Island Expeditions are a new feature in the upcoming expansion of WoW. For teams with players in the same faction, you race to gather more Azerite than the opposition. There are many actions that reward the crystals. It’s just a matter of gaining more than your enemy does. However, the enemy team isn’t the only threat you have to consider. Islands have an abundance of natives around—acting either as enemies or potential allies.
Here’s what you need to know to prepare yourself for the expeditions.
Starting Island Expeditions
The first time players try out this feature, a tutorial questline starts. It details the basics and mechanics of expeditions. The tutorial is account-based, so doing it once is enough to allow access to your other characters. Island Expeditions can be accessed as early as level 110, after the starting quest. Queue for it by looking for an Expedition Map at the Port of Zandalar (Horde) or Boralus Harbor (Alliance).
There are four levels of difficulty: Normal, Heroic, Mythic, and PvP. The first is the default difficulty, available to all who have access. The second difficulty is for characters that have reached level 120 and have an average item level of at least 305. The last two difficulty settings need a pre-formed party of three to be able to queue for them. Take note, however, that Mythic requires item level average to be at least 315. No such restriction exists for PvP, but it’s almost just as difficult because you’re playing against real people.
Expedition Core Mechanics
The most useful tool for players would be the Expedition Map. It marks points of interest and objectives for players to formulate their plans and strategies around. Be warned, though, that the map functions like maps in RTS games. There is a fog that covers that map, only revealing what is about a hundred yards away around your character. It also shows any scouted object or landmark. That means that enemies spotted might have already moved to another position by the time you come back to it.
When the participants arrive on the island, they’re given 30 seconds to plan and prepare for the resource-gathering race. After half a minute, they can then go and do what they want. Players gather Azerite through many actions. They may be as simple as mining nodes, or as complicated as tracking down a specific monster and defeating it. There’s also a timer for the Azerite Detector. It will reveal all sources, bonus objectives, and rares to both teams when time runs out. A tracker sits above the goal amount to collect, and if one team reaches that goal, the expedition promptly ends.
There are seven possible islands to visit. Only three are available every week, shown when queuing for them. Wowhead.com has a good overview guide for strategies specific to each area.
And More!
There are also special events that provide an opportunity to turn the tables around on the opposing team. Captains will announce these as the expedition progresses. Then there are also unique consumables bought with Seafarer Dubloons. These items will help and ultimately add to the strategies you can make to ensure your victory.
With each victory, players get some Azerite and Seafarer Dubloons, as well as other rewards. Those other rewards include rare WoW mounts, equipment, or quest items. And let’s not forget that you can earn bragging rights as well, with the achievement Expedition Leader.
See you in the expeditions this August!
Credit / Playerauctions
