The short answer
- What and where
- Excavation Site: Wetlands is a new five-player dungeon at the top of a new road in the Wetlands, above Whelgar’s Excavation near Thelgen Rock and Dun Algaz. It is not a zone or a quest hub.
- Level
- Blizzard lists 24 to 29. The quests open at 24, but boss loot needs level 26 to 28 and the bosses hit like a mid-20s group should expect, so most groups go at 26 or later.
- Quests
- Alliance has five chains, Horde has three. Two of them only start from a Titan Relic that the last boss does not always drop. Pick up the rest before you zone in: several need earlier quests done first.
- Bosses
- Saltspine, Shadetooth and the Relic Guardian, plus the Highland Horror, an elite that only Alliance players have a quest for. Stay out of the tall grass: raptors spawn from it.
- 24 to 29
- Blizzard’s level range
- 4
- Bosses, one Alliance-only
- 5 / 3
- Alliance / Horde quest chains
- 3,150
- XP per main quest
- 9 min
- Read time
- Nov 2026
- Checked on
Excavation Site: Wetlands is a short level 24 to 29 dungeon, not a zone
If you searched “excavation site” or “level excavation site”, this is the place: a five-player instance that is new in World of Warcraft: Forever. It is a different place from Whelgar’s Excavation Site, the old Explorers’ League dig camp in the Wetlands full of raptors. The new dungeon sits above and beyond that camp, in hills that were walled off in the original game. Blizzard describes it as a place “frozen in time”, guarded by titan constructs and dangerous wildlife, past a strange mist that has been drifting down from the mountains.
Blizzard’s dungeon overview gives it levels 24 to 29, and the quests for it unlock at level 24. The gear tells a slightly later story. Every boss drop requires level 26 (first two bosses) or 28 (last boss), the Highland Horror is a level 28 elite, and players report the Relic Guardian fights at level 31. A group of 24s can start it. A group of 26 to 28 will have a much easier night.
It is short. One player on launch weekend called a full clear “a SHORT dungeon to be fair” and measured roughly one bubble of the experience bar at level 30, even after the November 8 dungeon XP increase. The quest rewards are where the XP is, so the run is worth doing once with every quest in your log. Our leveling guide covers the dungeon XP rules, and the dungeon list shows where it falls among the nine new dungeons.
Alliance fly to Menethil Harbor, Horde walk in from Hammerfall
The entrance is on a new road that climbs a hill in the south-central Wetlands, around 47.8, 56.3 on the zone map, with a meeting stone at the foot of the climb. The road starts close to Dun Algaz, the pass into Loch Modan.
- Alliance: fly or sail to Menethil Harbor, or ride north from Loch Modan through Dun Algaz. Most Alliance players are already questing in the Wetlands at this level and have the flight path.
- Horde: there is no Horde town in the Wetlands. Pick up the flight paths at Tarren Mill and Hammerfall, then ride from Hammerfall in the Arathi Highlands south across the Thandol Span into the Wetlands. Hammerfall is also where one of your dungeon quests starts.
Alliance get five quest chains for the dungeon, Horde get three
Quest names, objectives, levels and rewards are from the live game’s quest data. Every quest below can be picked up at level 24.
Alliance quests
| Quest | Starts from | Do this first | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Songblade Search | Dorin Songblade, the armorer in Lakeshire, Redridge Mountains (25.6, 46.6) | Nothing | Find his brother Daewyn inside, then Fallen in the Fen: Daewyn’s Girdle (cloth) or Songblade Stabilizer (mail) |
| Lost in the Thicket Things | Caitlin Grassman, Menethil Harbor | Optional lead-in, Seeking Caitlin, from Llana in Astranaar, Ashenvale (35.0, 48.6) | Find Ardin Grassman, then Heartwoven: 4 Greater Healing or 4 Mana Potions, a Swiftness Potion and the Satchel of Potions trinket |
| Horrors in the Highland | Rethiel the Greenwarden, Wetlands (56, 40) | His older chain: Tramping Paws, Fire Taboo, Blisters on the Land | Ironwood Destroyer (two-hand mace), Curl of Life (ring) or Hornbeam Heft (one-hand axe) |
| Highland Hides | James Halloran, the tanner in Menethil Harbor | His earlier Daily Delivery and Young Crocolisk Skins quests | 1,150 XP, 12 silver, Stormwind reputation |
| Lost Relic Carry | The Titan Relic, a drop from the Relic Guardian | A lucky drop | Leads to Prehistoric Prism, below |
Horde quests
| Quest | Starts from | Do this first | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Changing Tastes | Borstan, the meat vendor in The Drag, Orgrimmar, near the cooking trainer | Nothing | Satchel of Potions (trinket) or Serrated Raptor Claw (dagger), plus Recipe: Twice-Spiced Raptor Slice and 5 of the food, which adds 5% kill XP when eaten seated |
| Open the Maw | A Deathstalker Agent in the hills above the Dragonmaw camp, just outside the dungeon | Dragonmaw Rumors, from Zaruk in Hammerfall, Arathi Highlands (74, 36) | Knife-Polishing Rag (cloth wrist) or Dirt-Heavy Bracers (leather wrist), plus a Bloody Map |
| Elder Knowledge | The Titan Relic, a drop from the Relic Guardian | A lucky drop | Leads to Earthen Echo, below |
The two quests players miss most are the long ones. Horrors in the Highland only appears once you have finished Rethiel’s three older Wetlands quests (kill Mosshide gnolls, collect Crude Flints from them, then kill Fen Creepers), and one player on launch weekend wrote that they “didn’t notice the Rethiel chainline” and ran the dungeon without it. Highland Hides needs James Halloran’s earlier crocolisk quests. Sources disagree on which one is the hard requirement, so finish both.
