Curse of Naxxramas, the first expansion for Blizzard's popular Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft free-to-play collectible card game, is set to launch on Tuesday, July 22. It will be released simultaneously on Macs, PCs, and iPads.
Much like Naxxramas in World of Warcraft, Curse of Naxxramas in Hearthstone is a floating necropolis organized into different wings -- Arachnid Quarter, Plague Quarter, Military Quarter, Construct Quarter, and Frostwyrm Lair -- and a new wing will open each week during the launch event. The launch event is set to last for approximately one month, and each wing contains a set of bosses that must be defeated.
Successfully eliminating bosses will add new cards to a user's collection and unlock a Heroic mode. Defeating all of the bosses in Naxxramas on Heroic mode will unlock a new card back.
According to Blizzard, the expansion can be purchased via in-game gold or through real money, with each wing costing $6.99 or 700 gold. During the launch event, the first wing, Arachnid Quarter, will be available for free, and users can purchase the remaining four wings for $19.99. After the launch event, purchasing the full expansion will cost $24.99. Various packages are also available for users who want to use a combination of in-game gold and money.
Players who begin their adventures in Naxxramas during the launch event will gain free access to the first wing: the Arachnid Quarter. The launch event will last roughly a month or so, meaning you'll have plenty of time to get your foot in the door--we'll have more details to share about that later on. The web-choked corridors of the Arachnid Quarter are home to the bosses Anub'Rekhan, Grand Widow Faerlina, and Maexxna. Defeating these bosses will add new cards to your collection and give you a taste of the dangers that await you deeper inside Naxxramas.
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft for the iPad can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft for Mac can be downloaded from Blizzard's website for free.
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Top Rated Comments
I've also been enjoying it without spending a dime. I fear so has almost everyone else... This leads me to believe this new model will probably end up making it very difficult to compete against anyone who has purchased the expansions and unlocked the new cards, by design.
I suppose I can't fault Blizzard. After all, if there's no profit, there's no point for them. And, I enjoy the game enough I'll probably pony-up for the expansion. So, I guess their free to play for a while strategy worked on me.