The pity system in Build a Base and Steal is the safety net underneath the random rolling system. While every roll has an independent probability of producing a legendary or mythical pet, the pity system guarantees that you will eventually receive a high-tier pet after enough rolls, regardless of the random outcomes. The pity system is what makes long-term rolling sustainable, because it prevents the extreme dry spells that would otherwise make progression feel impossible. This guide explains how the pity system works, how to track your pity counter, and how to leverage pity for the most efficient rolling strategy.
What the Pity System Does
The pity system in Build a Base and Steal is a guaranteed-drop mechanism that activates after a certain number of rolls without a high-tier pet. The exact thresholds are different for each tier, but the general structure is consistent: if you roll a certain number of times without receiving a pet of a specific tier, the next roll is guaranteed to produce a pet of that tier or higher.
The pity system exists for two reasons. The first is player protection. Without pity, a player could roll 500 times and never receive a legendary, which would be so frustrating that most players would quit. Pity ensures that the worst-case scenario for a determined roller is a guaranteed high-tier drop after a fixed number of rolls. The second reason is monetization. Pity creates a clear "you are guaranteed a legendary at roll X" message, which encourages players to keep rolling to reach the threshold, even when the random outcomes have been bad.
The Pity Thresholds
The current pity thresholds in Build a Base and Steal are as follows. These thresholds are reset every time you receive a pet of the corresponding tier, and they accumulate across all your rolling activity.
Rare pity - 25 rolls without a rare pet guarantees a rare or higher on the next roll. Epic pity - 75 rolls without an epic pet guarantees an epic or higher on the next roll. Legendary pity - 150 rolls without a legendary pet guarantees a legendary or higher on the next roll. Mythical pity - 300 rolls without a mythical pet guarantees a mythical on the next roll.
The thresholds are cumulative, meaning that if you hit the legendary pity threshold without having hit the epic pity threshold, the guaranteed roll produces a legendary (which is also technically an epic, since legendary is a higher tier). The system prefers the highest available guarantee.
The thresholds are also independent across tiers, which means that the legendary pity counter and the mythical pity counter can be at different points. A player who has rolled 200 times without a legendary but just rolled a mythical will reset the mythical counter but not the legendary counter, and the next roll still has a guaranteed legendary.
Tracking Your Pity Counter
The pity counter is visible in the rolling interface, but it is not always prominently displayed. On most platforms, you can see your current pity status by hovering over the rolling machine or by opening the rolling details panel. The display shows the current count for each tier and the threshold for the next guarantee.
Some players also use external tracking tools, like spreadsheets or note apps, to log their rolls and track their pity manually. The manual approach is more accurate but requires more effort, and it is only worth it for players who are planning a major rolling session and want to know exactly when their next guaranteed drop is coming.
The rolling machine itself does not tell you when you have hit a pity threshold before the roll, because that would give away information that the developers prefer to keep hidden. The pity threshold only becomes visible when it is about to trigger, which is the roll after you have reached the threshold count. This design is intentional, because telling players exactly when the guarantee kicks in would change their rolling behavior in ways that would reduce engagement.
How Pity Affects Strategy
The pity system has a major impact on rolling strategy. Players who understand pity can plan their rolling sessions around the guaranteed drops, which means saving up for the threshold rather than spreading rolls across many small sessions.
The most common pity-aware strategy is the save-and-burst approach. The player saves their cash until they have enough to roll up to (but not past) the legendary pity threshold, then performs a single large rolling session. The session is structured to take advantage of the guaranteed legendary, which means stopping after the guaranteed drop unless they want to continue toward the mythical threshold.
A second strategy is the steady-rolling approach. The player rolls a small number of times every session, which gradually accumulates pity counters over weeks of play. The steady approach is less efficient per roll (because the guarantees are spread across many sessions) but more consistent and less risky (because each session is small).
A third strategy is the event-timing approach. The player saves their pity counters for events that boost drop rates, then performs a large rolling session during the event. The boosted drop rates increase the probability of high-tier pets before the pity threshold, and the pity threshold guarantees a high-tier pet if the boosted rates do not produce one organically.
The Reset Mechanism
Pity counters reset when you receive a pet of the corresponding tier. Receiving a rare pet resets the rare pity counter to zero. Receiving an epic pet resets the epic pity counter. Receiving a legendary pet resets the legendary pity counter. Receiving a mythical pet resets the mythical pity counter.
The resets are independent, which means that receiving a legendary does not reset the rare pity counter. If you have a rare pity counter at 20 and roll a legendary, the legendary resets the legendary pity counter (if it was active), but the rare pity counter stays at 20. On your next roll, the rare pity is still close to the threshold, and you may receive a guaranteed rare shortly after.
The reset is also immediate, meaning that the pet that triggers the reset is the one that counts. There is no delay, and the next roll starts with a fresh counter. Players sometimes mistakenly think that they have to perform another roll after a high-tier pet to "officially" reset the counter, but the reset happens the moment the high-tier pet is received.
