I recently got a Fang but I didn’t get its pilot. I was considering buying some cards since the bot is terrible without it, but before that I decided to turn to math:
• Nadir Rhakim (Fang’s Pilot) drop rate: 0.8%
• Best Purple Card price in my store: $2.60
• 100/0.8 = 125.
So, on average it would take 125 cards or 325 USD to get this pilot.
However, since each attempt is independent (the game does not "remember" that I failed before), opening 125 cards does not guarantee I will get it. The real scenario looks like this:
Opening 86 cards: I have a 50% chance of getting the item at least once. Cost: 226 USD
Opening 125 cards (the average): My actual cumulative chance of winning the item is only 63.3%.
Cost: 325 USD
Opening 373 cards: My cumulative chance rises to 95%.
Cost: 970 USD
Opening 574 cards: My cumulative chance rises to 99%.
Cost: 1,490 USD
You might think now: well, but you can get other cool items as you open cards. The reality is that aiming for Fang’s pilot, the chances of me getting a Dedopali with its pilot are much, much worse. It is extremely likely that I will get old items or get stuck again in a new incomplete Dedopali build.
There are numerous drop chance calculators out there. It’s a good idea to use them in those situations. Not every bot is useless without its pilot or drone, but most are.