Blizzard revealed pricing details for the upcoming Curse of Naxxramas expansion to Hearthstone today; you can buy individual expansions for either $7 or 700 gold.
According to a post on the Blizzard website, Naxxramas will cover five individual updates that will unlock consecutively each week after the first: Arachnid Quarter, Plague Quarter, Military Quarter, Construct Quarter, and Frostwyrm Lair. If you take part in the expansion during it’s roughly month-long launch period, you’ll be able to access first wing at no cost, but if you arrive late, you’ll have to pay for the first wing separately. However, there are several options in how you pay for it, though. Unless you want to pay with gold. If you want to pay with Hearthstone’s in-game currency, the price is a flat 700 gold per wing.
In real world cash, you can either pay:
- $7 for each wing individually
- $25 for access to all five
- $20 for access to four (for if you got free access to the first one and then wanted to pay for the rest)
- $15 for three
- $10 for two
Keep in mind that there’s no advantage to paying real cash for any wing either individually or in a bundle. Blizzard notes, “Keep in mind that purchasing Curse of Naxxramas wings in bundles does not open or grant access to those wings faster than the one-wing-a-week schedule.”
While we don’t have a specific release date, Blizzard has said they plan on opening the expansion this July (although each week another wing will open). And you’ll be able to earn at least 30 cards if you can successfully make it through all of the dungeon’s challenges.
If you were worried about the game being too simple, Blizzard has an answer for that as well: Heroic Mode. “Once you’ve defeated all of the bosses within any given wing for the first time, you’ll unlock the Heroic mode of that wing. Heroic mode bosses are significantly more difficult than their normal versions, and they will prove to be a challenge for even the most veteran Hearthstone players.” The reward for overcoming those challenges will be a new card back you can use to show off your battlefield prowess.
To me, the price seems fair, especially since the first wing unlocks for free, although I wouldn’t have minded a bulk gold discount as well. But what do you think about the cost? Let us know in the comments below.
Justin Haywald is a senior editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @JustinHaywald Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com |