Gold

Gold is a type of in-game currency that can be exchanged in Hearthstone.

The current gold cap is 999,999 gold with a warning at 997,999.

Obtaining gold
There are several ways to earn gold:


 * Rewards Track
 * Gold can be acquired through advancing Rewards Track with XP. XP can be acquired by playing multiplayer games.
 * Arena and Heroic Duel
 * Once the player either retires from Arena or Heroic Duel, loses 3 games, or wins 12 games, reward chests can be opened, which have a chance of containing gold, with the average return amount increasing with the number of games won during that session.
 * Heroic Tavern Brawl
 * Like Arena, gold can be acquired through playing Heroic Tavern Brawl. However, the entrance fee of 1000 gold and the high level of difficulty that players will face in Heroic Tavern Brawl does not make this option a viable means to amass gold from.

Spending gold
Currently, gold can be spent in many ways:


 * Card pack - 100 gold
 * One new card pack
 * Arena - 150 gold
 * One entry into the Arena
 * Adventures - 700 gold per wing
 * Each wing of any Standard format single player adventure can be unlocked.
 * Only players who have at least played or unlocked one wing of Wild format adventure before can use gold to unlock the rest wings of that adventure.
 * Heroic Tavern Brawl - 1000 gold
 * One entry into Heroic Tavern Brawl
 * Battlegrounds Perk - 650-2000 gold
 * Unlocks additional features in Battlegrounds: playing newly-released heroes, leaderboard, emotes, and two additional heroes to choose to play.
 * Expires whenever a new expansion is released.
 * Receives discount periodically, usually after 1-2 months, then reset to its original price after a new expansion is released.
 * Card backs - 500 gold
 * Show off special flair while battling with a unique card back.
 * Sometimes available in the Shop for a limited time promotional period, permanently owned once bought.
 * Alternate heroes - 1000-1500 gold
 * Show off special flair while battling with a unique hero portrait.
 * Sometimes available in the Shop for a limited time promotional period, permanently owned once bought.

Earning gold
Good ways of earning gold vary based on skill and time available. For advanced players, the most profitable activity is playing Arena or Heroic Duel at a high skill level, offering extremely high gold (and arcane dust) rewards in terms of time and games played. For those less successful in the Arena or Duels, the simplest strategy is usually to play a lot of matches, steadily earning gold through quests and time in the game. Players with little time on their hands may want to focus on making sure they complete all quests.

Since gold is primarily used to obtain cards, players should also consider means of obtaining cards, card packs and arcane dust directly. The simplest is to complete at least one Tavern Brawl each week, earning a free Classic card pack. Success in the Arena or Duels can award card packs, cards and arcane dust, while obtaining a good rank in each Ranked play season can provide additional cards and card packs.

Arena
If at least 7 games were won, the player will be rewarded with a minimum of 150 gold (equivalent to the Arena entrance fee). Since Arena always awards a card pack as well as gold or other rewards, the 150 gold entrance fee can be considered a reasonable investment even if winning only a game or two.

Spending gold
Gold can be spent in various ways, depending on the player's interests. However, if the intention is to obtain cards, the player should consider the most efficient way to spend their gold.


 * For information on the contents of the average card pack, see Card pack statistics
 * For information on the possible rewards from Arena runs, see Arena
 * For rewards and arcane dust breakdowns from each adventure, see individual adventure pages, e.g., One Night in Karazhan
 * For information on the possible rewards from Heroic Tavern Brawl runs, see Heroic Tavern Brawl

Generally, buying card packs from the Shop is the quickest and easiest, but least efficient, way to obtain cards. If the player is able to consistently win 3 or more matches in the Arena, it is better to spend their money on buying an Arena run rather than simply buying card packs. Adventures also offer excellent value for money: the quality and quantity of cards awarded in each wing mean that even if the player wants only a few of the cards featured, they will obtain more dust by earning and then disenchanting the cards than by doing the same with card packs.

The efficiency of adventures is however balanced against the value of card packs. If a player is aiming to collect numerous cards from a new expansion, opening card packs will prove highly efficient, since most cards will be desirable. In contrast, the inefficiency of the disenchanting process means that if seeking a specific card from an expansion set, it is much more efficient to craft the card directly, even if that means spending gold in order to earn the dust to do so.

History
Prior to Madness at the Darkmoon Faire patch, or Rewards Track implementation, gold could also be earned by:
 * Winning games
 * 10 gold used to be awarded for every third game won in Play mode, Battlegrounds, or Tavern Brawls (interchangeable), up to a maximum of 100 gold per day. Finishing a Battlegrounds match with a position at fourth place or above would count as a win for all purposes of gold.
 * Quests
 * Most quests used to reward players with gold. These included one-time quests such as unlocking every hero, or winning 100 games.
 * Daily quests typically offered 50 gold each, although some reward 60, 80 or 100.

Earning gold through Tavern Brawl
Tavern Brawls often provided an excellent opportunity for rapid gold-making, both through completing quests and through winning games.

There are two main advantages of Tavern Brawls in making gold. The first is that the matches are typically shorter than those in constructed or Arena play. Many of the Brawls have strong RNG elements which can cause matches to end very quickly, and the lack of punishment for losing games mean players are far readier to concede if it looks like they are going to lose, especially in the first few rounds. As a result, players can usually earn the "10 gold per 3 wins" reward far more quickly in Tavern Brawl mode.

The other advantage of Tavern Brawls relates to quests. A significant amount of quests require playing specific classes, which can provide a challenge in Play mode if players have little experience playing with those classes. Tavern Brawls with premade or randomised decks can significantly lower the skillcap for players, as can RNG-heavy Brawls; these can also compensate for players who lack quality cards for the classes in question, as well as saving time in looking up or devising new decks. These factors can make it easier for players to achieve wins with classes they do not normally play.

Tavern Brawls are also a far less critical play mode, with no significant MMR to damage. This can allow players to make decks to focus on quickly achieving a specific purpose, such as playing 20 minions that cost 5 or more, without concern for achieving victory in the match itself. Tavern Brawl mode also comes with its own deck slot, which can be useful for players who are already using all of their slots and don't wish to delete a deck in order to make one for a new class.

Patch changes

 * Unknown patch: Gold cap increased to 999,999 gold.
 * It is unknown when the gold cap was changed, but there are multiple reports of players exceeding 20,000 gold since June 2014.
 * The total amount of gold that an account can hold at any given time has been set at 20,000 gold; gold cannot be earned on accounts with 20,000 or more gold until some gold has been spent. This cap is intended to combat certain methods of gold acquisition that violate our Terms of Service. The spirit of fair play is extremely important to us, and we will continue to monitor gold acquisition activity closely to ensure a fun and enjoyable game environment for everyone.
 * The amount of gold gained by winning games in Play mode per day is now capped at 100. This cap does not affect gold gained through Quests, Arena, or Achievements. There will now be an indication within the game when this gold cap is reached. This cap is intended to combat certain methods of gold acquisition that violate our Terms of Service. The spirit of fair play is extremely important to us, and we will continue to monitor gold acquisition activity closely to ensure a fun and enjoyable game environment for everyone.