14 DAY TRIAL // Blizzard Entertainment has finally announced the pricing details for the upcoming single-player content coming to Hearthstone, the Curse of Naxxramas Adventure.
Hearthstone is a weird project compared to other Blizzard undertakings, so small that one would think it would be better suited as a mini-game in the company's massively multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft.
Nonetheless, its simple mechanics and streamlined gameplay have garnered a large following, and the collectible card game's complex interactions have also earned it fame as a competitive title.
Now, its creators are letting us know that Naxxramas will open its gates one wing at a time, starting with the Arachnid Quarter. It will be followed by the Plague Quarter, Military Quarter, Construct Quarter and Frostwyrm Lair, in that order, each of them coming one week apart from each other.
Naxxramas, the floating citadel housing the evil necromancer Kel'Thuzad, is one of the most iconic raid dungeons in World of Warcraft, being the hardest piece of content in vanilla, which was then revisited and revamped with the release of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion.
The Curse of Naxxramas launch event will allow players to begin their adventures free of charge for the first month or so, with more details about the specifics to come later on.
The Arachnid Quarters is home to some fearsome bosses, Anub'Rekhan, Grand Widow Faerlina and Maexxna, and by defeating them players will be able to earn new cards for their collections, as well as get an idea of what's waiting for them in the depths of Naxxramas.
The next four wings following the Arachnid Quarter will be unlockable for 700 gold or $7 / €6 / £5 per wing, with a couple of bundles available that allow players to unlock the wings in advance. This doesn't mean that anyone will get anything any sooner than the scheduled one wing per week, just that when the content launches, players who already own them will be able to jump right into the action.
In case you don't plan to spend any cold, hard cash on the Curse of Naxxramas adventure before trying it out, you would do well to start grinding daily quests and save up the necessary gold, or try your luck in the arena, if the RNG gods favor you.
The undead horrors waiting inside Naxxramas also have a special challenge for daring adventurers that have already bested all the bosses within any given wing, in the form of the Heroic mode. The special challenge tier will be available for each wing, and Heroic bosses will be much more difficult than their normal versions, offering a true challenge even for the most seasoned veteran.
The bad news is that the reward for completing the Heroic mode is now a mere card back, a change since the initial announcement, when golden reward cards were promised to the bravest and most deft of card flingers.
Unfortunately, the company has not yet announced exactly when the floating necropolis will be flooded by intrepid adventurers, but we'll be keeping our eyes open and will come back with the info.