Whale vs F2P: A Pull Plan That Actually Works

First, the numbers that matter

Everything below builds on the monthly Astrite calculator — run your own numbers there, these are the typical baselines.

F2P: ~50 pulls per month, one target per patch

A fully active F2P player earns roughly 7,500–8,000 Astrite per month (~47–50 pulls) from dailies, events, Tower of Adversity and the free battle pass. Patches run ~6 weeks, so per patch you're looking at 70–75 pulls — almost one hard pity, not quite.

The F2P plan:

• Never pull on the weapon banner. Your Astrite is for characters — weapon event banners are a luxury the free budget can't absorb.
• One featured character per patch, max. Save everything else. If you lose the 50/50, you still bank the guarantee for next patch's character.
• Skip reruns. New characters are usually stronger and have fresher events; reruns come back.
• Never pull below 160-pull safety for a character you must have. If you can't cover the worst case, you're gambling — accept that or save.

Monthly pass ($5): the best value in the game

The Lunite Subscription adds 3,000 Astrite/month (300 upfront + 90/day) for $5 — roughly 18.75 extra pulls. That lifts you to ~67–69 pulls/month, ~100 per patch: a full hard pity every patch with change.

The pass plan:

• Now you can afford one guaranteed character every patch (160 pulls over two months of saving + income).
• Still skip the weapon banner — or pull it only when you have 80 pulls of surplus and the weapon is a clear upgrade for a character you own.
• Consider the paid battle pass ($10) only in patches where you're actively pulling — it's ~6 extra pulls plus upgrade materials, not a long-term commitment.

Light spender ($30–50/month): characters + the occasional weapon

At this tier you're buying one or two top-up packs per month on top of the pass. That's roughly 110–130 pulls/month (75 from income + 40–60 from packs). This funds:

• Every new character you want, with guarantee coverage on most of them.
• One weapon per version — pull weapons only for your main DPS; supports' 4★ weapons are fine.
• Sequence 1 (S1) on your favorite DPS if you're disciplined elsewhere — otherwise skip sequences entirely.

The trap at this tier is sequence creep: S1 often feels "close" after you've pulled the character, but each duplicate costs another full 160-pull cycle. Decide the sequence budget before the banner, not after the second copy.

Whale: the math stops mattering — the discipline doesn't

At whale tier (S6 characters, maxed weapons), the pity system is just a speed limit: 160 pulls per copy, 1,120 pulls per S6 character in the worst case. Two things still matter:

• Buy in the right order: the first-time-purchase bonus and monthly packs are dramatically cheaper per Astrite than direct top-ups — clear the bonus packs before touching the shop.
• Spread the pain across patches: pulling an S6 over two banner appearances (S0 now, sequences on the rerun) costs the same Astrite but spreads the real-money hit.

The universal rules

1. Guarantee > luck. Only pull when you can cover the worst case for characters you truly want.
2. Pity is an asset. Check your counter with the pity calculator — near-soft-pity pulls are worth more than fresh ones.
3. Weapon banners are a surplus purchase at every budget.
4. Sequences are the real money sink — budget them in advance or not at all.

Frequently asked questions