Updates (Times in EDT)
4:48 PM: Updated our Naxxramas guide with pricing for NA and EU regions.
4:38 PM: Added information about acquiring golden cards.
3:20 PM: Added note about new music and boss sounds.
Curse of Naxxramas: Pricing Structure and Heroic Mode
Zeriyah posted information on how much Naxxramas is going to cost. The first wing, the Arachnid Quarter, will be free to everyone who plays Naxxramas during the first month. If you're planning on going to free to play route, the entire adventure will set you back 2800 gold, or $19.99 if you buy the entire thing right away.
- If purchased with Gold, wings will cost 700 gold each.
- If purchased with Real Money, wings will cost $6.99 each, however, there is a two dollar discount per wing for bulk purchases. (Prices in USD)
- Buy all 5 wings for $24.99. (Not applicable during the "Launch Event" since the first wing will be free)
- Buy 4 wings after owning one for $19.99.
- Buy 3 wings after owning two for $14.99.
- Buy 2 wings after owning three for $9.99.
Additionally, we now have confirmation that Heroic Mode not only exists, but also will reward you with a special Card Back for defeating all the bosses.
Quote from ZeriyahWe’re skimming the slime pools, stitching together our finest Abominations, and preparing the Necropolis for an Adventure you’ll never forget—Curse of Naxxramas is coming, and we know you’re just dying to get in and play! In today’s blog, we’ll discuss the details on how you’ll access Curse of Naxxramas, and unveil the Naxxramas Heroic Mode.
Your All Naxx-cess Pass
Naxxramas is a floating necropolis, home to a host of undead bosses ready to challenge worthy opponents eager to test their card-slinging mettle. To undertake the challenges that lie within each of the five wings of the Adventure, one must first gain access to their secrets. But don’t worry too much about the price of entry—much to Thaddius’ chagrin, it won’t cost you an arm OR a leg.
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.
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.
After the Arachnid Quarter, the next four wings can be purchased for 700 gold per wing or $6.99 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.
If you’re looking to swing open multiple gates at once, Curse of Naxxramas bundle packages are also available. Spiders are just so good at making things into neat little bundles. . . .
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, but it does ensure that you’ll be able to dive into the next challenges as soon as they unlock.
If you play Naxxramas during the launch event and decide to purchase the remaining wings with real money, you’ll only have to purchase the 4-Wing bundle to access the remaining wings once they become accessible.
If you unlock additional wings with gold and wish to purchase a wing bundle at a later time with real money to unlock any remaining wings, you can still take advantage of the bundle pricing. For example, if you enter the Arachnid Quarter during the launch event and unlock it for free, then purchase the second wing with gold, the remaining three wings can be purchased with real money at the 3-wing bundle price listed above.
Remember to enter the Necropolis during the launch event so you don’t miss out on all the creepy crawly fun that awaits you in the Arachnid Quarter—for free!
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.
The undead horrors of Curse of Naxxramas: A Hearthstone Adventure are dying to meet you. We hope to see you creeping through the necropolis with your own “All Naxx-cess Pass” soon!
Golden Cards
Golden Cards will be craftable with Arcane Dust as soon as you have unlocked the normal version.
Quote from ZeriyahGolden versions of Naxxramas cards can be crafted with Arcane Dust once you have acquired the non-golden version of that card.
New Music & Sound Info
Thanks to The Angry Chicken podcast, who did a live show at Nerdtacular 2014, we've got some news about the new Naxx music! Russel Brower, Composer, Conductor, and Director of Audio at Blizzard Entertainment, who was briefly on the show said that we will be seeing new music for the adventure, and a new song for the regular game. The quote below can be heard at 53:53 in the show recording.
Quote from Russel Brower via TAC LiveIn World of Warcraft tradition, we are not removing any music, there's not a lot to remove, but we have added some new pieces. Our philosophy has been we're [going to add] some special new music for Naxxramas, and then while we're at it, for each of these major updates, an additional piece for the [regular part of the game] as well. So, the playlist will grow and add to the rest of the game.
