do their very best in making their game as ethical as they can and it shows in the way these boxes are implemented. They could be a lot worse......

....but they are still there and I just don't understand why. GGG is against P2W, they're against RMT, they're against any kind of unfair advantage and they haven't broken their word on it.* Why have these boxes when their prices are already this high on the store? It would take all my supporter pack points and more besides if they just released box content in the store at full price, but at least I'd have the set and I wouldn't be left with a sour taste, sense of regret and self loathing.


I tell myself I'm helping great people bring their vision, their passion, to life. These boxes tell an entirely different story and GGG doesn't need it. They made it through the darkest days at the start without boxes, with a small team and a few loyal supporters. That number grew out of faith in them and in their vision. These boxes betray that faith, they don't belong in this picture. They'd be far better off without them. Go ahead, convince me otherwise.


* I know stash tabs are a grey area, I just don't want to get into that one in this thread. It's subjective anyway, let's keep it on topic.

i honestly do think GGG are great and i support them alot ! well clearly not as much as you do but still alot.. truth is i havent been around for like 2 years.. but i think my suggestion would actually bring more people into spending onthese boxes because they would still be RNG and luck based but they wouldnt be as frustrating at times.. and i think more people buying boxes even if they buy abit less each would overall means more money !

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Xavathos wrote:

I get where you're coming from, I really do, but you're trying to make boxes fair and that defeats their underlying purpose. I honestly believe GGG want to do their very best in making their game as ethical as they can and it shows in the way these boxes are implemented. They could be a lot worse......

....but they are still there and I just don't understand why. GGG is against P2W, they're against RMT, they're against any kind of unfair advantage and they haven't broken their word on it.* Why have these boxes when their prices are already this high on the store? It would take all my supporter pack points and more besides if they just released box content in the store at full price, but at least I'd have the set and I wouldn't be left with a sour taste, sense of regret and self loathing.


I tell myself I'm helping great people bring their vision, their passion, to life. These boxes tell an entirely different story and GGG doesn't need it. They made it through the darkest days at the start without boxes, with a small team and a few loyal supporters. That number grew out of faith in them and in their vision. These boxes betray that faith, they don't belong in this picture. They'd be far better off without them. Go ahead, convince me otherwise.


* I know stash tabs are a grey area, I just don't want to get into that one in this thread. It's subjective anyway, let's keep it on topic.

GGG are just as greedy/ungreedy as other game company. Stop being naive.
P2W is out of fashion for a while, outside for mobile games & very limited non mobile game.

You can emjoy poE for sure & think GGG does a good job on PoE. But you do not need stop to being naive about the dev & think they are some kind of angel or exception.

Buy booster packs and take you chances on getting the cards you want, or pay premium prices for "singles" later on. The only difference between Wizards of the Coast and GGG is that WotC doesn't sell singles. ='[.]'=

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...This is a pretty bad take. Most people are not as eager as you to trust companies blindly.

Just addressing this sort of statement in general.

This is why most civilized nations have court systems. In fact, having a functioning legal system is one of those sorts of "civilized country" things.

The Loot Box system in PoE was released right at most dangerous moment - "The Great Loot Box Debate." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loot_box

Nations actually ended up banning them. Even New Zealand had to make a public decision to not ban them as gambling devices... despite what their own researchers had to say. ("... but researchers from New Zealand and Australia, writing in Nature Human Behaviour, concluded that "loot boxes are psychologically akin to gambling".[46])

Even so, GGG's public statement regarding the distribution of possible prizes is a legally binding statement even in New Zealand. Having Courts and a civilized legal system, that means there's a reason for New Zealand to also have Jails and Prisons and well as a robust Civil Court system with, one assumes, support for meaningful Civil actions, like debilitating financial settlements that could result in GGG's doors getting locked and someone auctioning off all their plastic plants decorating their reception area...

Companies that would purposefully lie about something like that in a public statement do not last very long - EVERYONE loves free money awarded by civil actions.

But, more than that, GGG doesn't likely care one bit what the distribution actually is. Not even a little bit. See, there's an advantage to posting "the odds." Well, at least when one is dealing with "gambling."

Posted odds make a possible goal enticing for gamblers. It's actually an incentive. It's an advertised "challenge." And, making some rewards more rare than others implies... "value."

Is the most rare item in a Loot Box "valuable?" If so, how much value does it have? Well, the cost of the box... It can't get any more intrinsically valuable than that. Any other value relies on what? It relies on... the published and working distribution and how that is interpreted by the person who receives the item. Barring personal preference/bias, etc.. and implied value the person places on it.

An easy self-test:

If all items had an equal chance to appear in any opened loot box, how engaging or enticing would the experience of purchasing the Loot Box and opening it actually be?

Compare that feeling with the feeling one assumes one would have when purchasing a Loot Box that had more of a weighted distribution with some items known to be only rarely appearing. What's it feel like, now?

If you're a gambler, just seeing that published distribution is an enticing and tempting thing to engage with. And, many, many, people enjoy a bit of gambling, now and then, without being addicted to it. It doesn't even have to involve money for it to be exciting or interesting.

Meanwhile, GGG doesn't likely care at all what you get in your Loot Box. They've already won the game by getting you to pay for it. That's it. That's all that's there. Once you've paid your money, the transaction is literally "done." Nothing that happens after that, as long as the computer doesn't break and your payment is processed correctly, is anything GGG should or would care about in any practical or truly meaningful sense.

But, they'll be very, very, sure to comply with their published distribution. Doing that keeps unfriendly lawyers away.

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Raycheetah wrote:

Loot boxes? Sure they're a trap, if you think you can easily get full sets of armours without overinvesting. If you recognize that you will probably have to buy a TON to get everything you want, and end up with a lot of stuff you don't want, then you're far less likely to fall into such a trap.

Just buy a few boxes, be glad to get some cheap MTX, and stop buying as soon as you start to become dissatisfied with what you're getting. ='[.]'=

No

I like free MTX. Wish they still did stuff like wings like in breach and dual sets - one for HC one for SC like olden days. Free is best MTX!!


Demon wings and saquine red armors is just tits.


Not gonna lie. I buy packs for points for tabs. MTX is just "free" a bonus. No fucking way I'm buying boxes for mtx. I have 30 suits of armor and only play one guy at a time. But I use tabs. All of them. All the time.

Tabs is their bread and butter from me ( I'm sure most ppls). MTX is optional.