Hearthstone is one of the few card games that have managed to get my attention for multiple years. But even I was a bit bored as I felt I was always a step slower because I didn't have strong enough cards. After a while, I asked myself, is Hearthstone completely pay-to-win or genuinely free to play? The answer is it depends on how you play the game.
How Pay-to-Win is Hearthstone?
The answer to whether Hearthstone is pay-to-win is yes and no—Hearthstone is free to play, but it can be pay-to-win if you intend to play competitively, want to stay up to date with the meta, or want to purchase new release cards immediately. You can earn cards simply by playing the game, but this can take some time, as Hearthstone features a comprehensive roster of cards.
Related: How to get Archangel Tyrael for free in Hearthstone
Those who want to play competitive or keep their decks relevant to the meta will likely need to spend real money to purchase the best cards. As a result, Hearthstone becomes pay-to-win in this environment, as those who do not have the meta decks will not be able to compete against these decks.
Should you spend money on Hearthstone - Is Battlegrounds Pay to Win?
This depends on if you want to play competitive Battlegrounds or regular Hearthstone Ranked. If you are not interested in being a competitive Hearthstone player, you do not need to spend any money. You will unlock most of the cards you need to build fun and powerful decks in time. So long as you play casually, you can leave your money in your wallet. You must spend money or dedicate yourself to grind to speed up the card collection process.
For more information on Hearthstone, check out How to get Y'Shaarj in Hearthstone Mercenaries and How to overcap decks in Hearthstone on Pro Game Guides.
Nebojša Prijić is a staff writer at Pro Game Guides. He's an old-school gaming journalist that loves real-time strategies, shooters, and RPGs. He remembers the first Diablo, PC games on a single floppy disk, and playing Mortal Kombat on the keyboard.