Pity System
What Is a Pity System?
A pity system is a safety net that kicks in as you spend in-game currency on random draws, called pulls, in gacha games. It tracks how many pulls go by without a rare drop and will, given enough time, guarantee one or sharply raise your odds once you hit a set number. Think of it like bad luck protection. You can only have so many bad pulls before the pity system activates and ensures you get a good pull.
Pity Systems in Gaming
In gacha games, you spend pulls on banners, which are pools of characters or items you can draw from. Some banners are permanent, while limited-time ones promote a featured character, and the odds of a high-tier reward, usually called a five-star, are tiny. Gacha pity grew out of that setup to stop endless losing streaks, and it’s a core part of how gacha games work.
Gacha communities have their own shorthand for tracking pity, and you’ll see it all over forums and social media. “I’m at 74 pity” means you’ve made 74 pulls since your last five-star, and “I hit pity” means the guarantee kicked in. “Lost the 50/50” means your five-star wasn’t the featured character on a limited banner. The upside is that it puts you “on guarantee,” so your next five-star is sure to be the featured one.
How a Pity System Works
Behind the scenes, the game keeps a pity counter for each banner type. Every pull without a rare reward adds one to it, and the counter resets to zero the moment you land one.
The loop is simple: you pull, you miss, the counter climbs, and eventually your odds rise, or the guarantee triggers. Some games carry your count over between limited banners of the same type, so progress on one event banner counts toward the next.
Hard Pity, Soft Pity, and Featured Pity
Hard pity is the fixed pull number where the rare reward is guaranteed. On a 90-pull banner, pull 90 always gives you a five-star if one hasn’t dropped earlier. Whether hard pity is 80 or 90 depends on the game and banner, so check the banner details before you plan.
Soft pity is the zone before hard pity, where your odds climb sharply with every pull. Players commonly report it starting in the low-to-mid 70s on 90-pull banners.
Featured pity, or the 50/50, decides whether your five-star is the promoted character or someone from the standard pool. Lose it, and your next five-star is guaranteed to be the featured one.
Pity System vs. Drop Rate
Drop rate is the base chance of a rare reward on a single pull, set by RNG (random number generation). A pity system kicks in after enough misses, so drop rate sets your odds per pull while pity caps how long a losing streak can last.
| Factor | Pity System | Drop Rate |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A rule that tracks failed pulls and steps in after enough misses | The base chance of a rare reward on a single pull |
| When it applies | Once your counter reaches the soft or hard pity threshold | On every pull, whatever your history |
| What it guarantees | A rare reward by hard pity, plus the featured one if you’re on guarantee | Nothing, since each pull is independent |
Examples of Pity Systems in Games
Each game tweaks the same safety net, and the exact numbers can change with game updates.
In Genshin Impact, character banners guarantee a five-star within 90 wishes (the game’s name for pulls). Each five-star is a 50/50 between the featured character and a standard one, and losing it makes your next five-star a guarantee.
Honkai: Star Rail uses 90-pull character banners and 80-pull Light Cone banners, which are weapon-style equipment.
Reverse: 1999 has a pity system too, with a six-star (its top rarity) guaranteed by pull 70. Lose the 50/50, and your next six-star is guaranteed to be the featured character.
Pity systems also reach beyond gacha banners. Hearthstone uses a pity timer that guarantees a Legendary card within a set number of card packs, putting an end to any bad-luck streaks.
Why a Pity System Matters
For you, pity turns a random draw into something that you can plan around. Before a limited banner launches, count how many pulls you’ve saved and how many more you need to reach hard pity. If your savings cover the gap, you can guarantee a rare reward while the banner is still running.
That’s why many free-to-play (F2P) players save free pulls for limited banners and use beginner banners for an early five-star. Knowing the worst case also takes the sting out of a cold streak.
Pity systems still have limits. Hard pity can take an awful lot of pulls to reach with only free currency, and unless you’re on guarantee, it only promises a rarity tier, not the specific character you wanted.
Outside gacha, pity systems can spark debate. In loot-heavy action RPGs, such as Path of Exile and Diablo IV, some players want a guaranteed chase drop after enough runs (“pity farming”). Others argue that RNG is the whole appeal.
Most app stores, including Apple’s, require games to show the odds before you buy a pull. Pity also changes how players feel about spending, since knowing a guaranteed reward is coming makes each pull feel less risky.
