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Explained: How STEPN Mystery Boxes Really Work

Are you looking for information on the STEPN Mystery Box system?

Perhaps you recently noticed that STEPN made a number of changes to the STEPN Mystery Boxes and now you’d like to know how this impact the gameplay?

Well, don’t worry, because we’ve done some research inside the community and have put together all our findings in our Mystery Box guide below.

In this guide, you’ll learn exactly what STEPN Mystery Boxes are, what rewards they contain and how much it costs to open them.

Let’s go check it out!

Key Points (tl;dr)
  • For many people, Mystery Boxes are one of the most elusive aspects of the STEPN gameplay.
  • Mystery Boxes are loot boxes that may or may not contain valuable items that you can use within the game. These items include Gems of various types and levels as well as Minting Scrolls.
  • Both the drop rate as well as the quality of the Mystery Boxes are influenced by how much Energy you use during a run and the amount of Luck your sneaker has. Obviously, there is also a strong element of randomness built-in.
  • In order to open a Mystery Box that you’ve received, you must wait a certain amount of time and also spend a base amount of GST. You can skip the waiting period by spending GST on a boost, however, in most cases, this has a very bad return on investment.
  • General consensus seems to be that the ideal amount of Luck for a sneaker is between 15 and 20. Furthermore, it’s best to focus on Mystery Boxes that have a level of 3 or more.

For a detailed guide on how STEPN Mystery Boxes work, PLEASE READ THE FULL ARTICLE.

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What Are STEPN Mystery Boxes?

Mystery Boxes are STEPN’s version of so-called “loot boxes” that are common in many other games as well. Mystery Boxes usually contain Gems or Minting Scrolls that can be used for different aspects of the game, such as boosting attributes of your sneakers or minting entirely new shoes.

Infographic showing how the STEPN Mystery Box system has changed.
Infographic showing how the STEPN Mystery Box system has changed.

Even if you only started playing STEPN fairly recently, you’ve most likely already about the Mystery Boxes that you can earn inside the STEPN game.

But you’re probably wondering what Mystery Boxes even are and why they’re even relevant.

A lot of people who are getting into STEPN aren’t necessarily familiar with the concept of “loot boxes”, so let’s quickly rehash some of the basics.

The frequency with which you’ll encounter them and what they actually contain is influenced by a variety of factors as well as pure and simple luck.

Although there’s obviously a mathematical formula that determines all these things, such details are usually kept secret by the game developers.

The original STEPN game had 5 different types of Mystery Boxes and which ones you could get was primarily determined by the amount of Energy you used and how much STEPN Luck your sneakers had.

However, STEPN has since switched to a new system with a total of 10 different Mystery Box levels.

LevelMystery Box Quality
1Damaged Mystery Box
2Refurbished Mystery Box
3Common Mystery Box
4Uncommon Mystery Box
5Rare Mystery Box
6Epic Mystery Box
7Legendary Mystery Box
8Enchanted Mystery Box
9Master Mystery Box
10Satoshi Mystery Box
Table listing all 10 levels of the new STEPN Mystery Boxes

Your chances of receiving different types of STEPN Mystery Boxes are still determined by Energy and Luck, however, it looks like the threshold for very common boxes has dropped quite significantly.

Within the app, every user has space for up to 4 different Mystery Boxes at a time.

This is relevant because Mystery Boxes can’t necessarily be opened right away (we’ll say more about this later in the guide).

Therefore, depending on how far you’ve advanced in the game, your objective isn’t necessarily to earn more Mystery Boxes, but rather better ones.

What Rewards Do STEPN Mystery Boxes Contain?

STEPN Mystery Boxes can contain Gems, Minting Scrolls or they can also be completely empty. Both the quantity and quality of the items they contain will differ depending on the level of the Mystery Box, which in turn is influenced by your sneaker’s Luck attribute.

Infographic explaining what rewards STEPN Mystery Boxes contain.
Infographic explaining what rewards STEPN Mystery Boxes contain.

You might be wondering why you should care about Mystery Boxes at all.

Well, these Mystery Boxes usually contain one or more of the following items (note: some boxes are completely empty too):

What the Mystery Boxes contain as well as how many of the items, is heavily influenced by the “Luck” attribute of your sneaker.

Gems are important because they allow you to boost to effect of your sneaker’s attributes.

Multiple Gems of the same type and level can also be used to upgrade to a higher level Gem.

So, as you can see, Mystery Boxes aren’t just a gimmick, they are an important part of STEPN’s gameplay.

What Influences the STEPN Mystery Box Drop Rate?

The drop rate of STEPN Mystery Boxes is primarily influenced by how much Energy you use during a walk or run, as well as how high your sneaker’s Luck attribute is. Although these factors increase your chances of receiving a box, there is still a fair amount of randomness involved.

