Is Harry Potter Magic Awakened pay to win?

There's no worse feeling than pumping time and effort into a game only to learn that you'll never be as good as those who put money back into the developer's coffers. So, is Harry Potter Magic Awakened pay to win in the same way as other microtransaction-laden games? Let's dig into the details.

Mobile games are typically written off immediately as pay to win affairs: games made solely to poke and nudge players into spending a pretty penny. In reality, these types of games only see cash come from an incredibly small percentage of those who end up playing it, with their expenditure being the reason the game continues to exist at all. Almost like it's a necessary evil for the game to remain free for those who don't want to open up their wallets.

Is Harry Potter Magic Awakened pay to win?

For the most part, yes, Harry Potter Magic Awakened is pay to win. As a deck building game where cards can be made stronger by pulling duplicates, it's entirely possible to buy your way to a fully-upgraded deck. But as a deck building game, there's only so far the numbers game can take you.

• Check out: Harry Potter Magic Awakened codes

Because the game's combat system relies heavily on strategy, timing, awareness, reaction speed, and knowledge, a weaker deck played in the right way will always defeat a powerful, potentially paid-for deck with no thought put into which cards are included, or when they're played.

And because the game's PvP duelling system features ranks, you'll climb the ladder until you can't climb further, landing in a spot where you'll go up against players who have similar success rates as you, creating equal footing whether you've paid to reach that point with raw power, or gotten there through solid strategy alone.

So while you can pay hundreds to create a maxed-out deck (and unlock the Stunning Snow robe to out yourself in the process), you won't get very far if you don't put the time into creating a deck that truly makes sense. And, if you do, you'll face off against players who've managed the same.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you decide to keep your wallet firmly closed, you'll only face off against either free players with similar talent, or paying players without any.

Simply put, although Harry Potter Magic Awakened is technically pay to win in the sense that spending money will net you stronger cards, a free player shouldn't have a bad time simply because someone else decided to spend their pennies.

For more, here's how to change your title to go along with your changed appearance and customised wand. Just getting started? Here's how to reroll, which pairs well with our tier list. For issues, check out how to fix error code 8100 and how to change languages.