Blizzard reveals Overwatch and Hearthstone loot box odds

Thanks to Chinese law, Blizzard has published the odds that gamers face every time they buy a card pack or loot box.

It was reported in December that starting May 2017, developers whose games contain random loot box drops will be required to reveal the underlying odds in compliance with new Chinese regulations.

Games such as Overwatch, Hearthstone and Counter-Strike reward players who both complete in-game tasks and pay cash with digital loot boxes, the contents of which vary. Rare and valuable items can of course be had, but often infrequently.

Now PCGamesN has spotted that these odds were in fact already published ahead of the May deadline.

In Overwatch, every loot box will contain a ‘Rare’ blue or better item. ‘Epic’ purple items crop up at a rate of every 5.5 boxes (18.2 per cent). ‘Legendary’ gold items, however, only occur around every 13.5 boxes (7.4 per cent).

In Hearthstone, every pack again contains a ‘Rare’ or better. ‘Epic’ cards crop up around once every five packs (20 per cent) while ‘Legendary’ cards only appear once every 20 packs (five per cent).

We also have the odds for Heroes of the Storm – again, ‘Rare’ or better every back, ‘Epic’ every 4.5 boxes (22.2 per cent) and ‘Legendary every 17.5 boxes (5.7 per cent).

Note that these are the Chinese odds and might vary in other territories. There are other variables, too, such as the widely held belief that these games will be more generous if a player returns from a long break.

Basically, then, Hearthstone makes you wait a bit longer for a Legendary, whereas Overwatch is a bit tighter with Epics. Broadly, though, all three games are fairly similar. And like any chance based games, sometimes you get lucky – as those who have experienced to the Twin Legendary Pack Hearthstone Joy can attest to.