Many players are now feeling the repercussions of buying Eternal Orbs from third parties.
Blizzard Leaves Players in Debt After Mass Eternal Orb Purge
Written by Ollie Bradley at 09/08/2022, 07:33 AM
As if Diablo Immortal's monetization model wasn't controversial enough, it looks as though some players looking to save a few pennies have started to experience what it's like to keep a money-hungry beast away from its sweet, sweet moolah. And much like the in-game cosmetics, it's not pretty.
Eternal Orbs are Diablo Immortal's in-game currency which are used to buy cosmetics (ranging from 1,000 to 1,650 Orbs), equipment stat re-rolls (100 Orbs) and the much-maligned Legendary Crests (160 Orbs) that we've all heard too much about over the last few months. Meaning they're in high demand.
But with prices ranging from $0.99 for 60 orbs to $99.99 for 7,200, some have turned to striking deals with third-party suppliers, with some offering the same 7,200 for the low, low price of $20. Needless to say, Orbs acquired through third parties are not sanctioned by the devs. And now those chickens have come home to roost.
In what looks like a mass Eternal Orb purge, several Diablo Immortal players have flocked to Reddit with reports that their ill-gotten Orbs have not only been revoked, but have placed the player in vast amounts of in-game debt - meaning their Orbs are well into the negatives. One user even reported a -$2 million deficit, which would require around $35,000 to rectify.
As if that didn't sting enough (particularly for the whales who won't be able to show off their "skills" anymore), indebted players are automatically locked out of several of Diablo Immortal's main features including dungeons and raids.
Short of this being a concerted effort by Blizzard to penalize the buyers, however, PCGN reports that it's more likely to have been a mass Eternal Orb purge for those acquired through nefarious means like glitches, fraudulent credit cards or exploiting regional price differences and then sold at discount prices.
But despite the buyers feeling the repercussions in a brutal fashion, we wouldn't be surprised if Blizzard forgave their debt, if only because they've proven they're willing to spend money already. For now, though, it's up to the buyers to decide if Diablo Immortal is even worth playing when they're so deep in the red and unable to do anything worthwhile.