Gacha

Gacha , are lotteries that are a recurring element in select Final Fantasy titles. They are common in free-to-play games, where they account for the majority of a game's revenues.
The terms draw and pull are used interchangeably to describe the actions or results of a gacha. Many games in the series thematically use the term summon to describe the same.
==Overview==
Gacha add an element of random chance and frequently use the game's premium currency to acquire better units and equipment. Microtransactions can also be used to participate in a gacha. 
Gacha are frequently associated with loot crates found in free-to-play titles outside the Final Fantasy franchise, since loot crates are essentially paid packages of random items. Within the franchise, however, purchases of loot crates are not necessary to play a gacha game, but can sometimes improve the odds of drawing better items.
While gacha and its associated terms as a whole tend to be associated with smartphone and iOS games, random item drops from enemies in RPGs are similar, and some video games that have random drops and item farming as a main gameplay feature can be considered a predecessor to gacha, some titles being Final Fantasy XII, Vagrant Story, Trials of Mana, and Phantasy Star Universe, though differ by obvious reasons, ranging from eased exploits with pattern recognition and being direct rewards for playing the game normally. Gacha as a whole remains mixed in its reception and somewhat controversial for its workings, with the mechanic seen as irrelevant to core gameplay and as a disguised form of gambling (see Legality).
==Legality==
Because gacha games are often considered on par with gambling due their randomness and the tendency to involve real-world currency, they are regulated or barred outright in certain territories. China, for instance, requires gacha games to disclose odds. Belgium and the Netherlands have a full ban. "Game gacha", unlike real world prizes in Japan (see Etymology) or MMO/online video game items, cannot be traded between players or sold for premium as collector's merchandise and memorabilia after series runs. 
In Japan, "complete gacha" (requiring drawing multiple parts to complete a premium item) has been banned since 2012, while the other types of gacha require the publishers to declare the drop rates. 
Apple Inc. modified its App Store policies in 2018 to require full disclosure of gacha odds.
==Games using gacha==
===Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis===
Players are offered multiple gacha options, with Blue (free) or Red (paid) Crystals as the principal currency. Ticketed pulls are also available, with the tickets earned as mission completion rewards or delivered as gifts. Most single pulls cost 300 Crystals, with 10-pulls costing 3000 Crystals each.
When a pull is initiated, Cloud is seen rushing at an Iron Giant in Corneo Colosseum, then viciously attacking it, the hits corresponding to the rarity of pulls attempted; and when a 5★ pull has been hit, it displays as "77777 Fever". Earlier signs of a 5★ are:
* The Iron Giant maintains its fuchsia aura. 
* Cloud bats away the Iron Giant's blade instead of clashing weapons before faltering.
* Cloud dodges to the side instead of clashing weapons.
* Cloud is wearing the Murasame Battle Garb and matching sword instead of his First Class Uniform and Buster Sword.
Each pull manifests as a materia crystal of varying color: blue represents a common 3★ item; purple is 4★; and gold is 5★, the last usually featuring a character's silhouette as it pops open. Ultimate Weapons are of 7★ rarity, encased in iridescent aqua orbs.
As all weapons can be evolved in rarity rank, duplicate pulls are remediated in two ways: first, the highest-ranking pull of the same name and type will be taken into the player's inventory, replacing any others; second, the player can convert the duplicates to weapon parts and use them for upgrades later on. A tutorial mission will switch on the automatic conversion process; with this enabled, it is not necessary for the player to walk the menus to perform the transmutation of repeat items into parts.
Featured draws with free AND paid Crystals issue chocobo stamp cards; with each pull, the gacha will ink 1-12 stamps onto a stamp card for bonus items. Attempts are cumulative, as the player will win all prizes covered by the stamps. The sixth slot of the first card will guarantee a featured weapon chosen by the user regardless of the overall outcome of the pull. The sixth slot of the second card guarantees a random 5★ weapon. The twelfth slot of the first or second card will guarantee gear of the user's choice. After the third card is filled, all future draws from the associated banner will stamp an identical card used in successive runs.
===King's Knight -Wrath of the Dark Dragon-===
:NOTE: Service has ended for this title.
A forked gacha system was used. Within any given event period, the player could participate in one of two gacha spins: one for units, and a second for weapons used by those units. Each required Regalite to play.
Where a unit spin became available, it was either a standard spin (choice of 1 or 10) or a step-up spin (tiered spins with increasing rarity guaranteed per step up to a max of 250 Regalite for a 10-draw spin with one featured unit guaranteed). Any 10-draw spin could award an event item for the duration of the event. Some draws were only available to players who purchased Prime Regalite, and even if this was not the case, regular Regalite took precedence.
3★ units and above added subquests to the narrative, which were queued in the order each unit was drawn. 4★ weapons often carried a powerful King's Might when fully forged to 5★.
