You actually don't have to pay for Xbox LIVE to download patches, only to play online. You can get demos, patches and even buy stuff with your free silver account.
I still think it's bullshit that they charge for it, but there you go, you don't need to pay for Bloody Palace at all.
I didn't think about people without internet access, and that does suck, but in a gen with online passes, day one charged DLC and stuff like that, you really can't complain that much about free patches that actually put more content in.