Packs were introduced to the game around 2010-11 I think. At first they were a very beloved concept as you had different chances at various items. While the pack advertised one major item, you could find plenty of other unique items to gain that were original to that pack only. However, this concept has changed as the years went by.
Hoard and Lore Packs have come out much quicker (almost within a month of each other). They advertise one mount and 3 sets, yet it's hard to find other items that are original only to that pack and not from the game. Take the Pharoah's Hoard Pack for example: 1 new pet, 3 new gear sets, some new snacks, some new Treasure Cards, and 1 new mount. The problem is, the rest of the pack is crammed with so much in-game items (as in almost every Krokotopian housing item), that any truly new and simple items are lost in the mix.
Some of the oldest packs to Wizard101 are, imo, the best packs to date. Not necessarily because of great gear strength, not at all, but because of what they give you in terms of quality. These packs include the late Dragon's Hoard Pack, the Wyvern's Hoard Pack, the Raven's Hoard Pack, Perreau's Plentiful Pet Provisions and the Nightmare Pack. What each of these Packs have in common is that they advertise one major, super rare item, yet you can get items that are part of that pack only.
-Dragon's Hoard Pack advertised the Bone Drake mount, yet you could get a Dragon Wings Mount that can't be had outside the pack. -Wyvern's Hoard Pack advertises the Jade Wyvern Mount, yet includes 5 different mounts for your selection -Raven's Hoard Pack advertises the Blood Raven two-person mount (first of the kind), yet is the first pack to include housing items only for that pack as well as the Raven one-person Mount. -Perreau's Plentiful Pet Provisions mainly shows the Deer Knight pet, but has 11 other major pets as well as 2-3 rare pets only for the pack (as well as cool pet snacks) -The Nightmare Pack is the only pack with 4 gear sets to date. Also shows the Nightmare mount, but has 3 other unique mounts and rare plants only from this pack.
While all of these packs are stuffed with ingame items, you could still have higher chances at something really unique. Now, you can only find pack unique items in much smaller quanities.
To make packs better, I think it would be good for KI to spend just a little more time on their packs to advertise more unique items. This means, a few more unique pets, mounts, housing items, snacks, or TC's going forward with new packs. They should avoid making packs with every in-game housing item from the world theme. Maybe 20 at the max, but making a few new piece makes the pack truly special. With packs now, you can get a sense you just wasted your crowns because you got a lot of items you could've just won as drops. Packs are loosing their sense of originality and flavor. Just a little more work can go a long way to make them more worthwhile and exciting.