===Final Fantasy Agito===
:NOTE: Service has ended for this title.
===Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia===
:NOTE: Service has ended for this title.
Overlapping equipment draws were rotated weekly, or in time with story events. The player could choose which draw to participate in, and spend Draw Tickets or accumulated Gems to attempt pull(s). Draw Tickets were 1:1, but did not guarantee a high pull. 500 Gems were equivalent to one Draw Ticket for the same odds. Within each draw was a 5,000 Gem "10+1 Multi-Draw", wherein 11 items were pulled including one guaranteed 5★ item. There is no guarantee that the item(s) carry Affinity for a player's current units, or that the same item is not pulled more than once. Even so, this could work to the advantage of the player, as duplicates could be fused up to three times to boost a relic's attributes. Native 5★ weapons could also be sold for valuable Power Stones, of which four were needed to limit-break a 5★ weapon once without a fusion (up to 12 for a max limit break). This same logic applied to FR weapons, which when sold became very rare High Power Stones.
Starting with client 1.10.0, if the player pulled a 5★ weapon for a unit not already on their reserve roster, the missing unit was awarded automatically, regardless of whether or not the player completed an associated scenario.
As of August 2020, all draw banners guaranteed that any 5-star relic obtained was for one of the units featured in a linked event; for example, if Sephiroth was part of a co-op raid event and Kefka was not, drawing from the attached banner would increase the odds of getting a greatsword tailored for him. The player would not receive 5-star relics for Kefka in any draw that did not feature him specifically.
As of late March 2022, new draw banners removed the 4-star armor relics that were provided since launch. Players instead needed to buy these relics with earned and/or purchased Gems at 10 Gems apiece.
===Final Fantasy All the Bravest===
NOTE: Service has ended for this title. 
While not a gacha game in and of itself, this title relied on gacha-style mechanics to acquire any of more than 30 heroes from the main series as possible units. For 99¢ apiece, players could randomly draw one hero to appear alongside the randomly-generated party in battle. Unlike the nameless job characters, only one copy of each purchased unit can appear per battle. Once a hero was drawn, they were removed from the pool of available units.
===Final Fantasy Record Keeper===
While it is possible to draw one free piece of equipment per day beginning at 5:00 AM PST/13:00 UTC, such equipment is often of lower rarity than found in the gacha Relic Draw. Relic Draws rotate periodically with in-game events, offering a chance at 5★ and 6★ relics that could prove advantageous in high-difficulty stages. Featured Relic Draws require accumulated Mythril stones or purchased Gems, with most guaranteeing one 5★ or better drop per draw. Though duplicates may also occur, they can be fused up to two times in order to boost the original relic's strength.
Some events have used roulette to award exclusive relics and rare materials. The player needs to obtain gambling chips from an accompanying dungeon. Only the highest-value spin is displayed if multiple spins are bought.
===Final Fantasy Brave Exvius===
The gacha system is the most complex used in the series. Non-story units are frequently subject to lottery, which requires the use of special summon tickets or accumulated Lapis. There are several varieties of lottery summon as well, each requiring a specific ticket type. Standard Rare Summon Tickets guarantee a 3★ or better unit. Guaranteed 4★ Rare Summon Tickets are also available, requiring completion of certain advanced events or other high-ranking tasks.
====War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius====
As with the parent title, multiple gacha and shops are available. One summon costs 200 Visiore, while 10 summons are 2000 apiece. Most draws will contain a mix of units and summon cards. Special draws may also award exchange tokens for the Mog Shop.
===Mobius Final Fantasy===
NOTE: Service has ended for this title. 
As a card battle game, a gacha system was used to acquire ★3 or better ability cards. This gacha rotated every two weeks. Players could use magicite or stocked Summon Tickets to draw new cards, with a chance at obtaining a maxed ability card, a Job card, a Legend card, or any combination of these special cards. Summon Tickets were dropped as area completion rewards, rare treasure chest rewards, Login Bonus items, or as part of the "Mobius Gift Box" loot crate available every 30 days from the last Gift Box purchase. 
Some gacha draws awarded special prizes when a signature card from a set (called a "batch") appeared in a player's draw. The prizes could include accessories for Meia or Sarah, multiplayer stamps, or special Echoes for a given event.
==Etymology==
 Japanese culture is more familiar with the term due to a focus on vending machines within its fast-paced and urban compacted city culture, while western culture is more familiar with ticket exchanges, with gumball and prize vending machines being more focused on novelty and one-off prizes.
Gacha toy prizes in Japan tend to be of near equivalent value to toys and models sold at hobby and toy stores, and tend to be collectible series for various franchises, Final Fantasy included. Real life gacha toy prizes also have a trading economy. 
Several games may use "summon". 
Category:Recurring