Nintendo’s latest mobile game, Fire Emblem Heroes, arrived on iOS and Android platforms this week. Unlike Super Mario Run, it’s a true free-to-play game, which means that you can play through the entire game without spending a dime. Of course, if you are willing to spend a dime, you can unlock more of the game’s dozens of heroes from Fire Emblem lore, which will make your team stronger and the game easier.
Sadly, whether you spend money or not, you can’t control which heroes the game spits out when you spend “Orbs” — a form of currency you can collect by completing missions or buying it outright. But rather than just accepting the heroes the game gives you, you can “reroll” and try again for a better payout.
In the mobile world, games like Fire Emblem Heroes are known as “gacha” games. Gacha games require players to randomly draw for prizes, but as you might have guessed, the most desirable prizes (which are 5-star heroes in the case of Fire Emblem Heroes) are the most difficult to obtain.
In order to get players hooked, gacha games often shower them with currency at the outset, at which point they promptly spend all of it and have to decide whether or not they want to grind through the game for more, or spend a few dollars to get more right away. It’s dastardly and highly effective.
It didn’t take long for clever games to realize that they could simply uninstall and reinstall the game, collect the startup currency once again and repeat as necessary until they collected the items or monsters or heroes that they wanted. Unsurprisingly, the same practice is already becoming popular among Fire Emblem fans.
If you’re desperate to get that 5-star Roy, you might want to try rerolling.
