Why Blocksworm has no pay-to-win
All 25 heroes are earnable through play. Battle Pass is cosmetic acceleration, not gating. Here's the philosophy.
The block puzzle RPG genre is full of games that gate progression behind hero packs. We made a different call.
Every hero in Blocksworm is earnable through legitimate play. Defeat Pyredrake — the first boss — and you complete the Pirates roster. Defeat Crypt Lich at the end of Chapter 1 and you have all 15 first-wave heroes plus a 5-slot squad. The game's progression IS the unlock progression. There is no separate gacha pull.
The Battle Pass exists, and the Premium track is optional. It accelerates Tier 2 ascension and grants cosmetic frames + auras. It does not unlock heroes, mechanics, or bosses. It does not gate the Tower.
This is a deliberate trade-off. We make less revenue per whale and bet on a wider, longer-tenured player base instead. The North Star is The Moment — that 2-second window where you read the board three moves ahead and execute a kill cascade. That moment is free.