{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/rpg-grind--duplicate-protection","type":"mechanic","id":"rpg-grind--duplicate-protection","lang":"en","title":"Duplicate protection","summary":"The system tracks acquired cards when awarding new ones. Hearthstone pack protection limits duplicates within a rarity until its collection requirement is met.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/rpg-grind--duplicate-protection/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/rpg-grind--duplicate-protection.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/rpg-grind--duplicate-protection.md","aliases":[],"tags":["RPG grinding","Investment and outcome protection"],"sourceIds":["source-e1a5af64e172b78e","source-8cf42d52a93ab613"],"sources":[{"id":"source-e1a5af64e172b78e","title":"Hearthstone","url":"https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hearthstone/id625257520?uo=4","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-8cf42d52a93ab613","title":"Hearthstone: duplicate protection, patch 17.0","url":"https://hearthstone.blizzard.com/en-us/news/23357896/ashes-of-outland-patch-17-0-march-26","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"The system tracks previous results and reduces or excludes unwanted duplicates."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants\n\n<a id=\"duplicate-protection-options\"></a>\n\n- Exclude owned items until a set is complete. <a id=\"duplicate-protection-option-1\"></a>\n- Increase weights for missing categories. <a id=\"duplicate-protection-option-2\"></a>\n- Allow replacement of a duplicate result. <a id=\"duplicate-protection-option-3\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A collection chest first awards banners not yet obtained."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"A systematic RPG grind reference: 110 mechanics and 330 variants in 18 sections. Four layers answer different questions: what the player repeats, what develops, how rewards arrive and what constrains the loop. It covers single-player RPGs, ARPGs, MMORPGs and adjacent management and accumulation systems. Every mechanic has an explanation, variants and a hypothetical example; coverage, combinations and verified game observations follow the catalog."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"rpg-grind","id":"duplicate-protection","title":"RPG grinding","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/rpg-grind/#duplicate-protection","categoryIds":["reward-protection"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Duplicate protection","description":"The system tracks acquired cards when awarding new ones. Hearthstone pack protection limits duplicates within a rarity until its collection requirement is met.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/rpg-final-hearthstone-4.webp","width":720,"height":333,"game":"Hearthstone","sourceUrl":"https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hearthstone/id625257520?uo=4","originalUrl":"https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Purple211/v4/8f/a8/ea/8fa8ea66-9f8d-1b20-7830-93b6cee4f11f/e2f76c40-8ad7-48e1-8253-8c8793df8429_bl_hs_2688x1242_set03_s08_JW.jpg/720x1560bb.jpg","credit":"Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.","rights":"© Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.. Publisher-distributed screenshot or documentation image; all rights reserved. Excluded from portal MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Hearthstone: a publisher reward composition including a card pack","alt":"Hearthstone: a publisher reward composition including a card pack","markers":[{"x":67,"y":63,"label":"Duplicate protection applies to cards when opening these packs"}]},"tips":["Distinguish duplicate protection from rarity odds; they are separate reward rules."],"examples":[{"title":"Hearthstone","url":"https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hearthstone/id625257520?uo=4"},{"title":"Hearthstone: duplicate protection, patch 17.0","url":"https://hearthstone.blizzard.com/en-us/news/23357896/ashes-of-outland-patch-17-0-march-26"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original editorial RPG grind taxonomy authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and expanded to cover activities, progression goals, reward rules and constraints. All original thirty family/branch/variant identities are preserved. Official developer and publisher sources support only the specifically described released-game observations; design variants and scenarios are hypothetical.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/rpg-grind"}}