It also looks like we'll be seeing re-use of the Naxxramas Boss voices from World of Warcraft, along with "additional surprises".
Quote from @CM_ZeriyahWill we hear the Naxx Bosses' WoW voices in HS? I'd love to hear Patchwerk and friends again'!
I'm sure you will have some nostalgia there ... and additional surprises.
Probably both, but it wouldn't surprise me if you only needed the summoning card to be golden.
Cheap, cheap, cheap! Fingers crossed for a release on the 15th.
This would be awesome, considering my B-Day is on the 16th next Wednesday!!
:D
Would be the perfect week!!
Agreed! this is just dumb... the gold naxx cars better be much cheaper than the base game cards... not spending 400dust for a golden common or 1600 for a golden epic... its just retarded.
I feel you :( It is ironic that the rationale behind this decision (as posted by Zeriyah) is that crafting is more "accessible" to players, given that with heroic challenges, it's only a matter of time before someone surmounts the challenge, posts a video, and everyone netdecks the deck used to complete the challenge. I guess they felt that the gold cards would then be completely devalued, but.. crafting? really?
Let's hope for a release on the 15th, or more surprisingly a release this Friday (or at least new info).
Looks like I'm going to half the Curse, purchase my first wing with gold and pick up the other three with cash.
Or grab the first two with gold and last two with cash.
Kind of recently spent my stockpiled gold on packs, since I had no other cards. Regret it, but worth it.
Really quite happy with the prices.
Smart move picking 20-25 dollars, as it's a number many WoW players are comfortable paying for when it comes to race/server transfers. That's probably the sweet spot for significant RMTs with their demographic.
Something to note, if you haven't done Blizzard RMTs in the past, sales tax will apply to California and Texas because they have offices in those states, which amounts to a couple more dollars.
man... I know it's a lot of "content", but paying the equivalent of 28 packs for 30 cards doesn't feel good.
Well, another way to look at is that it is 30 new cards that you don't have, which if you've played the game a lot, is not going to happen from opening 28 packs!
I'm still going to hoard my precious 5K+ stack of gold, just in case they plan on charging more for the gold card version.
No mention of gold cards so far... gets me kinda scared.
Also... does this mean there will be 2 card backs? One for the month of July? And one for beating heroic mode? Will the heroic mode award gold cards per boss? And the heroic card back is just the July card back with golden shiny?!
They mention that you can craft the gold cards with dust once you get the normal versions.
I was betting on gold cards being the rewards for heroic mode, but apparently not.
700 Gold per wing is a really good deal, now we need a release date :D
Prices are okay I guess. Better start saving up some gold! :)
So we have to wait a month before the next wing opens up?!?!
The launch event (first wing free) will last one month.
So basically Naxx is not actually releasing until after the launch event. So the launch event is like the Beta period I am guessing.
That's really reasonable pricing. Now I have to find out where to spend extra 5k gold that I was hording in fear Blizzard will make Naxxramas as expensive as diablo3: RS or something
Announcement:
2800 gold for 4 wings or 20 dollars
Interesting Maths:
4000 gold for 40 packs or 50 dollars ($1.25 / pack)
1500 gold for 15 packs or 20 dollars ($1.33 / pack)
2800 gold for 28 packs or 20 dollars ($0.71 / pack)
2100 gold for 21 packs or 15 dollars ($0.71 / pack)
1400 gold for 14 packs or 10 dollars ($0.71 / pack)
700 gold for 7 packs or 7 dollars ($1 / pack)
Priced in such a way that it's more 'cost effective' to buy any of the bundles than to spend gold on the wings and buy packs.
It is if you recently decided to spend all your hard earned gold on those awesome expert packs! $20 is cheap enough though for the content we'll get from Naxx. I just hope Heroic mode is as hard as they say it is.