Ingress Prime Event Box Sale Analysis: All About That Star Piece

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When Niantic launched a new event in celebration of Ingress Prime’s release, they also introduced new Boxes in the in-game shop. At first glance, it looks like Niantic screwed the pooch again, offering fewer Raid Passes, almost the same number of Incubators (except for Ultra Box), but tons of Star Pieces, which can really help you with the recently announced Double Stardust Event. Let’s see what the boxes have in store for us.

Special Great Ultra
Premium Raid Pass 2 4 10
Super Incubator 3 9
Incubator 2
Star Piece 3 6 14
Incense 4
Lucky Egg 1
Lure Module 2
Price 480 780 1480
Box value analysis
Coin Saved per Box (Incubator & Raid Pass) 20 220 1320
Coin Saved per Box 270 765 2445
Percent Discount (Incubator & Raid Pass) 4.00% 22.00% 47.14%
Percent Discount 36.00% 49.51% 62.29%

Before the verdict, I would like to reiterate that I chose to not use the standard price of Lucky Egg, Incense, Lure Module, and Star Piece, since the comparison should be more on the price of buying in bulk. It would be misleading to compare it to the base price which is in principle designed to be more expensive than bulk to encourage consumers to spend more. That being said, I used the bulk price of these items when buying an 8-item bundle.

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Our Verdict

What every box has in common, besides Raid Passes and Incubators which are already the norm for these Box Sales, is Star Pieces, which pairs well with the Double Stardust event and the Ingress Prime tie-in event, where it’s really all about grinding and looking for the elusive Shiny Ponyta and Cubone. The fourth item differs on each box and really depends on what type of user each box is targeting at.

Special Box

When it comes to overall savings, this box has returned to the light side. Even though it has 1 less Raid Pass, it makes up for in 2 more Star Piece, which is great if you prefer grinding over raiding.  This box is targeted for those starting out, or those just returning to the game and need to catch up on the EXP, since it offers a Lucky Egg and enough goodies without breaking the bank that much.

Great Box

This box went south really fast. From being the best box for raiders in the last iteration, to one of the worst Great Box ever released. 3 Star Pieces for the 3 less Raid Pass is not an equal trade-off for most people, while 2 Lure Modules may be enticing for some players, but in my opinion, it’s still a bit too low for its price point. You won’t save that much in this box, so if you plan on getting the most Star Pieces, Super Incubators, or Raid Passes, you are better off with the Ultra Box. Even if you want the Lure Modules, it’s better to buy them separately in the in-game shop instead.

Ultra Box

If the last box has fallen to grace, this box is almost rock bottom. It has lower overall savings than the Ultra Box during the Special Trade Event, but only by 0.04%. The difference is that replacing some of the Raid Passes with Star Pieces is understandable given the nature of the event it is released with. Also, by this point, most people have already gotten a Giratina and some of them are not really planning on getting more Giratina given that it faces stiff competition with Rayquaza and Dragonite in the Dragon type category, while it sucks in the Ghost category with its disappointing Shadow Sneak.

Overall thoughts

Star Pieces are not only usable during the Double Stardust event. Remember that Star Pieces aren’t available in the shop when there are no box sales, and there’s no certainty that Star Pieces are available in the box sales. For example, in the previous iteration, the only box with a Star Piece is the Special Box. Besides that, the upcoming Community Day on November 10 will feature Double XP and Stardust as well, and stacks with the current Double Stardust event, effectively making it Quadruple Stardust (x4) during Community Day (x6 when you also put on a Star Piece).

I also said in my last analysis that “it’s almost due for Niantic to release a good box”, but Niantic released this box that is literally one of the worst boxes when it comes to overall savings. To put your mind at ease, the last time the overall saving dipped that low, the next Ultra Box’s overall savings went up to 69.48%. While I’m not saying that it will happen for sure, history often repeats itself, so now more that ever is it possible to have a comeback in the box sales. On the other hand, the first time I said that “it’s almost due for Niantic to release a good box” during the box sale at the start of October, and since then, the next two box sales had lower savings then the last, so I won’t blame you if you don’t trust me this time.

Even if you don’t plan on using those Incubators and Raid Passes, stocking up on these items will help you prepare for the rest of Generation  IV, since every baby Pokemon except Riolu are still unreleased. That’s 7 Baby Pokemon you need to hatch to complete the Sinnoh Dex, which will definitely take awhile.

What will I buy? Ultra Box since I still need to hatch Riolu, and I need to stock up on Star Pieces. If you would buy a box, what would you buy?

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Ysmael
Ysmael
Avid Pokémon Fan since 2000

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