Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel

The Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel cover art

*Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel* is a free-to-play traditional card game developed by Konami and published by Konami Digital Entertainment. Released in 2022, Master Duel allows players to collect over 10 thousand cards from many archetypes to build a wide variety of decks and compete with other players for rank. As a gacha game, Master Duel’s primary mechanic of obtaining new cards is through its own iteration of loot boxes which are card packs that can be bought individually or as a set of 10. Master Duel’s games are won by combining the abilities of different cards to reduce your opponent's life points (or health) to zero or by reaching alternative win methods that are unique to specific archetypes.

## In-Game Currency

Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel only has one type of currency in its offering which are Gems.

* **Gems :** Gems can be earned through fulfilling different objectives in the game or purchased with real money from the cash shop. Master Duel will make a distinction between the Gems that you earned and purchased. Earned Gems cap out at 10 thousand, with additional Gems being sent to your in-game mailbox with a time limit on how soon they can be collected (which is only possible by bringing earned Gems below the 10 thousand cap).
	+ **Uses:** Structure Decks, Bundle Deals, Deck Slots, Cosmetics (Mates, Duel Fields, Protectors, Icons, Icon Frames, Wallpapers, Card Cases), Duel Pass, Loot Boxes/Gacha.

### Currency Bundles

#### Purchasing Gems

Gems can be purchased by clicking on the Gem counter which will bring the player to the “Purchase Gems” menu. Some Gem bundles are time-limited and can only be purchased a certain number of times whereas others can be purchased whenever as many times as the player wishes. Purchased Gems can only be used on the platform they were originally bought on.

There are seven gem packs that can be purchased, with six out of seven packs offering bonus gen as a better deal for buying a bigger pack.

    From the "Purchase Gems" menu, players have the option of using real life money to purchase a variety of gem packs offering different amounts of gems. Some gem packs had limited availability in terms of how long they can be purchased for and how many times they can be purchased.

### Currency Exchange Rate

The currency exchange rate is an estimate calculated by accounting for all currency bundles available for purchase. You can find a detailed breakdown of this process here.

The currency exchange rate is the average rate of all 7 packs: 1 CAD to 53.41 Gems.

### Payment Methods

The Payment Methods in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel are determined based on the platform the user is playing on (Steam, App Store, Google Play, etc).

The current payment methods for Master Duel through Steam are the following:

* Mastercard
* Visa
* PaySafeCard
* PayPal
* Steam Wallet

### Refund Policy

Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel does not have a refund policy.

## In-Game Items

In addition to cards which are the main component of Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, the game also offers customization in the form of various cosmetics and allows players to purchase bundles using Gems.

### Structure Decks

Structure decks are a predetermined and complete set of cards pertaining to a certain archetype or strategy. They typically include single copies of every card in the set (the game allows 3 cards of the same name excluding cards that are restricted or banned). Structure decks come with a dedicated Card Case with artwork related to the deck. They can be purchased up to three times for 500 Gems each in the store.

### Bundle Deals

Bundle Deals allow players to purchase a single guaranteed card with 10 master packs. They can be purchased only once for 750 Gems in the store.

### Deck Slots

Desk Slots extend the number of saved cosmetic and card configurations that a player can have. They can be purchased 5 times for 250 Gems each in the store.

### Cosmetics

Master Duel offers different item rarities in certain types of cosmetics which are:

* **Regular:** Different artwork, animations, and/or model.
* **Deluxe:** Everything in regular plus additional artwork and/or animations.

#### Mates

Mascots with dedicated animations that are displayed next to the game board. Regular mates cost 300 Gems and Deluxe Mates cost 500 in the store.

#### Duel Fields

Duel Fields are where cards are organized during the game, with different Duel Fields delivering alternative visuals based on certain concepts and themes. Duel Fields are separated into three parts which are Duel Field, Field Parts, and Mate’s Base. Duel Fields cost 600 Gems, Field Parts cost 100 Gems, and Mate’s Bases cost 100 gems.

#### Protectors

Virtual version of card sleeves, with unique designs and animations (animations are only available to Deluxe card Protectors). Regular card Protectors cost 100 Gems and Deluxe card Protectors cost 180 Gems.

#### Icon/Icon Frames

Player Icons are displayed next to their name in the UI and during matches. Icons are separated into Icons and Icon Frames. Icons cost 50 Gems flat. Regular Icon Frames cost 30 gems and Deluxe Icon Frames cost 60 gems.

#### Wallpapers

Wallpapers are images that are displayed on the home screen. They can be purchased for 250 Gems in the store.

#### Card Cases

Card cases are virtual containers where cards are stored, with different colors and artwork. They can be purchased for 200 Gems in the store.

### Item Costs

As of October 2023, the current lowest and highest cost items that are purchasable in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel are the following:

 **Most Expensive Item** | Any Duel Field

## Battle Pass

### Duel Pass

The Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel Battle Pass is referred to as the Duel Pass. Purchasable for 700 Gems for the premium rewards, the Duel Pass (Gold) offers additional rewards on top of the regular Duel Pass. The Duel Pass has 100 levels in total and both regular and Gold Duel Passes have rewards until level 50. After level 50, only Duel Pass (Gold) has rewards. The Duel Pass offers Gems, Crafting Materials (used to craft specific cards of equal rarity), Icons, Background, and Mates. Buying the duel pass gold at any point during the event period will provide players with all previous rewards.

## Subscriptions

Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel does not have any subscriptions at the time of recording.

