How does Hearthstone’s Pity Timer work?

Today we are going to unravel the secrets behind Hearthstone’s Pity Timer and how it affects your Legendary drop rate when opening packs.  Festival of Legends is about to start, and much like any fan out there, we want all the Legendaries we can get. That is why today we will explore Hearthstone’s Pity Timer system and explain you how to buy multiple packs with gold on the way.

When you open a Hearthstone pack, there are some basic rules to protect you from being super unlucky. Some are crystal clear, others not so much. One of those protection systems Hearthstone put in place is the Pity Timer.

Hearthstone Packs have a specific average drop rates for each card rarity. According to a Hearthstone article, Legendaries drop at a rate of 1 in 20 card packs, while Epics can be obtained every 5 card packs, both cases on average.

So, this is the theory, but why is Hearthstone’s Pity Timer important when opening packs? Well, the Pity Timer is the way Hearthstone assures you that you can't be too unlucky. So, while statistically, you could open 60 packs without a Legendary dropping. To prevent that, Hearthstone guarantees a Legendary card every 40 packs.

The same happens for Epic cards, where Hearthstone’s Pity Timer guarantees players that they will get at least one every 10 packs. 

For many time this was a truth based on experience, but this changed last week when Hearthstone officially disclosed the existence of the Pity Timer in a support article. In it you can check out the percentages of getting any card rarity in different packs. Let's go over the most important numbers for normal packs.

You can check these percentages and pity timers for different packs and card rarity in the above mentioned Blizzard support article.

Tracking when the last Hearthstone Epic or Legendary card dropped can help you know if the next one is closer or not. For example, if you have already opened 30 packs without any Legendaries, you know for sure that there will be one in the next 10.

Beware that each set of cards, represented by Hearthstone expansions, has its own Pity Timer. So, packs from Festival of Legends are independent of Castle Nathria packs. This is paramount to know because it can help you get the best return for your gold in terms of cards if you apply it correctly.

While it might seem a complete mess to track every set's Pity Timer, don’t worry there is an easy way. With the PackTracker plugin for Hearthstone Deck Tracker, you will be able to know every Pity Timer for every set automatically. This will be the definite proof that you are the unluckiest player on Azeroth.

Hearthstone’s interface is clear and simple, but in that simplicity, some things aren’t clear how they work. One of those is how to buy packs with gold. If you go to the shop you will find that the only option to buy packs with gold allows you to get just one.

It would be painful if you wanted to buy 50 packs with gold and had to do it one at a time. To avoid this, double-click on the top left "1 Pack 100 Gold" option, and you will get a pop-up that will ask how many packs you want.

Furthermore, a key thing to know is that despite the Legendary Drop rate we discussed before, Hearthstone guarantees that there will be a Legendary in the first 10 packs of each set. So, if you are a new player, make sure to invest some gold in packs from other standard sets, this way you will get the best value!

Another important protection system for players, besides Hearthstone's Pity Timer, is duplicate protection. This system prevents players from getting cards that they already own, before getting all the cards from that rarety. This means that every time you open a Legendary, it will be one you didn’t own.

If you want other hacks as useful as Hearthstone’s Pity Timer, check our Guide on how to manage your collection. There you will find tips and the most common mistakes players make that ruin their collection.

That is all for now, stay tuned to esports.gg for more Hearthstone guides and news. See you next time in the Tavern.