Personally I think the whole idea of packs is somewhat of a distraction, sure it helped Bluesky but also picking Bluesky because of packs was an easy way to justify being a sheep without having to admit it... which is fine but I doubt people are going to engage with the same energy with it when Mastodon isn't something people are looking for an excuse to rationalize blindly following influencers too that feels more substantial than the truth. On the other hand this is really the only business model Bluesky has, selling a vibe of being in an elite club.
I am not against packs, not at all! I just think it was mostly a marketing vector/tagline for Bluesky.