Chinese Rollback Might Have Shown That Hearthstone Pack Rarity Is Predetermined
Blizzard's Hearthstone servers in China melted this past week, forcing a rollback of all player data and wiping out over two days of progress. That's not the real news, however. After the rollback, players noticed something odd: Their legendary card drops were coming in the exact same packs that they had before the rollback.
For instance, if you got a legendary -- or, more unusually, two legendaries -- on the fifth pack you opened before the rollback, you'd get that same result (with different exact cards) on the fifth pack after the rollback. This Reddit thread goes into great detail about the phenomenon, strengthening the notion that there's some kind of "pity timer" or pre-determined, not-wholly-random element to pack contents.
In theory, this means that we could always know what future packs will contain a legendary; if you knew, you might base your purchasing choice over which set you want to get a legendary from. In practice, whatever determines this is probably buried deep in the code and will never be uncovered, though there is that upcoming Chinese law that will force games to disclose the odds of their for-purchase items. It kicks in May 1, so maybe we'll all find out the real rarity system soon.
Related Articles
- Always Online Podcast: Did Redfall and ESO MMO Presentations Deliver, Hearthstone & A Sub, And The Day Before's Mess Ep 461
- Blizzard Wants To Know How Much Players Would Pay For A Hearthstone Subscription Via Survey
- Always Online Podcast: Blizzard, NetEase, & A Dead Orc Statue, Ubisoft Strike, & Dragon's Dogma MMORPG Returning? Ep 460
About the Author

Jason Winter is a veteran gaming journalist, he brings a wide range of experience to MMOBomb, including two years with Beckett Media where he served as the editor of the leading gaming magazine Massive Online Gamer. He has also written professionally for several gaming websites.
Read Next
Gigantic Launches "Exile In The North" Update
Motiga and Perfect World launched the first major update to action MOBA Gigantic today.
By QuintLyn Bowers - 6 years agoYou May Enjoy
Ahoy! Sea Of Thieves Enters 2023 With Matchmaking And PVP Improvements As Well As A Brand-New Adventure
Batten down the hatches and prepare for a storm of PvP battles.
By Aspen Pash - 1 week agoBlizzard Wants To Know How Much Players Would Pay For A Hearthstone Subscription Via Survey
The survey also mentions 3D gameplay where Heroes and minions would come to life on screen.
By Aspen Pash - 6 days agoLost Ark Will Add New Rowen Continent In February And Release Artist Class Ahead Of Time Come March
With the February update, the devs will throw in events to celebrate the game's anniversary.
By Anthony Jones - 15 hours agoThe Day Before Delayed And Steam Blocked After A Mysterious "Private Individual" Registered The Game's Trademark
This throws a wrench into Fntastic's plans to release raw footage announced for this month.
By Anthony Jones - 6 days agoYesterday It Was A Rumor, Today It Is A Fact: Rumbleverse Is Shutting Down
Iron Galaxy says we may not have seen the final form of the Rumble though.
By Michael Byrne - 13 hours agoMicrosoft Claims Sony Created A False Narrative To Try And Dissuade EU Regulators Concerning The Acquisition of Activision Blizzard
“It would defy business logic for us to exclude PlayStation.”
By Aspen Pash - 1 day ago
Discussion (3)