The island expeditions from WoW are exciting. Cortyn reveals what makes the excursions so grand – but also, whom they won’t appeal to.
One of the new features of World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth is the island expeditions. Alliance and Horde push into unknown territories and try to secure Azerite for their faction. However, the enemies are hot on their heels – a race against time and the opposing faction takes place.
Island expeditions are designed for groups of three players. It doesn’t matter whether you go as a tank, healer, or DPS – the expeditions are suitable for everything. The goal is to collect 6,000 Azerite before the opposing faction does the same.
Azerite comes in many forms: it can be found in treasure chests, mined as ore, and even defeating enemies grants Azerite. Particularly powerful or rare opponents provide large amounts of Azerite.
Since the opposing team is trying to do the same, time is always of the essence. Those who spend too long with unnecessary mobs or wander aimlessly around the island will be caught by the enemies and lose.
Mini-Quests for Attention
However, if you think that on the island expeditions you only rush from A to B to find the red crosses for a lot of Azerite, you are mistaken. There are occasionally small “mini-quests” on the islands.
For example, a captured person wants us to find a key to free him. The key is lying somewhere nearby but is not shown on the map – so you have to keep your eyes open and look closely. If you rescue the captive, a hefty amount of Azerite awaits.
The Opposing NPCs are a Blast
However, the funniest interactions are with the opposing NPCs, in my case, the Horde. They not only act smarter but also behave like actual players. For instance, there is a blood elf paladin who swings his glowing hammer and hops through our group – yes, he hops. Just like many players do in PvP.
Also, the rogue “Sneaky Pete,” who occasionally strikes from ambush, stuns a player and attempts to quickly kill another, is fantastic.
However, not only do the opposing NPCs set ambushes, you can also use that yourself. The NPCs are currently fighting a boss that gives a lot of Azerite? Then you just wait a moment and then kill all the opposing NPCs and afterwards the boss, who only has a few hit points left. You then scoop up the Azerite from the opposing NPCs and the boss. That is really fun and prepares you for how you will play this mode in PvP.
Three Islands Per Week
One small drawback, in my opinion, is that there are only three island layouts per week. These are randomly rolled every week. You always land on the same three “islands,” which are then populated with random creatures and enemies. If you already have several islands in the background, why limit the selection per week?
This is a mystery to me and a small disadvantage. Since you have to visit five different islands for the expansion of faction bonuses, it feels to me like a “time gate” to stretch the next expansion stage a bit more. What a pity!
Fun is the Biggest Reward
As rewards, depending on the difficulty level, a small amount of artifact power awaits. Since an island expedition usually ends after 10-15 minutes, it is a solid change of pace to farm some artifact power. Once a week there is also a hefty bonus of artifact power, namely a proud 2500 points – for that, you must complete between six and seven expeditions.
However, the greatest reward is the fun and the feeling of simply having a good time with friends. Because nothing is funnier than watching the mage “accidentally” pull yet another village of Hozen that then tears apart the team. Or a random ambush on the Horde team that was just about to kill a boss. Or the chaos that ensues when you accidentally click the wrong shrine…
In summary, island expeditions are short adventures with which you can kill a few minutes. Whether this content will still feel “fresh and worthwhile” in weeks and months, I cannot judge yet. However, so far it is a lot of fun.
However, all this only works if you have an important resource: friends. With “randoms,” the islands offer little enjoyment. If you are looking for material rewards like great gear, you might want to steer clear of the expeditions. Because that is secondary here.
How have you found the island expeditions so far? Have you even tried them?
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