by JR Cook - 9 years ago     show comments

This might be one of the more polarizing questions in the game.  Ask most players this question and they will immediately have an answer.  Whether they answer yes or no, they probably already have an opinion formed.  So what is the right answer, are Stimpacks worth it?  Like most questions, the correct answer is, it depends.  Before you can truly decide if a Stimpack is “worth it” or not, you have to look at your specific situation and what your goals are.  You also have to understand exactly what a Stimpack does.

The Math

I know what you are thinking, “This article starts with math?  Awesome!”.  No?  Just me?   In that case, I’ll keep it simple.

Since a 30 Day Stimpack and a 10,000 gold Hero can each be purchased for $9.99, that is the comparison that most people make when deciding the value of a Stimpack.  Assuming a 50% win rate, you will earn, on average, an additional 37.5 gold per game with an active Stimpack.  This means that you would need to play 267 games, or an average of nine games a day, in order to earn an additional 10,000 gold.  This is what leads most people to decide that Stimpacks are not worth it, since they could just spend that $9.99 to buy a 10k Hero outright.  The problem with that logic is that buying more Heroes is not the goal of everyone, plus it completely ignores the value of the bonus experience.

The Obvious Answer is No

Based on that math, it is pretty clear that Stimpacks are not ‘worth it’ for the typical player.  Who averages nine games a day?  The problem is that there are other benefits, such as the experience bonus, that go beyond a straight dollar for dollar comparison.  The real value of a Stimpack will vary from person to person.  You have to look at where you are in the game and what your priorities are.  A level 40 player with a large pool of Heroes may value things differently than a new player just starting the game.  You also have to consider the value of $10.  Depending on if you are a 14 year old kid or a 45 year old CEO, you are likely to view money quite differently.  With that in mind, here are some examples of when and why a Stimpack may or may not have value.

Stimpacks may be good for:

• New players, who can benefit from the additional bonus gold earned by reaching level 5 with new Heroes.
• Players who want to reach level 30 faster in order to access Hero League.
• Players interested in items that can only be purchased with gold, like Master Skins or the Money Pig mount.
• Players who want to level Heroes to 10 faster, to unlock said Master Skin.
• Players content to pay for the convenience of earning gold and experience at a higher rate.
• Players with limited time, who are willing to pay to increase in the amount of gold and experience they earn with the time they do have.
• Players who are passionate about the game, and view the cost of Stimpack as the equivalent of a monthly subscription.

Stimpacks may not be good for:

• Max level players, who have a large Hero collection and little or no interest in Master Skins or the Money Pig.
• Players whose primary goal is to increase their Hero Collection.
• Free to Play players, or those who wish to spend as little real money on the game as possible.
• Those players who do not average nine games a day, or have any other intangible benefit to justify the purchase.

In Conclusion

It is important to note that this entire discussion has revolved around 30 Day Stimpacks.  While you can make several compelling arguments as to their value, the same cannot be said for the 7 Day version.  They are bad, and you shouldn’t buy them.  They only offer 25% of the duration for 40% of the price of a 30 day Stimpack.  If things are tight, simply save your money until you can get the 30 Day Stimpack.  It will benefit you more in the long run.

If you were on the fence about Stimpacks, hopefully this article has given you the tools to make an informed decision.  If you are already a Stimpack user, keep in mind that the value of that Stimpack may change as your situation changes.  If you are not using Stimpacks, I hope you at least learned that their value isn’t solely limited to whether or not you average nine games a day.

Good luck, and have fun!