Aloha! Prepare with this advance to set sail for two new islands: Shelter Forest and Jorundall, available from Island Expeditions from Tides of Vengeance.
Preview: set sail for two new islands
Prepare to set sail for two new islands: Shelter Forest and Jorundall, available from Island Expeditions from Tides of Vengeance.
Along with the ability to explore and loot two new islands, we're adding two new events:
Azerite Ruptures: If you come across one Azerite breakdown, you will have the ability to deploy an extractor, spawning multiple waves of Azerite enemies, culminating in a confrontation with a rare or rare elite enemy. Since they are creatures of Azerite, they are somewhat more lucrative than the natives of the island. You must be prepared to face more enemies apart from those summoned with the extractor. Each time it is activated, its location will be announced across the map to the enemy team.
Azerite Extractors: When you have discovered the location of a Azerite breakdown, you can deploy an extractor that will periodically grant you Azerite. The enemy team can easily thwart this operation which also attracts nearby NPCs, but would give it a huge advantage of falling into their hands. When a faction deploys an extractor, all players will know its location, so stay tuned!
Evolution of the game on the islands
We have continued to test the structure of island expeditions since the launch of Battle for Azeroth. We want to give the islands a different twist by adding the breaks and the Azerite extractors so that you can expect more when visiting them. You may come across one of these instead of an invasion, which will also be more diverse. There is a chance that you will run into pirates from the South Seas! y earth elementals!
We have also worked so that the appearance of groups of NPCs gives you more space between the points of interest (if the map allows it) and now it should look more natural in relation to the island you are on.
With these changes we want to encourage the repetition of these experiences and create more unique encounters each time you return to the islands. This does not mean that you will never see an Azerite invasion again, but it should no longer be something that happens on every island expedition. You may come across an island where so many giants appear that it becomes a real slaughter of giants.
About island expeditions
This is the best time to set sail for action if you've never been on an island expedition before.
Why we fight: Azerite gushes through Sargeras' sword wound to Azeroth and is an incredible new resource ready to be claimed by the Horde, the Alliance, or anyone in search of power. As you embark on an island expedition, you will compete for this resource to empower your Heart of Azeroth and to support your faction in the race to control as much Azerite in the world as possible.
Your mission: You will queue up for Normal, Heroic, Mythic and PvP difficulty levels, solo or in a group, using an expedition table in Port of Zuldazar (Horde) or Port of Boralus (Alliance). Island Expeditions are three-player encounters, and while you can participate in any combination of roles, you should coordinate with the rest of the party to outmaneuver your rival faction and earn your Azerite 6000 first.
Upon reaching the island, you will disembark and set out to find as much Azerite as you can find. There are many ways to obtain it: eliminating monsters, finding treasure chests, defeating the rival faction or exploiting the nodes that will appear on the island.
Landscape: There is much to explore in this unknown territory, and each island contains a host of dynamically generated elements to offer an assortment of challenges to overcome.
Not only the Horde and the Alliance are interested in Azerite: you will face many different enemies who will also want to take it. As you explore the island, you'll find yourself engulfed in smaller encounters, from quilboar villages to treasure chests filled with Azerite and protected by water elementals, to rare and elite monsters. Also, when exploring the island, you will come across random events from time to time.
To overcome some of these encounters, you will have to keep an eye out for sanctuaries, foods or beneficial objects that can help you. With a pinch of strategy and coordination, you'll have a chance to rack up more Azerite and claim victory.
You will never know what awaits you on your next island expedition due to the multiple possibilities in terms of enemy combinations, power-ups, spawn locations and many other things.
Your opponents: Unfortunately, you will not be alone on the island. There are many others looking to seize the Azerite, and if you queue up on Normal, Heroic or Mythic difficulty levels, you will face a group of three Horde or Alliance "Advanced NPCs". These cunning rivals will take advantage of the island like any other player, and each of these groups has a different tactical personality, with varying degrees of aggression, and will try to seize 6000 Azerite before you to claim victory. You will never know what kind of opponents you are going to face, so be prepared to use all the abilities of your characters to defeat them.
If you choose the PvP difficulty, you will face a group of players from the enemy faction to see which team takes the victory.
New adventures await you in Tides of Vengeance as of December 12, 2018.