Mod Packs have returned to Galaxy of Heroes, allowing players to purchase multiple sets of mods at once.

At 999 crystals per set, with a maximum purchase of 5 times per day, Mod Packs require more crystals than manually mining for mods with Cantina energy, but could they provide more bang for the proverbial buck? Let’s take a further look.

Mod Packs will include a total of 7 mods per pack. Six of the mods will represent one of each mod slot in Green, Blue, Purple, or Gold and either the MK IV or V (4 or 5*) rarity, while the 7th mod will be a gold MK IV or V mod of any possible slot. The packs can be purchased for any of the 8 mod sets and can be purchased up to 5 times per day per mod set.

The 999-crystal price tag can be off-putting to some players, as that could be a couple days of Arena payouts or a couple weeks depending on Arena Rank. Before turning away at the 999-crystal price tag, however, it’s important to do a deep-dive into the ultimate value of the packs.

Speed. Speed? Speed!

With all mods, the Speed secondary stat is, by far, the most important. Whether a player is mining mods through Cantina energy or purchasing mod packs, there is a fair amount of variability on what stats will appear on a mod.

Just as simming through 7 Tier III mod challenges could yield 0-7 mods with the Speed secondary stat showing, purchasing 7 mods through the Mod Pack could also yield anywhere from 0-7 mods with Speed showing.

The difference, however, between ordinary mining of mods versus buying the Mod Pack is that the extra crystals used in the Mod Pack guarantees mods that will drop with at least one stat showing and a mod for each mod slot, which increases the odds that at least 1 of the 7 mods will have Speed. The Mod Pack also guarantees that all 7 mods will be of the 4* or 5* rarity.

To compare, simming 7 Tier III mod challenges could provide 3*, 4*, or 5* rarities and also in any shape. Out of those, the mods could be in any color, with a far greater chance to yield grey mods than any other color. With grey mods, if Speed drops at all, the Speed stat will never increase as the mod is levelled, leaving a 5* mod maxing out at +5 Speed.

999?! That’s a lotta crystals!

One could argue that pulling 999 crystals’ worth of mods would be a better option just looking at some of the basic math. A total of 999 crystals will earn about 1200 Cantina energy (assuming 120 energy at 100 crystals each) and mining Tier III mods of any set would yield about 75 mods.

At first, it sounds like 75 mods versus 7 mods is the better value, but /u/maro2194 at Reddit collected a lot of data on mods to provide some rough stats on drop rate percentages. By mining 75 mods, less than 6% (or 4 mods) will likely drop with Speed showing since 94% of all the mods pulled will be grey. Looking at drop rate percentages without grey mods brings the probability of the Speed secondary showing up to almost 16%. The odds are more favorable towards a single Mod Pack dropping Speed secondaries (especially when there is 1 guaranteed gold mod) versus mining 75 mods in hopes of getting Speed secondaries.

Point. Set. Match.

The Mod Packs also provide the ability to specifically mine individual mod sets, which could be a huge boost who have not acquired characters from every faction.

Pulling mods through a mod challenge requires the completion of the individual challenges at 3*, which could mean attaining, gearing, and also modding specific sets of characters. For example, Tier III of any mod challenge requires five toons at 5* or higher, but while Tenacity mods require 5 Rebels, which are plentiful and many are easily attained, Offense mods require 5 First Order characters, which includes exactly 5 characters, some which are only available through Hard Nodes.

Purchasing a Mod Pack allows a player to gain mods for a set that could otherwise remain out of reach for weeks or months.

All of this notwithstanding, Mod secondary stats are entirely left up to chance. If you’ve read my previous, long-winded semi-rant about mods, you’ll understand that there are 12 possible secondary stats that could appear on mods and, depending on the color of the mod, any of the stats that drop could upgrade when the mod is levelled.

The variability in the stats that could drop and the way that each stat could or could not upgrade leaves a fair amount of risk with the mod pack. The 999 crystals spent could yield a mod or two with Speed showing…or none of the 7 mods could have Speed at all. The Mod Pack could provide mods with Speed secondaries that increase…or all of the Speed stats remain static at or +4 or +5.

This, however, is the risk with all mods, and since Speed is the single most important stat in determining a win in Arena or a high score in a raid, it ultimately depends on what kind of risk a player is willing to take in order to have the best possible playing experience.

Mod Pack Summary

Pros:

7 guaranteed mods that will have at least 1 secondary stat showing

Of the 7, one mod is guaranteed gold

Of the 7, there is a guarantee to receive at least 1 mod per slot

Can earn 4* or 5* mods on mod sets that may not be unlocked

Highest possibility of earning mods with high Speed secondaries

Cons:

Very RNG-dependent; results will vary

Purchase of 7 total versus earning 75 mods (and also credits, ability mats, Cantina store currency, sim tickets, and XP) for the same amount of crystals

A thousand crystals can be a hefty decision for most players. There’s a chance to earn the kinds of mods that can alter the Arena landscape and there’s a chance to come away highly disappointed. Luckily, we’ve got until 7/18/17 to decide.

By Kaitco of Descendants of the Empire

Gaming-fans.com Staff Writer