Infographic explaining hwat influences the STEPN Mystery Box drop rate.
Infographic explaining hwat influences the STEPN Mystery Box drop rate.

When you’re just starting out with STEPN, you might get the impression that you’re never going to get a Mystery Box.

And while the threshold for receiving boxes has fallen considerably since the introduction of the new Mystery Box system, they’re not meant to be easy to get.

The official STEPN Whitepaper provides some insight into the formulas that help determine the STEPN Mystery Box drop rate for each user.

It also contains a formula that explains how the quality of the Mystery Boxes is determined.

MysteryBoxValue (V) = N * (PSL+PSLC)^SystemValue3

But to be honest, we haven’t found the whitepaper to be very helpful.

The explanations are mostly vague, sometimes confusing and they are clearly missing tons of information that isn’t meant to be shared publicly anyway.

That’s why we’ve created a dedicated Google Sheet for Mystery Boxes.

Screenshot of the Mystery Box Probability Chart
Screenshot of the Mystery Box Probability Chart

Based on public stats as well as anecdotal reports from people within the community, the optimal approach to getting Mystery Boxes is to have around 15-20 Luck and use at least 5 Energy.

How Much Does It Cost to Open Mystery Boxes?

Opening a Level 1 Mystery Box will cost you 5 GST and you will have to wait for 2 days before you can open it. A Level 10 requires an 18-day wait and 100 GST. While paying for a “Boost” will allow you to open the box straight away, boosting usually has a negative ROI.

Infographic showing the different costs and time associated with opening a STEPN Mystery Box.
Infographic showing the different costs and time associated with opening a STEPN Mystery Box.

If you thought that finding a STEPN Mystery Box was already difficult enough, then buckle up because there’s more to come.

You see, once you get Mystery Box, it is placed in one of the 4 slots that you have within your account.

Remember that you can only have 4 unopened boxes at a time.

That might not seem like a big problem, but what if I told you that you can’t actually open Mystery Boxes right away?

That’s right, depending on the level of the Mystery Box you received, you’ll have to wait anywhere between 2 and 18 days until you can actually open them.

And even when the countdown is finally over, you still need to spend GST in order to open a box.

LevelQualityTime (Days)Base CostBase + Boost
1Damaged Mystery Box25 GST14.3 GST
2Refurbished Mystery Box37 GST28.6 GST
3Common Mystery Box49 GST37.8 GST
4Uncommon Mystery Box616 GST59.2 GST
5Rare Mystery Box825 GST83.0 GST
6Epic Mystery Box1036 GST108.0 GST
7Legendary Mystery Box1249 GST135.4 GST
8Enchanted Mystery Box1464 GST164.8 GST
9Master Mystery Box1681 GST196.2 GST
10Satoshi Mystery Box18100 GST229.6 GST
Table listing the time and cost associated with opening STEPN Mystery Boxes

Here’s the formula to calculate a STEPN Mystery Box Boost:

Boost = Time in Hours * 0.3 GST per Hour + Base Price in GST

Mystery Boxes can contain huge rewards but they can also end up being empty, so spending time and GST on opening a box is always associated with some risk.

In some cases, the rewards contained within a box may also not necessarily justify the cost of opening them.

Some users have also said that Level 1 and Level 2 boxes are usually so bad, that it’s likely that STEPN is trying to use them as an unofficial “burn mechanism” to reduce the amount of GST in circulation.

Therefore it’s always a good idea to have a decent strategy on how to deal with STEPN Mystery Boxes.

We recommend focusing on quality rather than quantity.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Before we wrap up, let’s quickly address a few frequently asked questions about STEPN Mystery Boxes.

  • How do Mystery Boxes work in STEPN?

    Depending on the level and attributes of your sneaker NFT as well as how much Energy you use during a run, you have the chance to earn a Mystery Box. Mystery Boxes contain items that are needed elsewhere in the game and can enhance your game experience.

  • What do STEPN Mystery Boxes contain?

    Mystery Boxes can contain Gems, Minting Scrolls, or be completely empty. The amount and quality of the items depend on a variety of factors, including pure luck.

  • Are any STEPN Mystery Boxes worth it?

    It all depends on what type of game strategy you are pursuing. Especially higher level Mystery Boxes (3 and above) tend to contain considerably more valuable items. However, there seems to be general consensus that most of the common Mystery Boxes are not worth spending time and GST to open them.

Conclusion

STEPN’s Mystery Box system has literally become a bit of a mystery for many newbies to the game.

But in reality, it’s not that complicated and as long as you stick to some basic rules, you’ll generally start seeing decent Mystery Box drop quite regularly.

The main question is about what sort of strategy you want to pursue when opening them up.

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