WoW Forever Excavation Site Quests Guide

Excavation Site: Wetlands is a new WoW Forever dungeon in the Wetlands, and its quests start at level 24. You pick them up in Orgrimmar, Menethil Harbor, Redridge Mountains, Ashenvale and Arathi Highlands, then turn most of them in back at those same hubs or inside the dungeon. The dungeon itself is tuned for levels 26 to 32, so grab the quests at 24 but do not walk in until you are closer to 26.

Excavation Site: Wetlands quests at a glance

There are 14 quests tied to Excavation Site: Wetlands, 5 Horde-only and 9 Alliance-only. Every one of them requires level 24.

How to pick up the Horde quests

Start in Orgrimmar with Changing Tastes from Borstan, the Cooking trainer, which asks you to collect Thicket Raptor Meat inside the dungeon. Thicket Raptor Meat drops from Shadetooth, Thicket Hunter, Thicket Lurker and Thicket Stalker.

Dragonmaw Rumors is the pre-quest for Open the Maw: take it from Zaruk in Hammerfall in Arathi Highlands and turn it in to the Deathstalker Agent in front of the instance entrance. Open the Maw then sends you back inside to kill the Dragonmaw forces and return to the Deathstalker Agent.

Elder Knowledge starts from the Titan Relic that drops off Relic Guardian and ends with Bashana Runetotem in Thunder Bluff, and its follow-up Earthen Echo ends with Muln Earthfury in Mulgore. Elder Knowledge is bugged in the current beta: the Titan Relic is removed on turn-in but is still required for the follow-up, which blocks the chain.

How to pick up the Alliance quests

Highland Hides comes from James Halloran in Menethil Harbor and needs Thicket Raptor Hide, which drops from Shadetooth, Thicket Hunter, Thicket Lurker and Thicket Stalker. Horrors in the Highland comes from Rethiel the Greenwarden in the Wetlands and asks you to kill Highland Horror and loot Horrible Rootcore.

Songblade Search starts with Dorin Songblade in the Redridge Mountains and ends with Daewyn Songblade at Whelgar's Excavation Site, with Fallen in the Fen as the follow-up. Seeking Caitlin is the pre-quest for Lost in the Thicket Things: pick it up from Llana in Ashenvale, turn it in to Caitlin Grassman in Menethil Harbor, then take Lost in the Thicket Things and find Ardin Grassman inside the dungeon. Heartwoven is the follow-up to Lost in the Thicket Things.

Lost Relic Carry starts from the Titan Relic dropped by Relic Guardian and ends with Prospector Whelgar in the Wetlands, and Prehistoric Prism is its follow-up, ending with High Explorer Magellas in Ironforge.

Prerequisites and turn-in order

Run the pickups in this order so nothing is locked behind a prerequisite:

1. Ashenvale: pick up Seeking Caitlin.
2. Redridge Mountains: pick up Songblade Search.
3. Wetlands: pick up Highland Hides, turn in Seeking Caitlin, then pick up Lost in the Thicket Things and Horrors in the Highland.
4. Orgrimmar: pick up Changing Tastes.
5. Arathi Highlands: pick up Dragonmaw Rumors, then turn it in at the Wetlands entrance and pick up Open the Maw.

Highland Hides requires completing Daily Delivery in Menethil first. Horrors in the Highland requires the Wetlands chain running from The Greenwarden through Blisters on the Land. Lost in the Thicket Things has an optional breadcrumb, Seeking Caitlin, from Llana in Ashenvale.

Rewards from the Excavation Site quests

Changing Tastes lets you choose between the Satchel of Potions trinket and the Serrated Raptor Claw, and also gives the recipe for Twice-Spiced Raptor Slice plus five of the food. Heartwoven gives a Swiftness Potion, the Satchel of Potions, four Greater Healing Potions and four Mana Potions. Using the Satchel of Potions can produce one of four effects: a Healing Potion, mana restoration, a speed effect, or fire damage to the caster.

Open the Maw offers Knife-Polishing Rag or Dirt-Heavy Bracers, plus a Bloody Map. Fallen in the Fen offers Daewyn's Girdle or Songblade Stabilizer. Horrors in the Highland offers Ironwood Destroyer, Curl of Life or Hornbeam Heft.

The Titan Relic follow-ups are the big ones. Earthen Echo offers Furs of the Earthen Ring, Healer's Staff or Heavehammer, and Prehistoric Prism offers Explorer's League Dustcover, Healer's Staff or Heavehammer. Heavehammer is a two-hand mace with 27.73 DPS, 3.30 speed, +7 Agility, +26 Attack Power and a +70 Armor bonus, while Healer's Staff is a two-hand staff with 20.77 DPS, 2.60 speed, +12 Stamina and +5 mana per 5 seconds. Both factions also get a faction-specific cloak from the relic chain.

Dungeon quest XP after the nerf

Dungeon quests now reward 50% less extra experience beyond normal quest values, so they are worth less for leveling than they were before the October 1 beta build. They are still worth picking up while leveling to 30 for the gear. Certain quest rewards were also recalibrated in the same build.

Getting to the dungeon

Excavation Site: Wetlands sits in the Wetlands in the Eastern Kingdoms. Alliance can reach it from Menethil Harbor, which has a boat connection to Stormwind through Auberdine, or on foot through Loch Modan. Horde travel through Hillsbrad Foothills and Arathi Highlands, and should pick up flight paths in Tarren Mill and Hammerfall on the way. The entrance is up the hill near Thelgen Rock, off a small path by the spider cave at roughly 53.2, 65.8. A full wipe means a long run back, since the zone has only one graveyard.

If you would rather have the dungeon cleared and every quest inside closed on your character, an Excavation Site Boost handles the run for you.