## Loot Boxes

As a Gacha game, Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel’s main form of microtransactions is in the form of loot boxes. Master Duel offers card packs that offer a random selection of 8 cards from a pool. The exact pool that the pack draws from depends on the type of pack.

Master Duel cards have several rarities associated with them that are assigned largely arbitrarily, with more popular cards typically being of higher rarity. Although the rarity of a card does not correspond to its strength, it does influence its probability of appearing when opening a pack. The following rarities are present in Master Duel:

* N - Normal
* R - Rare
* SR - Super Rare
* UR - Ultra Rare

Additionally, opening cards of any rarities in packs has a chance of that card having a unique finish. There are three finishes in Master Duel, which are:

* **Basic Finish:** No effects.
* **Glossy Finish:** Shiny borders on the card.
* **Royal Finish:** Shattered Glass effect on top of the card.

The three main card pack types offered in Master Duel are:

* **Selection Packs**
	+ Selection Packs are time limited packs that introduce new cards to the game. The pool is created by mixing the new cards with older cards that complement them. The new cards of this pool become part of the Master Pack pool after the limited time period.
* **Secret Packs**
	+ Secret Packs are unlocked for 24 hours by crafting or pulling an SR card or higher that belongs within its card pool (this process can be repeated). Most archetypes in the game have an associated Secret Pack with a pool of cards that are complementary to that archetype. Some Secret packs combine two or more archetypes within its pool.
* **Master Packs**
	+ Master Packs pull from the entire card pool of Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel.

Master Duel has a “pity” system built into its Card Packs. Players are guaranteed to open at least one SR card every 10 packs. If a player does not open a UR card in 10 packs, they are guaranteed to open a UR card within the following 10 packs. All packs follow a similar probability for opening cards:

* Each pack contains 8 cards. The first 7 cards follow the probability table below:
	+ UR - 2.5%
	+ SR - 7.5%
	+ R - 35%
	+ N - 55%
* The eighth card changes its probability based on what is guaranteed by pity. If an R card or above is confirmed as the eighth card, then the probability is as follows:
	+ UR - 2.5%
	+ SR - 7.5%
	+ R - 90%
* If the eighth card is guaranteed to be SR or above, then the following probabilities are used:
	+ UR - 20%
	+ SR - 80%
* If the eight card is guaranteed to be a UR, then the probability of that card being UR is 100%

Selection packs pull every card from its custom pool. Secret Packs pull the first 4 cards from the Master Pack pool, and then the rest from the Secret Pack pool. Master Packs pull all cards from the Master Pack pool.

Selection Pack screen, players can purchase single packs or buy a set of 10.Confirmation prompt for purchases.Effect played when purchasing a set of 10, different effects are shown on each card based on the rarity of certain cards within it.Pack summary screen after opening all packs, players are also able to skip to this screen instead of opening individual packs.
## DLC

Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel does not have any DLC available.

## Editions

Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel does not have any editions of its game available for purchase.

## Pay-to-Win Systems

Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel has no pay-to-win systems.

## Limited Time Offers

### Selection Packs

Selection Packs introduce new cards into the game and are time limited in the sense that they provide the easiest way to access new cards through limited pools that they pull from. Once the time period of a selection pack is over, all new cards move into the Master Pack pool without necessarily having an associated Secret Pack, making them difficult to acquire through opening Card Packs. New selection packs are introduced every month and they typically run up to two months before they are removed from the store permanently.

### Gem Packs

Gem Packs are separated into two types, permanent Gem Packs which are always available for purchases and limited time or quantity Gem Packs that can only be accessed temporarily. New players have access to discounted Gem Packs that can be purchased a limited number of times and/or for a limited time period.

## Personal Review

**How does the video game’s culture impact microtransaction spending?**

The video game’s culture does not incentivize microtransaction spending as it is possible to earn enough currency by playing the game to unlock new cards reasonably. The community believes that in-game events and other gem-earning methods are more than sufficient to enjoy the game.

**Is it possible to free-to-play while having a good experience?**

Yes, it is possible to attain every item in the game while still being free-to-play within a reasonable amount of time as of recording. This is made possible due to frequent events that offer gems as well as strong single-player and multiplayer rewards. Microtransactions only speed up the process of unlocking new cards.

**What is the value proposition offered by the microtransaction systems and are they substantial improvements over not spending?**

The main value proposition is time as buying gems is much faster than earning gems. Therefore, microtransactions do not offer a substantial bonus as compared to not spending.

**Do microtransactions add “value” or simply add prices to features/items that other games include by default?**

All default features are present without needing to pay. Microtransactions add value in that they speed up your progress significantly compared to not spending.

**Do you need to spend to have fun?**

Unless your definition of fun is about trying out as many different decks as possible (which is hard to achieve without paying), I would say it is more than possible to have fun. The gems from playing the game are sufficient to make a few decks every season and have decent variety in gameplay.

**Is it worth spending on microtransactions in the long run?**

As the main benefit of spending is time, I would not say it is worth spending in the long term since you would have been able to earn anything you wanted without spending eventually. The value of your purchase drops over time.

**Do I recommend that you spend on this game based on my personal experience playing it?**

I would not recommend spending and instead taking advantage of the free sources of gems as they are more than enough for most players.

## Resources

1. ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel Wikipedia
2. ↑ Yugipedia - Gem (Master Duel)
3. ↑ Yugipedia - Duel Pass
4. ↑ Everything You Need to Know About Crafting Cards in Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Yugipedia - Selection Pack