Common Pity Mistakes
The most common pity mistake is the assumption that pity guarantees a specific pet. Pity guarantees a tier, not a specific pet. A guaranteed legendary roll will produce a legendary pet, but which legendary pet is determined randomly. If you are chasing a specific legendary, pity does not help; you still need the specific pet to drop.
The second common mistake is the assumption that pity is the only way to get high-tier pets. Pity is a safety net, not the only path. Many players receive legendary and mythical pets well before the pity threshold, because the random drop rates produce high-tier pets regularly. Pity just ensures that the worst-case scenario is not too bad.
The third common mistake is the assumption that pity is shared across all rolling machines. Pity is per machine, not global. If the game has multiple rolling machines (which it does on some special servers), the pity counters are separate for each machine. Rolling on one machine does not affect the pity counter of another machine.
Maximizing Pity Efficiency
The most efficient way to use pity is to time your large rolling sessions for when you are closest to a guaranteed drop. If your legendary pity counter is at 140, you have 10 more rolls until the guarantee, and you should plan a rolling session that includes at least 10 rolls. The session should not be much larger than the threshold, because the extra rolls past the threshold are at the regular drop rate and are not as efficient per roll.
A second efficiency tip is to monitor the pity counter regularly and adjust your rolling frequency based on the counter's position. If the counter is at 20, you are far from any guarantee, and small daily rolls are fine. If the counter is at 130, you are close to a guarantee, and a larger session is warranted.
A third efficiency tip is to combine pity with event timing. Events that boost drop rates also boost the probability of reaching the pity threshold earlier, which means the effective value of each roll is higher during events. Saving your cash for a pity-driven session during an event is the most efficient rolling strategy in the game.
See Also
Quick Stats Reference
| Element | Typical Value | Best Use |
|---|---|---|
| Cash per minute | 50 - 500 | Track in your daily log |
| Rolls per hour | 20 - 80 | Budget for events |
| Family bonus tiers | 3 / 5 / 8 pets | Collection milestones |
| Pet storage cap | 100 - 500 | Expand with cash |
| Pity counter reset | 100 rolls | Guaranteed rare drop |
Additional Strategic Context
This section provides additional context on the practical considerations that experienced players apply when using the strategies outlined above for the pity system area of pet rolling. The content here is drawn from community testing, observed high-level play patterns, and the documented interactions between pet rolling mechanics and other game systems. The goal is to give you the kind of contextual awareness that comes from hundreds of hours of play, condensed into a few paragraphs you can absorb in a single sitting.
Before diving into the specifics of pity system, take a moment to understand the meta-game that surrounds the visible game. The visible game is the rolling, building, and raiding loop. The meta-game is the patch cycle, the community discourse, the trading economy, and the long-term progression arc. The visible game is what you do for 30 minutes in a session. The meta-game is what you optimize for over weeks and months. The most successful players treat both games with equal seriousness, and they understand that the meta-game is where the truly large gains come from.
The second thing is that pet rolling has a feedback loop with the rest of the game. A stronger base leads to more successful defenses, which leads to more retained pets, which leads to higher offline income, which leads to faster progression, which leads to a stronger base. The opposite feedback loop is also true: a weak base leads to lost pets, slower progression, and weaker defenses. The early-game decisions have outsized impact because they determine which loop you enter.
The pity system area of the game is also where the difference between casual and competitive play shows up most clearly. Casual players treat pity system as a side activity, while competitive players treat it as a core part of their progression strategy. The same activities, when treated with different levels of intentionality, produce dramatically different results. The content in this section is designed to help you cross the line from casual to competitive by sharing the kind of strategic thinking that experienced players apply to pity system.
FAQ
Does this strategy work for both solo players and teams?
Yes. The strategy is described for solo players as the default. Apply this concept consistently and you will outpace players who chase the latest meta advice, because the foundation remains stable while the meta shifts beneath it.
What should I do if the strategy stops working after a patch?
Review the patch notes for any changes to the relevant systems. If you take only one thing away from this section, let it be this principle: the specific actions change, but the underlying logic does not.
Where can I find more detailed information about this topic?
Check the community wiki, the official Discord, and the developer blog for pity system updates. You will see this principle echoed in every serious pity system discussion on Discord, because the most active players have all arrived at the same conclusion through their own experience.
How does pity system interact with the trading economy?
The trading economy and pity system interact constantly. pity system outputs feed trades. Once you understand this concept at a gut level, the specific strategies in this guide become easier to apply, and you will start seeing results faster than players who only memorize the actions.
What is the best time of day to focus on pity system?
Evenings and weekends have the most active players, but the best time depends on your schedule. Patch after patch, this principle remains true even as the specific numbers change, which is exactly why it is worth internalizing now rather than rediscovering it later.