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Check out Warlords of Draenor's collector's edition
With yesterday's announcement of World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor's launch date fresh on fans' minds, Blizzard has followed up on the hype with details concerning the contents of the expansion's collector's edition. The CE, which is priced at $89.99 on Amazon, includes the full game, a behind-the-scenes DVD/Blu-ray set, the soundtrack, a 160-page art book, and a mouse pad. Of course, if digital goodies are more your style, then you'll be happy to know that you'll get a Dread Raven mount and Dread Hatchling pet for World of Warcraft, two StarCraft II portraits, a pennant for Diablo III, and a custom card back for Hearthstone. Blizzard said that supplies of the collector's edition are limited.
Hearthstone unlocks the doors to the Plague Quarter
The second wing of Heartstone: Curse of Naxxramas is now open for players to explore and plunder, as the weekly rollout of this online card game expansion continues. The Plague Quarter has unlocked for players, but unlike the free taste of the Arachnid Quarter, this one will require gold to purchase. Inside the quarter, you will find Noth the Plaguebringer, Heigan the Unclean, and the big boss Loatheb. Players that master the Plague Quarter not only will be treated to new cards for their collection but can also go on to tackle two class challenges with additional card rewards. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Hearthstone Naxxramas Plague Quarter opens its doors tonight
Curse of Naxxramas, Hearthstone's single-player content styled - and named - after the floating necropolis of Naxxramas from World of Warcraft, will be receiving its first update tonight. Following Blizzard's plans to release each of the locale's five wings individually over the course of five weeks, players in the Americas will be able to download The Plague Quarter starting tonight at 11:59 PM Pacific. Those of you planning to stay up late might want to plan for a long night - The Plague Quarter features three boss fights, two class challenges and six new cards to unlock. Good luck! [Image: Blizzard]
Hearthstone opens up the first wing of Naxxramas
Are you ready to take on Naxxramas in Hearthstone? Good! You can start now. The first wing of the new adventure is available to players today; it'll send you through the Arachnid Quarter in a trip down a spider-filled memory lane. If you're on the fence about trying it out, you can take on this wing for free now through early September (the exact date for the end of free access will be announced later on). Players will be able to purchase further wings of Naxxramas with either in-game currency or real money, with discounts available for bulk purchases. But you don't have to just hope you'll enjoy the adventure; you can log in and try it for yourself right now.
Live Look: Hearthstone Curse of Naxxramas
If you've been interested in Blizzard's collectible card game Hearthstone, but the whole idea of competitive multiplayer is a turn-off, it's time to take another look at the title with the Curse of Naxxramas single-player expansion. Launched late yesterday, we did a quick little walkthrough of the new content this morning on our Twitch channel. Skip ahead to the seven minute mark for the start of gameplay. We got a little confused about the pricing of the expansion on the stream, so we've placed those details after the break for easy reference. The first wing of Hearthstone: Curse of Naxxramas is available free-to-play now on PC and iPad.
Latest Curse of Naxxramas cards revealed, and more coming! [Updated]
With Curse of Naxxramas, Hearthstone's first expansion, slated to be released tomorrow, we're seeing a lot of last-minute previews of the soon-to-be-live cards. We know Naxxramas will feature 30 brand new cards and though we haven't seen them all yet, it seems Blizzard plans to reveal each of them before the expansion goes live. So far, we've seen: Mad Scientist, a minion with a deathrattle effect that puts pulls a secret from your deck. Stoneskin Gargoyle, a minion that returns to full health at the start of every turn. Stalagg, a legendary 7/5 minion with a deathrattle effect that summons Thaddius if Feugen has died in the same game. Sludge Belcher, a 3/5 minion with taunt who summons a 1/2 minion with taunt on death. Maexxna, a legendary 2/8 beast that destroys any minion it damages. Zombie Chow, a 1-mana 2/3 minion that restores health to the enemy hero when it dies. Deathlord, a 2/8 minion with taunt and a deathrattle that lets your opponent put a minion from their deck onto the battlefield. Echoing Ooze, a minion that summons an exact copy of itself at the end of the turn. Feugen, a legendary 4/7 minion with a deathrattle effect that summons Thaddius if Stalagg has died in the same game. Spectral Knight, a 4/6 minion that can't be targeted by spells or hero powers. Added since earlier this afternoon: Haunted Creeper, a 1/2 beast that summons two 1/1 spiders on death. Kel'Thuzad, a legendary 6/8 who, at the end of the turn, summons all friendly minions that were killed during the turn. Nerub'ar Weblord, a 1/4 that causes all minions with battlecry to cost 2 more mana. Unstable Ghoul, a 1/3 minion with taunt that deals one damage to all minions on death. Wailing Soul, a 3/5 minion that silences your other minions when summoned. Thaddius, a legendary 11/11 minion who's summoned when both Feugen and Stalagg have died in the same game. We expect more cards to be revealed throughout the day, so stay tuned to Hearthstone's Facebook page for the latest! Update: With the latest additions, all 30 new cards from the set have been revealed.
