Stacked Wilds vs. Expanding Wilds in 2025

The year 2025 marks a decade since expanding wilds burst onto the online slots scene, bringing a new level of volatility and potential payouts. In the years since, expanding wild formats have become a staple of many top slots.

But while expanding wilds have cemented their place among slot enthusiasts, their predecessor – stacked wilds – never went away either. These two types of wilds take different approaches to amp up slot excitement, but both have their ardent fans.

Volatility Showdown: Stacked vs. Expanding Wilds

When it comes to volatility, expanding wilds pulls no punches. The defining feature of expanding wild formats is that any wild symbol landing on the reels grows to cover entire reels, often triggering cascading wins.

This domino-like effect translates to some astronomical potential payouts. While wins over 1000x your stake are rare on most slots, it’s not unheard of to score 10,000x wins or more on an expanding wild game.

By comparison, stacked wilds take a more restrained approach. Here, reels are loaded with blocks of identical symbols, including wilds, making it easier to land symbol combinations. However, wins tend to max out at 500–1000x your bet on such sites as Lucky Ones Casino Australia.

Volatility Comparison

So when it comes to volatility alone, expanding wilds are undoubtedly the number one choice for thrill-seekers. But stacked wild formats still offer exciting gameplay – just with lower variance.

Hit Rate: Which Wild Lands Wins More Often?

Volatility only tells part of the story, though. To understand a slot’s earning potential, we also need to look at its hit rate – how often it pays out.

And when it comes to the frequency of wins, the advantage goes to stacked wilds. Having reels crammed with identical symbols and wilds makes wins drop more regularly. Even if the payouts are smaller, more spin results pay something.

By contrast, the tumbling reels of expanding wild games mean you can endure longer dry spells without wins. However, when those elusive big wins do finally hit, they easily make up for the wait!

Bonus Features: Expanding and Stacked Wilds Go Head to Head

Of course, one area where both expanding and stacked wild games excel is keeping players on their toes with inventive bonus features.

Expanding wild slots often integrate lock and respins, free spins, mini-games and more to add layers of excitement. And with entire reels going wild, these features get amped up too!

Meanwhile, stacked wild games employ features like multiplier trails, prize wheels and pick me bonuses for big win potential. Formats like double, triple or even quadruple stacked wild reels take this up another notch again.

When it comes to bonus round innovation, both stacked and expanding slots are pushing boundaries to attract players. It’s too close to call an outright winner here!

Best of Both Worlds? Mixed Format Slots Arrive

Increasingly, we’re seeing slots combining aspects of expanding and stacked wilds, too. Games with stacked wild reels that also expand or tumble with cascades are becoming a popular hybrid.

This mixed format gives players the best of both worlds – stacked wilds’ frequent hits plus expanding wilds’ astronomical ceiling. It caters to volatility junkies who also enjoy some steadier drip-feed wins.

We can expect more slots merging these wild styles throughout the late 2020s – the advantages of each offset the weaknesses of the other.

Room for Both Stacked and Expanding Wilds

Over a decade since expanding wilds changed the game, these two wild formats continue jostling for supremacy. When it comes to life-changing wins, expanding wilds’ astronomical potential payouts keep them on top.

But stacked wild slots shouldn’t be overlooked either. Their volatility might be lower, but reliably regular wins have their appeal too – especially for more risk-averse players.

Ultimately, there’s room for both expanding and stacked wild slots to flourish side-by-side. Each format provides its own brand of white-knuckle excitement, after all! And with hybrid games bringing stacked and expanding action together, players get to enjoy the best of both worlds.

So while expanding wilds may have the edge in 2025, don’t expect their stacked cousins to fade away any time soon. These two types of wilds look set to keep players on the edge of their seats throughout the decade to come!