Lottery
Buy Denarius tickets into the rolling jackpot — one weighted winner takes the pot, drawn on a schedule.
The Imperium Lottery is a server-wide Denarius jackpot: players buy tickets for a flat fee, every ticket sold adds to the prize pool, and at the scheduled draw one weighted-random winner takes the entire pot. It is the simplest gambling system in the game and a reliable Denarius sink for the economy. Buy one ticket for a flutter or sink a fortune into the pot to chase a life-changing payout — both are valid plays.
How It Works
The lottery runs on a configurable schedule (typically a weekly draw, defined in the lottery config). The flow is simple:
- The pot opens. A new drawing cycle begins, and the prize pool starts at zero (or a seeded minimum).
- Players buy tickets. Each ticket costs a flat Denarius amount; 100% of the ticket price is added to the prize pool. There is no house cut on tickets — the entire pool pays out.
- The draw fires. At the scheduled time, the lottery picks one winner, weighted by ticket count (more tickets = proportionally higher odds).
- The winner takes the pot. The full prize pool is credited to the winner, the result is broadcast server-wide, and a new cycle begins.
Because the draw is weighted by ticket count, buying 10 tickets gives you 10× the odds of a 1-ticket player — but a 100-ticket whale still only has 100× the odds. There is no "guaranteed win" threshold; even one ticket can take the pot.
The Prize Pool
The pool scales with participation — a quiet week might see a 500k Denarius pot, while a festival week with heavy ticket buying can push the pool into the tens of millions. The pool is displayed live (typically via a BossBar or scoreboard) so players can see what they're playing for and decide whether to buy more tickets before the draw.
| Pool Size | What it means |
|---|---|
| Small (<1M) | Quiet week — cheap tickets, modest payout. Fine for a casual flutter. |
| Medium (1–10M) | Healthy interest — worth buying several tickets if you have spare cash. |
| Large (10M+) | Festival or event week — the pot is a life-changing sum; ticket buying gets competitive. |
The Booster
A lottery booster is a perk (typically donor-tier or event-granted) that multiplies your effective ticket count for draw-weighting purposes without increasing the cost. A 1.5× booster means each ticket you buy counts as 1.5 toward your win odds. It does not increase the pool — it just tilts the odds in your favor. Boosters stack with bulk ticket buying for serious whales.
A Reality Check
The lottery is a Denarius sink by design. The expected value of a ticket is always negative once you account for the odds — the pot pays out to one player, but the aggregate ticket cost from all players exceeds the pot (because the prize is a fixed pool, not proportional). Treat it as entertainment, not an investment strategy. Set a Denarius budget for ticket buying and stick to it.
Tips
- Buy in bulk on big pots. The expected value is still negative, but a large pool makes the long-shot math slightly less punishing.
- Use your booster. If you have a donor or event booster active, that's the time to buy tickets — you're paying the same Denarius for better odds.
- Don't chase losses. Buying 100 tickets because you "almost won" last week is the path to a drained balance.
- Watch the live pool. If the pot is small and the draw is soon, save your cash for next cycle.
- Celebrate the win, expect the loss. A lottery win is a windfall, not a strategy. Plan your economy around mining and trading, and treat any lottery payout as a bonus.