Hearthstone's Naxxramas adventure begins rollout next week
Naxxramas is almost open for business once more. Blizzard announced today that Hearthstone's Curse of Naxxramas solo adventure will begin its rollout on Tuesday, July 22nd. Initially, Naxxramas will only feature one wing, the Arachnid Quarter, but will open one of the remaining four wings each week thereafter. While the first wing is free, subsequent wings will cost to purchase, either with money or with in-game gold. Curse of Naxxramas will be launched across all of Hearthstone's platforms: Windows, Mac, and iPad. By beating each of the wings, players can earn new cards to use in competitive matches.
Hearthstone's Naxxramas expansion begins July 22
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft single-player Adventure Mode, Curse of Naxxramas, will unleash the hounds on July 22. The 30 new Death Rattle-focused cards will be available over five weeks as sections of the game open. The price per wing is 700 gold apiece, but there are also real-money options available. The expansion will go live globabally on PC, Mac and iPad. Are you prepared? [Image: Blizzard]
Hearthstone: Curse of Naxxramas pricing details
New card reveals aside, we've heard very little about Hearthstone's Curse of Naxxramas since its initial announcement. The two major questions have been when? and how much? Other than sometime in July, we still don't know when, but Blizzard announced today that each wing of Naxxramas -- five in total -- will cost 700 gold or $6.99 USD each. Players who participate in the month-long Naxxramas release event will receive the first wing for free. Bundle packages are also available: All five wings: $24.99 Already own first wing (purchase remaining four): $19.99 Already own first two wings (purchase remaining three): $14.99 Already own first three wings (purchase remaining two): $9.99 The five-wing package will save you roughly $5. Do note that even if you purchase all five wings immediately, Naxxramas will only open one wing at a time, one per week until all are unlocked. Once you've unlocked and defeated all wings of Naxxramas, you'll be able to tackle them on a more difficult Heroic Mode, awarding a unique card back upon completion. The full details of this can be found on Battle.net along with European pricing structures.
Hearthstone's Naxxramas will cost $24.99 to fully unlock
While the first taste of Hearthstone: Curse of Naxxramas will be free for all players, the rest will cost a good chunk of money. Blizzard announced its pricing for the solo adventure pack today, stating that players will have several options to purchase Naxxramas including a $24.99 package that includes the full deal. The first of five wings of Naxxramas will be offered for free, with the remaining four wings available to purchase separately at $6.99 apiece or together in bundles of various size. The only option to buy the wings using in-game gold (and the only potentially free path) is to buy the wings at 700 gold each. Once Hearthstone opens the doors to Naxxramas, the devs will unlock a new wing at the rate of one per week. Blizzard also announced that it will offer heroic versions of these wings -- and new card backs -- once they're beaten in normal mode.
Joystiq Weekly: Bleszinski returns, Escape Dead Island, WildStar impressions and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. Well, we did it. We used a ton of gun powder to make pretty shapes and colors in the sky, and we gorged on grilled food as it happened. Our self-appointed roles as Master Pyrotechnicians (read: the person hogging the lighter near a mound of fireworks) also left us without burns, so we're not sure the holiday could have possibly gone better. Just because the United States and Canada celebrated birthdays this week doesn't mean that everyone took time off though – heck, Cliff Bleszinski is about to end his extended vacation from the gaming industry! We've got details on his return, your last-minute hope to get in on the Evolve alpha, impressions from WildStar, a glimpse at Escape Dead Island and more, all waiting for you after the break!
