Blizzard announced yesterday that World of Warcraft tokens can be purchased in game and then used to fill up a virtual currency wallet called BattleNet Balance. This balance can then used to trade for WoW services or to purchase items across all of Blizzard's games. As a result, virtual currency items in the Shop have gotten a bit more interesting. In today's column, we'll take a look at some of the more fun things you can buy with your BattleNet Balance in each of Blizzard's other titles!
Generally Speaking...
One of the best things that anyone can do with a BattleNet Balance is use it to purchase other full games. For instance, Overwatch and Starcraft (and expansions) are not free to play from the get-go and require and up-front purchase in order to play. Those who may not have done so already can use WoW gold to purchase a Token to trade for BattleNet Balance and then to buy the games once enough currency is in the wallet. Viola! Done!
World of Warcraft
The most expansive game represented in the Shop is, of course, World of Warcraft itself. With a BNB, players can buy pets, mounts, cosmetic helms and game services.
It is the latter that seems to be the best value overall due to the excessive cost of services in real-world dollars. For instance, character transfer on US servers runs $25 and something as simple as an appearance change is EUR 15 for poor sods on EU servers. So there is no question that purchasing services essentially with in-game gold is the best value.
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Heroes of the Storm
Heroes of the Storm has a number of things available in-game via its shop. Bundles, Heroes, Skins, Mounts and Stimpacks are all available and can be purchased either for real-world cash or via the BattleNet balance, though some can also be bought with in-game gold as well.
In terms of value overall, the best buy with BNB would be 7- or 30-days stimpacks to boost gold acquisition in order to buy new heroes and skins, though not all are available for gold. For instance, Queen of Ghosts Kerrigan is EUR 10.99 and is only available for BNB / real-world cash. Players also earn boosted XP earned while playing.
HearthStone
For HearthStone players, card packs, game expansions called Adventures and additional Hero cards can all be bought using BNB or cash.
This one is a toss up as it depends whether or not new cards are needed or if someone wants a new adventure that also comes with a number of cards. New Heroes, or more accurately, alternative heroes (trading Alleria for Rexxar) are also welcome so it's a judgment call.
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Overwatch, Diablo & Starcraft
Those who do not yet own Overwatch will be able to buy the entire game with BattleNet Balance or, if already owned, can purchase Loot Boxes which are always a great deal for skins, emotes, sprays, voice lines, in-game currency etc.
Diablo is available in the shop as well. The base game, Reaper of Souls or the Diablo 3 Battle Chest are all up for grabs.
Starcraft II is a bit more expansive with the base game, three expansions, the Covert Ops mission pack (with NOVA!) and various Commanders available for purchase. There are also a pair of bundles: Super Nova Bundle and the Carbot Complete Bundle.
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Classic Games
Last but not least, those with a nostalgic bent could use the BattleNet Balance to buy some of Blizzard's greatest work: the Starcraft Anthology, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, Diablo 2 or Diablo II Lord of Destruction for bargain prices.
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There's a lot that can be gained by digging into Legion to earn gold to trade for Tokens and then to convert to BattleNet Balance. So game on!
