Of all of World of Warcraft: Forever’s new dungeons, Excavation Site: Wetlands could very well be the shortest. It’s also one of the sweetest for lore-heads, owing to its links to the Dragonmaw Clan, Titans, and more. This self-contained safari won’t take particularly long to clear, but whether you’re Alliance or Horde it’s well worth venturing through.
Our Excavation Site: Wetlands guide will give you all the info you’ll ever need to navigate its danger-filled paths — believe us, you’ll want to go in fully prepared. Below you’ll find not only directions for getting to the dungeon, but all of the quests you can clear (including their breadcrumbs), bosses you can beat, and loot you can fill your boots (or bags) with. While you can pick up all of the quests by the time you ding level 24, we’d recommend waiting until at least level 26 before heading in, based on the difficulty of its major encounters.
How to get to Excavation Site: Wetlands
Excavation Site: Wetlands is located by Thelgen Rock in the southern Wetlands.
Alliance players will have the easiest time getting to the dungeon, seeing as they can take the rotating ship between Auberdine in Darkshire, Southshore in Hillsbrad Foothills, and Menethil Harbor in the Wetlands itself. If you’re coming from Stormwind, first take the ship from the harbor to Auberdine, then switch over to the vessel which follows the listed route. Simply hop off at Menethil Harbor, and make the run across the Wetlands to the east before following the path down to the south. There’s a good chance you already have the flight path in Menethil Harbor if you’ve been questing in the region, which makes travel considerably easier.
For the Horde, it’s slightly more complex. You’ll need to first get into the Hillsbrad Foothills via Silverpine Forest, before following the path through the Arathi Highlands down into the Wetlands. The Highlands aren’t particularly dangerous despite it being a level 30-40 area, provided you stick to the road and keep your wits about you for roaming mobs.
Once you’re in the southern Wetlands, you’ll spot a cave entrance on your map just above Dun Algaz (this is Thelgen Rock). Don’t enter the cave, but instead follow the path just to the south of it upwards into the camp (in the above screenshot you can see Thelgen Rock on your right, and the way up to the dungeon on the left). There’s a meeting stone at the base of the trail, so it’s easy to tell you’re on the right track.
Excavation Site: Wetlands Map
Excavation Site: Wetlands feels surprisingly large considering it’s only a three-boss instance. It’s also easy to get overwhelmed by how densely-populated it is with mobs, even though it’s super linear. The Lost Marsh is the biggest culprit, owing to its breadth. However, you can cut straight through the middle of it, sticking to the islands to maintain your sense of direction.
From there, it’s a smooth cruise through the Stalker’s Thicket, Lost Dig Site, and finally the Site of the Guardian. After felling the final boss, you can drop down the hill behind it, cutting out the need to traverse all the way back.
If there’s one piece of advice you should follow it’s this: don’t walk through the tall grass in Stalker’s Thicket. Doing so has the chance to spawn more mobs, which can lead to absolute chaos and, at worst, a group wipe. Pathways are safe; we like safe. We’ll talk about that a little more in depth when discussing the raptor boss, Shadetooth, later on in this guide.
As we’ve recommended before, Atlas is a cracking addon if you want to keep an eye on the dungeon map in-game. Just remember to install the Kalimdor & Eastern Kingdoms map pack so it’ll show up.
