We explain what the Island Expeditions in the new WoW expansion Battle for Azeroth will be about.
At BlizzCon 2017, a ton of details about the upcoming expansion of World of Warcraft were released. One of the major announced features of Battle for Azeroth is the “Island Expedition” – the island expeditions to uncharted islands.
But what are these contents really about?
In addition to Kul Tiras and Zandalar, there are many more islands in World of Warcraft. Players can sail to them with the ships of the Alliance and Horde to explore them in groups of 3.
What are the uncharted islands about?
Within the small instance, players will encounter one of several islands. Each visit has a different setup. For example, there may be a large Jungle Troll to pacify or Ho-zen fighting over Tel’abim bananas. Another time it might be deep night and dark Mogu rituals are being performed on the island. What needs to be done on the island and how to overcome the tasks (Kill everything? Pacify enemies through tricks? Complete quests) changes with each visit.
At its core, it is always about the search for the valuable Azerite, which is used by the Heart of Azeroth to make our character stronger. But we are not the only ones searching for Azerite – a group of NPCs from the opposing faction is also lurking on the island with the same goals. This creates a permanent time pressure. Because while you are idle, the opposing faction is already taking the Azerite!
Unlike the scenarios from Mists of Pandaria, not just anyone is supposed to switch to a damage specialization. If players choose, they should also be able to consist of a group of 3 healers or 3 tanks – the expedition adapts accordingly.
Whether the system will actually work as promised in the future remains to be seen.
Especially clever NPC enemies
The opposing “NPC team” in the expeditions is said to behave smarter than other enemies in World of Warcraft. Instead of following the usual rules (aggro, directly rushing at the enemy, etc.), the NPCs behave tactically and much more like players.
For example, an NPC rogue may wait until the players are in battle against a special boss. As soon as things get tense, the rogue stuns the healer of the group and then pounces on the other two players to claim the loot for themselves.
The NPC team realizes that it is outmatched? Then it might happen that the rogue uses Stealth and then protects its teammates with a Cloak of Shadows to escape and regenerate in a safe place.
The threat from these NPCs is intended to feel more alive than has ever been possible in World of Warcraft so far.
At the same time, the NPC enemies should always appear “logical”. So you won’t encounter Hanswurst and Shadowroxx0r in pink plush transmogs, but a group of Darkspear trolls or an undead Lightslayer commando.
Even smarter than NPC enemies – players from the opposing faction!
If the mythical difficulty level is not challenging enough during the Island Expeditions, players can also experience this mode in PvP. Alliance and Horde start at two different points and must battle each other for the Azerite. Similar mission objectives must be completed, such as eliminating bosses, pacifying locals, or tracking down special resources. How much fun will it be to sign up with 3 rogues and steal resources right from under the opposing team’s nose?
Overview – What are the Island Expeditions?
Based on some bullet points, the Island Expeditions can be summarized as follows:
- Scenarios for 3 players, regardless of their role
- Constantly changing islands with different threats
- Race against an NPC team
- 4 different difficulty levels: Normal, Heroic, Mythic, and PvP
- Azerite for the Heart of Azeroth as a reward
Cortyn thinks: To be honest, the Island Expeditions remind me a lot of the adventures from WildStar – at least on paper. In reality, I fear that the uncharted islands may have little story content and will be more or less just “loosely” thrown together missions that then make up an entire expedition. This might keep the content fresh for longer, but could potentially deter story fans if it feels too trivial.
What do you think about the Island Expedition at first glance? A cool feature or just scenarios from Mists of Pandaria in new clothing?
What else is new in Battle for Azeroth, our extensive overview article will show.
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