Has the new World of Warcraft expansion’s endless questing got you down? Why not take a break from killing things for a fast-paced, team-based treasure hunt? Battle for Azeroth‘s Island Expeditions are just the thing to break up the basic grind.
Unlocked as players adventure through the expansion’s new story areas, Island Expeditions are a fluffy bit of quick fun for three to six players. It’s a mad dash for Azerite, the new element introduced in Battle for Azeroth (it’s the planet’s blood), which powers players’ special artefact armour.
A random trio of players is set loose on an uncharted island and tasked with collecting 6000 Azerite before the opposing team. In Basic, Heroic and Mythic modes, the opposing team is comprised of NPCs, while PVP mode matches players against real opponents.
Once teams are formed, players are transported via boat to an island that’s brimming with Azerite. There are nodes to mine and treasure chests to open. Monsters drop Azerite when killed, with more powerful monsters dropping more of the precious material.
And should you encounter players or NPCs of the opposing faction, killing them also yields Azerite. It’s an Azerite party up in here, and everybody is invited (though higher difficulties and PVP mode require higher level players).
How does it play? If your team isn’t communicating, it’s a blissful sort of chaos. Folks running about, getting into massive battles with powerful creatures, hoping the other two people on their team have their backs. You never know which creatures are going to spawn, or when special scripted events will be triggered, giving players a shot at big Azerite gains for maximum effort.
It’s fast, it’s fun, and a round only takes around 15 minutes. Best of all, it’s not running from quest to quest for hours on end. I don’t mind the questing, but I like to change things up. Island Expeditions are the perfect means for doing so.
Comments
5 responses to “Island Expeditions Are A Fun Break From Battle For Azeroth’s Grind”
So basically it’s fun because it’s a reduction of the game to its purest form of straight up fetching, killing monsters and engaging in PVP without having to worry about going from quest giver to quest giver?
no fetching, just pure murder anything that moves for 10 to 15 minutes. it’s great… especially after a 14hr work day
That’s not a bad thing. WoW as a whole is a monstrous time sink. The idea of being able to pop in and play a 15 minute game is very appealing. Personally I hate it when I start questing and it takes me to some difficult to reach location and I feel like I *have* to keep playing til the quest is over just because it’s a pain in the arse to get back there.
Fun for me at least since I can solo them with my geared tank. Don’t even have to worry about the other 2 people.
Mythic level is fun. I wonder if they will introduce mythic + to them like with dungeons.