Hearthstone catches players up on Naxxramas lore
Hearthstone players will soon have the opportunity to revisit the iconic fortress of Naxxramas in an upcoming adventure pack, which means that it's time to get up to date on the backstory of what this citadel is all about. In a new lore post, Blizzard walks players through the necropolis' history, layout, and key residents. The place is run by the lich Kel'Thuzad and encompasses four sections: the Arachnid Quarter, the Plague Quarter, the Military Quarter, and the Construct Quarter. Each of these quarters lists the bosses that players will be facing off against in the single-player adventure, as well as the penultimate Frostwyrm Lair and its protector, Sapphiron. There may be no overt strategy secrets revealed in this article, but sharp-eyed players may deduce the themes and styles of the bosses that they will be encountering when the update goes live.
Hearthstone tournament now open to all
Yesterday we reported about the oddity of a Hearthstone tournament that didn't allow women to compete. The reason? The International e-Sports Federation wanted gaming to be recognized as a "true sport," and was following the professional sports model of gender division. With fewer women competitors than men, this led to tournaments with a large selection of gaming events for men, but few for women -- in the case of this tournament, Hearthstone, Dota 2, and Ultra Street Fighter IV were all men-only events. While e-Sports are often gender-divided (competitive StarCraft is notable in this regard), the idea of a men-only Hearthstone tournament was apparently the straw that broke the camel's back. Among many others, Blizzard spoke out against IeSF policy, telling VentureBeat, "One of our goals with e-sports is to ensure that there's a vibrant and also inclusive community around our games. We do not allow the use of our games in tournaments that do not support this, and are working with our partners to ensure they share the same goal." The end result is that the IeSF has reversed the policy, and offers events open to all genders as well as women-only events to encourage the participation of women in the male-dominated field of pro gaming. It's a setup that's similar to the competitive chess scene, which has both a World Chess Championship in which anyone can compete and a Women's World Chess Championship. Now, at the 6th e-Sports World Championship BAKU 2014, men and women will be able to compete together in StarCraft 2 and Hearthstone tournaments, while there's also a women's only StarCraft 2 tournament. Time to get your game on!
IeSF changes its mind, opens all tournaments to women
Following the enormous outcry of gamers angry that International eSports Federation had forbidden women from some of its tournaments, including Hearthstone, the organization decided to open up the playing field to both genders. "Upon hearing these concerns, the IeSF convoked an emergency session of the IeSF Board to respond," the Federation posted on the official site. "As a result, IeSF shall have two event categories: 'Open for All' events and events that are reserved for women. The events which were initially set aside as the male division will now be open to all genders, and the events which were initially set as the female division will remain as they were." The IeSF defended its former rationale for segregating men and women in the event, saying that it did so to encourage female players to engage in the tournaments: "The IeSF's female-only competitions aim to bring more diversity to competitive play by improving the representation of women at these events. Without efforts to improve representation, e-sports can't achieve true gender equality." [To clarify since there's some confusion in the comments: Men can now participate in all five games. Women can now participate in all five games on the same teams as the men. Women can additionally play in women-only brackets for SC2 and Tekken Tag. Those two games are included in the games men can play in the mixed gender lineup (Tekken Tag wasn't available to men originally, just as Hearthstone was blocked from women, but this has been rectified). Neither men nor women are now barred from any game in the tourney.]
Hearthstone tournament bans female competitors
No girls are allowed to compete in Finland's Assembly Summer 2014 Dota 2, Ultra Street Fighter IV, and Hearthstone tournaments, which are open to men only. According to the International e-Sports Federation's rules, the genders of competitors in e-sports are separated to help the competition be recognized as a "true sport." In response to complaints, the IeSF posted the following on their Facebook page: "The decision to divide male and female competitions was made in accordance with international sports authorities, as part of our effort to promote e-Sports as a legitimate sports." And while this means separate but equal style treatment for some events, for others -- like Hearthstone -- it means women simply can't compete at all. At Assembly Summer 2014, women aren't allowed into these tournaments because if they won, they wouldn't be allowed into the IeSF men-only world finals. Markus Koskivirta, head admin of the Assembly Summer 2014 Hearthstone IeSF Qualifier, speaking to PC Gamer, said that the Finnish eSports Federation is lobbying for equal rights for male and female gamers... but with the long and strange tradition of segregated e-sports (StarCraft competition often has such divisions), that could be a long time coming. Though the IeSF says it wants to promote female gamers by hosting women's only events, the end result of this is to keep women on the outskirts of pro gaming by relegating their participation to smaller events and smaller stages. All this goes towards suggesting that women aren't good enough to compete with the men -- something that in an all-digital "sport" is difficult, at best, to justify. We all love the same games, so why can't we play them together?
