Right now the way islands work is simple. You kill certain enemies you get certain drops. For example if you kill a bunch of pirates, you get pirate related booty.
On Tuesday this will be changed so you get loot based on what’s on the island, not what you kill. My question: Will you get loot from invasion events even if they don’t trigger? For example if fire elementals invade an island, can we get loot from them even if we finish before the event starts?
Right now Invasion events are a major pain to trigger and usually involve waiting around which is what causes a lot of the frustrations.
I really hope that we don’t have to wait around for the invasions each time. Though it’s possible that these kind of events will trigger easier with some of the other changes.
Would you be able to elaborate on whether or not the reward system for Island Expeditions is working as intended, or was this modified for some reason from the original design?
Do you feel that the player experience from Island expeditions is commensurate with the design manpower input during production?
I am glad you guys are finally saying stuff about IEs. Before now you were about as clear as mud about them.
This caused certain unsportsman behaviors such as forming a premade with two people, farming only specific rares and elites, and then booting the random third person in order to not have to share the loot. And led to a lot of salt, especially with that 30 minute deserter debuff.
Would you be able to elaborate on whether or not the reward system for Island Expeditions is working as intended, or was this modified for some reason from the original design?
They have modified it from the original design. They’ve stated their reasons for doing so. The issue was that two playstyles were at odds with each other. Some players wanted to complete islands quickly which meant going after common sources of Azerite. Other players wanted the island rewards, which meant avoiding common sources of Azerite in order to get specific sources of Azerite.
Do you feel that the player experience from Island expeditions is commensurate with the design manpower input during production?
This is a loaded question, and they will never answer it because you make the assumption that the entire goal of Island Expeditions has been realized. It’s an investment; Island Expeditions are not complete, and use tech that can be repurposed in other scenarios. For instance, the AI in Island Expeditions is more creative than any other mob behavior in the game. They are still iterating on things like how the islands are populated, and how the questing is implemented.
I wouldn’t be surprised if things they develop in island expeditions are heavily leaned on in things like future invasion content as well as other dynamic content or leveling improvements.
Blizzard never develops technology that they don’t continue to use. This is the first iteration. I would say that Islands alone are probably not worth the time they’ve invested into it, but islands plus the tech that they’ve developed for them could certainly be.
I understand this point and agree. I should probably phrase my question better. Let me retry.
"With respect to Island Expeditions, when the idea was pitched, was it intended to be used in the manner in which it currently functions? Was the primary intent to be a means of obtaining Azerite power?
It doesn’t function as a meaningful way to gear an alt. It doesn’t even supplement in the same fashion that world quests do. If the primary purpose was to provide us with a means of collecting AP, what would be the replayability once the HoA reaches essentially maximum level? What about next expansion when we no longer have the HoA?
This exactly the type of question I would love for them to respond to. Of course it is loaded. This could be an opportunity for them to elaborate on what exactly an Island Expedition is. This could clear up any misconceptions on what the system is meant to be, what their plans or potential plans are in the future, and honestly, own up to their poor communication on the topic beforehand.
When I purchased this expansion, I believed Island Expeditions were going to be an important part of our game play. The repercussions of the forays would potentially shape our game play in other areas of the game.
I made another post mentioning that I was hoping for something like a Nephalem rift from Diablo III, only more polished and warcrafty. Certainly not the means of gearing for raids and such, but an alternative method. Three players was nice. No need for tank or healer freed you up to make whatever groups you wanted. I outlined a couple ideas for how they could use this system for player housing, invasions, and even professions.
I expected far more from a company that has produced phenominal games for damn near three decades. What we got was an Azerite power treadmill, and frankly I didn’t feel like that was communicated very effectively pre-purchase. It would have had an impact.
Grab Azerite as fast as possible was the only way I ever played it. I never knew until the discussions started a couple weeks ago that there was other loot on the IE’s and a special way to get it. I’ve run across the invaders during those runs and helped kill them, but only to get more Azerite and finish it.
![:grin:](https://d38bqls1q93fod.cloudfront.net/en/wow/images/emoji/twitter/grin.png?v=6" ":grin:")