Winds of War by itself offers enough value to justify its purchase. However, it does not improve the original game, and only fixes some balancing issues that were introduced by the first expansion. Only those who purchased The Gathering Storm should consider to buy this title. Hardcore fans will be pleasantly surprised by the increased difficulty, and those who like to create maps will get a bonus in the form of a much more user-friendly map editor. Others should simply wait for the inevitable Heroes IV Gold, which I expect to include the original game and the two expansions.