No girls allowed in IeSF-sanctioned Hearthstone tourney
If you're female and you're interested in competing in a Finnish Hearthstone tournament called the Assembly Summer 2014 Hearthstone IeSF Qualifier, you're currently out of luck. PCGamer reports that the IeSF, a global e-sports organization headquartered in South Korea, stipulates male-only participants "in accordance with international sports authorities, as part of our effort to promote e-sports as legitimate sports." Assembly Summer 2014 administrator Markus Koskivirta says that the event's other tourneys are open to all genders. "We would also like to point out that the Finnish eSports Federation is currently lobbying for the equal rights of male and female players in the IeSF tournaments," he said. [Commenters have pointed out that women are barred from four games in this tournament, including Hearthstone and Dota, while male players are barred from two, including Tekken Tag, in the IeSF's attempt to create gendered brackets for e-sports. Both genders can compete in StarCraft II, but only in gender-segregated divisions. Thanks to CrowingOne especially for the extra details.]
Curse of Naxxramas coming to Hearthstone in July
Though we've known Hearthstone's Curse of Naxxramas expansion was coming out some time this summer, we haven't yet had a date to pin our card-playing hopes on. But now CM Aratil has announced on the Hearthstone forums that the expansion is headed our way this July. We still don't have a pricetag for the expansion, but Aratil says they'll be posting further details on July 1st, which is just around the corner. Curse of Naxxramas will take gamers to -- surprise! -- Kel'Thuzad's citadel Naxxramas, where they'll fight new bosses and have the chance to earn 30 new cards. If you want to see just what's in store, the Hearthstone team has released a number of card previews, all of which are collected here.
DreamHack Hearthstone tournament plagued by cheating allegations
Did he or didn't he cheat? That's the controversial question surrounding a Hearthstone tournament winner this week. At the DreamHack Hearthstone tournament, Radu Dima won 3-0 in the final round and was rewarded with a $10,000 check. However, during the second game Dima received a message on Battle.net revealing the details of his opponent's hand. Dima reported the message after the match, and the officials declared that the information would not have helped him and said that he could keep playing. But this prompted viewers to go back to look at earlier Battle.net messages that some are saying contain coded hints about opponents' cards. The organizers of the tournament have yet to comment on the situation. Dima declared on Reddit this morning that he won fair and square.
Blizzard serves up some Hearthstone tips
So maybe you've been playing some Hearthstone while waiting for the next World of Warcraft expansion to actually be a thing. That's not a difficult prospect if you're used to card games, but it's going to throw you for several loops if you haven't played them before. Senior designer Mike Donais has penned a new article full of tips for new players on how to build and play a new deck that can hold its own. Veteran card game players will probably already be familiar with most of the fundamentals -- start with a theme, have early-game cards, play with plenty of minions -- but it's all good advice. It also offers some suggestions for cards worth building around whether you want a fast and aggressive deck or a slow controlling force. Check out the full article for a few ways to improve and refine your deck, hopefully making you that much more formidable on the ground.
Hearthstone ranked play season 2 ending soon
Season 2 of ranked play in Hearthstone will come to a conclusion at the end of this month. The reward for participation in season 2 is the Black Temple-themed card back, seen above. You only need to hit rank 20 before June 1 to earn the skin, a relatively easy feat for most players -- losses don't cause you to lose ranking until you've surpassed rank 20. The top players of the season may qualify to compete in the Americas Qualifier Tournament, the winners of which will move on to compete at BlizzCon. The full qualification details can be found on Battle.net.
