Blizzard says Overwatch loot box odds have not changed

Blizzard added more than 100 new cosmetic items to Overwatch's base loot box yesterday, many of which you can get a closer look at here. In the eyes of some users, however, the increase in available items was accompanied by a decrease in the odds of actually getting any of the good stuff. But Blizzard says that's simply not the case.
 

That's pretty hard to misinterpret, but Blizzard expanded on the topic a little further in a follow-up tweet. "Please keep in mind that unlike during events you're not guaranteed to get a new item in every box," it wrote. "These items went into the pool of all available items in the base Loot Box."

Overwatch loot boxes contain a randomized series of items—skins, sprays, emotes, and all that—in Common, Rare, Epic, and Legendary qualities. The higher the quality, the less likely it is to drop, but the specifics were a mystery until last year, when Blizzard revealed the drop rates to remain in compliance with Chinese law. Every loot box contains at least one Rare item, but higher grades are far less likely to appear: Epics drop at an average rate of once in every 5.5 loot boxes, while Legendaries turn up once in every 13.5 boxes.

Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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