The last time we checked in on streamer Quin and his attempts to buy his way to glory in Diablo Immortal, he had spent $6,600 and not attained a single 5-star Legendary Gem. I am happy (?) to report that, after more than doubling his investment, he finally has his loot.
As I wrote earlier in the month:
You would think that after a while you’d eventually get some of the game’s best gear, a 5-star Legendary Gem, because that’s how the law of averages works, right? Wrong! As Quin69 has clearly proven here, the law of averages is inherently cruel and unpredictable, which is why bookmakers have been taking advantage of it since the dawn of time, and why games like Diablo Immortal are built on predatory economic models designed to exploit people’s most dangerous and vulnerable psychological impulses.
That was then! This is now, and Quin has since posted that after spending NZD$25,165 (USD$15,818) on the game—with NZD$10,000 of that coming in a single stream—he has his 5-star Legendary Gem:
Remember, simply buying your way to these items isn’t the only way you can get them, and as we’ve seen here is indeed the worst way, but that’s not the point. The point here is that having it as an option at all is one of the reasons predatory game economies suck!
As Kotaku AU wrote when reporting on his “achievement”:
Quin has certainly drawn his share of criticism throughout the experiment. His reckless spending and bursts of white-hot anger after failed drops caused many to wonder about his emotional stability. Others, even in our comments, were unhappy to see him giving Blizzard exactly what it wanted: his money. In the end, though, he proved his point. Chasing five-star Legendary Gems is a fool’s errand, a system designed to clear out bank accounts while giving very little back to the player.
Anyway, thanks for your service, Quin69. You can now stop playing Diablo Immortal for good.