Blizzard made some interesting revelations regarding the new expansion for the highly addictive HearthStone, called ‘The Curse of Naxxramas‘. HearthStone will no longer be free to play when the expansion gets launched.
Launch Period
Typical Blizzard, the expansion will be divided into 5 sections. Or as they call it 5 wings. Each wing will launch one week after the other, making it 5 weeks in which the entire expansion will take to completely launch. Heres’ how Blizzard explains it:
Naxxramas will open its gates one wing at a time, with a new wing opening each week. The wings of Naxxramas will open in the following order: Arachnid Quarter, Plague Quarter, Military Quarter, Construct Quarter, and Frostwyrm Lair.
Cost
As of today, HearthStone is completely free to play. The only means in which Blizzard is making money is with in-game purchases where players can buy more cards.
With Naxxramas players who begin their adventures in Naxxramas during the launch event will gain free access to the first wing: the Arachnid Quarter. Defeating the bosses o in the first wing will add new cards to your collection and give you a taste of the dangers that await you deeper inside Naxxramas.
After the Arachnid Quarter (wing 1), the next four wings can be purchased for 700 gold per wing or $6.99 USD per wing. Players can earn the in-game gold needed to unlock the next wing of Naxxramas by completing various quests or emerging victorious from the Arena, or they can choose to unlock the next available Naxxramas wing using real money.
Here’s the catch, earning in-game gold is not that easy. You need to complete in arena (which costs gold to enter) and win 3 games before you actually start to earn gold.
No doubt this is another cleverly thought-out way for Blizzard to take our money (again) and suck us dry.
Then of course theres a bundles price where you can purchase all 4 wings at once. Bear in mind that you will not get access to all 4, the launch date of each wing still remains one week after the other. The Curse of Naxxramas bundle packages are as follows: All 5 wings for $31.99.
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. Defeating all of the bosses in Naxxramas on Heroic mode will unlock a new card back for your collection.
Blizzard has done it once again, just take my money and be done with it! Again we cannot wait for this to officially launch. Will the expansion leave us broke? No. Will Blizzard make crap loads of money. Yes!
[Source: Blizzard Reveals Money Making HearthStone Curse of Naxxramas Expansion Details]
