Island Expedition



Island Expeditions are 3-player scenarios introduced in Battle for Azeroth. Both factions sail across the seas of Azeroth to harvest and steal Azerite from the islands. The maps for the expeditions will be provided by the gnomes and goblins, who have developed a new technology to find which islands may contain Azerite. Ships to the islands will depart from faction hubs.

Island Expeditions unlock through the War Campaign account-wide. One can then do Island Expeditions on alts as they level.

Description
''Set sail for the previously unmapped isles of Azeroth. Battle in groups of three as you race against cunning rival intruders—or enemy players—to collect the island’s resources. Constantly evolving challenges await as you traverse frozen landscapes near Northrend, open the gates of an abandoned Gilnean castle, navigate a war between elementals and more. Rise of Azshara adds two new Island Expeditions to the mix—Crestfall, a gloomy, derelict skerry, and Snowblossom, an idyllic, mountainous island.''

Gameplay
Expeditions are role agnostic, and take around 15-20 minutes to complete. They can be played in four different modes, Normal, Heroic, Mythic, and PvP. The goal is for three players to collect Azerite and mystery treasures faster than an opposing team. Combat may ensue should the teams meet, and the island map adds Fog of War to conseal opponents' actions.

Each island has four possible starting points, and computer opponents use a tailored AI for this gameplay. NPCs on the island are randomized so the context can change entirely each time one visits an island. One time it might be populated with plundering ghost pirates, and next time with conquering mogu. There could be a thousand possible scenarios with the available islands and the possible mix of "puzzle" like a mix of mobs.

Islands
There are currently 11 islands in rotation, with 3 available each week.
 * Crestfall - Remnants of the Second War are found there.
 * Dread Chain - A frozen landscape.
 * Havenswood - An abandoned Gilnean settlement and castle.
 * Jorundall - An island inhabited by vrykul.
 * Molten Cay - A volcanic island with Zandalari ruins.
 * Rotting Mire - A swampy island chain.
 * Snowblossom Village - A pandaren village farm.
 * Skittering Hollow - A dark and rocky island filled with spiders.
 * Un'gol Ruins - A tropical island with ogre ruins.
 * Verdant Wilds - A forested island with mogu ruins.
 * Whispering Reef - A forested island with night elf ruins.

The Uncharted Island is visited as a tutorial scenario for Island Expeditions.

Island features
Each time an Island Expedition is queued up, the island has different features. A list of features as seen below:
 * Different creatures with different organizations with different amounts of Azerite
 * You might find capture points
 * Chests and Azerite Nodes of all kinds
 * Different quest givers
 * Consumables and Shrines
 * Every island has at least 4 start locations
 * Caves, Ships...and more!
 * Different weather effects.

Island denizens
This is an incomplete list of creatures and islands where they can be encountered on:

Explorers
Explorers that can be found on Island Expeditions are listed below:

Advanced NPC opponents
In three difficulties Normal, Heroic, Mythic the 3 person player group faces off against a team of 3 Advanced NPC opponents from the opposite faction in a race who can gather more Azerite to reach the required amount of Azerite for victory.

The Advanced NPC groups seem to be mirrored between the Alliance and Horde, with a pirate group on each side, gnomes on one side and goblins on the other, Horde pyromancers against Alliance cryomancers, so on.

All of them can be seen resting at Tradewinds Market in Boralus.
 * Alliance
 * Briona's Buccaneers: Dwarven and gnomish pirates (Briona the Bloodthirsty, Varigg, "Stabby" Lottie).
 * Auric's Angels: Male hydromancers (Frostfencer Seraphi, Squallshaper Bryson, Squallshaper Auran).
 * Light's Vengeance: Lightforged and normal draenei (Vindicator Baatul, Anchorite Lanna, Archmage Tamuura).
 * Razak's Roughriders: Gnomish soldiers and engineers (Razak Ironsides, Dizzy Dina, Tally Zapnabber).
 * Riftrunners: Void elves (Riftblade Kelain, Shadeweaver Zarra, Duskrunner Lorinas).
 * The Wolfpack: Worgen (Gunnolf the Ferocious, Fenrae the Cunning, Raul the Tenacious).
 * Dark Iron Demolishers: Dark Iron dwarves (Airyn Swiftfeet, Lady Tamakeen, Brother Bruen).
 * Thornspeakers: Kul Tiran human druids (Thornguard Burton, Thornspeaker Tavery, Thornstalker Nydora).

All of them can be seen resting in Dazar'alor.
 * Horde
 * The Headhunters: Zandalari and jungle trolls (Berserker Zar'ri, Shadow Hunter Ju'loa, Witch Doctor Unbugu).
 * Warbraves: Highmountain tauren (Spiritwalker Quura, Mahna Flamewhisper, Sunwalker Ordel).
 * Greenbelly's Raiders: Orcs and Forsaken pirates (Captain Greenbelly, Dorp, Sneaky Pete).
 * The Blazing Sunhawks: Blood elven pyromancers (Phoenix Mage Rhydras, Phoenix Mage Ryleia, Sunbringer Firasi).
 * The Highborne: Nightborne (Moonscythe Pelani, Rune Scribe Lusaris, Astralite Visara).
 * Gazlowe's Greasemonkeys: Engineers (Gazlowe, Skaggit, Lady Sena).
 * Draenor's Blood: Mag'har orcs (Nagtar Wolfsbane, Ranah Saberclaw, Charg "The Boisterous").
 * Raptari: Zandalari troll druids (Guardian M'sheke, Mooncaller Mozo'kas, Wardruid Ko'chus).

Rewards
Obtaining rewards through an Island Expedition is based on the themes provided with the creatures and invasions that occur during an expedition. For example, Squawks is a mount reward from a pirate-themed expedition. If the player encounters some pirate-themed rare creatures and kills them, pirate-themed items such as Squawks may show up in the loot window when the expedition has been completed. Another example would be the Plundered Blade of Northern Kings, which is only available from encountering and killing vrykul-themed creatures in an expedition which provides a chance for this two-handed sword or other vrykul-themed items to be awarded at the end of the expedition.

Focusing on special enemies, such as themed creatures and rare-quality mobs, is believed to improve the odds of being rewarded special loot. Regardless, it still comes down to the on if anyone in the group manages to loot items related to the creatures that were killed.

Notes and trivia

 * Island Expeditions introduced a new type of tactical AI being tested in Battle for Azeroth.
 * Krill Island, Oyster Reef, and Scarlet Isle were islands shown on drawn maps at BlizzCon 2017 but didn't make it to the game. Other islands have been datamined since but not implemented, such as White Mesa Isles.


 * The Ultimate Visual Guides state that many small islands dot Azeroth's oceans and explorers agree that more remain to be discovered.

Gallery

 * Islands