The raptor quests (Highland Hides for the Alliance, Changing Tastes for the Horde) take hides and meat from the Thicket raptors past the first boss. Do not go hunting for them in the grass. One healer wrote that “EVERYONE was running through the grass trying to find raptors for the meat quest” and the bleeds wiped the group. Kill the raptors that come to you on the path and you will finish both.
Open the Maw asks for 2 Dragonmaw Saboteurs, 4 Dragonmaw Warders and a Dragonmaw Dispatch, all inside. You hand it in to the Deathstalker Agent on your way out. The Bloody Map it gives you is a soulbound item marked with dwarvish scrawl and an X. What it leads to has not been confirmed.
The Titan Relic only drops some of the time and sends you to Ironforge or Mulgore
The Relic Guardian can drop a Titan Relic, which starts a two-step quest for each faction. Loot data collected from players puts it at roughly a 27 percent drop, so do not plan your night around it. If it drops, these are worth taking:
- Alliance: Lost Relic Carry takes the relic to Prospector Whelgar at Whelgar’s Excavation Site. That leads to Prehistoric Prism: bring it to High Explorer Magellas in the Hall of Explorers, Ironforge. Reward: 3,150 XP, 60 silver and a choice of the Explorer’s League Dustcover (cloak, Agility, Intellect and Spirit), Healer’s Staff or Heavehammer (two-hand mace).
- Horde: Elder Knowledge takes the relic to the Elder Rise in Thunder Bluff, where Bashana Runetotem picks it up. That leads to Earthen Echo: bring it to Muln Earthfury at the Skywatcher Plateau in northwest Mulgore. Reward: 3,150 XP, 60 silver and a choice of Heavehammer, Healer’s Staff or Furs of the Earthen Ring (cloak, Strength, Intellect and Spirit).
Earthen Echo is the first confirmed place to find Muln Earthfury, the Earthen Ring leader Blizzard promised “a role to play in new stories” at BlizzCon. Players who ran the dungeon in the beta said the Horde chain points toward Uldaman.
Shadetooth and the tall grass are where groups wipe
The bosses come in a fixed order. Abilities below come from players’ launch-week runs and are not from Blizzard, so read your own boss tooltips too.
Saltspine, the giant crocolisk in the lake
Saltspine is a giant crocolisk that patrols the lake at the start, a quiet hollow players describe as full of turtles and basking crocolisks. Clear the crocolisks around it first. It slows the tank and casts a cloud that lowers the chance to hit for everyone within about 10 yards, so casters should stand back.
Thicket raptors and the grass
After Saltspine the path narrows through a raptor thicket. Thicket Lurkers are not hiding in the grass. They spawn when you walk through it, and they hit hard with stacking bleeds. Thicket Matriarchs screech for more Lurkers when they get low. Stay on the trail, fight in the open spots, and kill everything else before the Matriarch. One player: “The raptors use an AOE bleed that swipes anyone standing in front… Make sure your tank turns the mobs or it’s wipe city.” One dwarf player found Stoneform helped against the bleeds, though it did not solve them.
Shadetooth, the raptor with two Thicket Hunters
Shadetooth is the fight players call “proper hard”. It patrols the raptor path with two Thicket Hunters at its side. The hunters put a disease on their target that should be dispelled, and the group should crowd-control one hunter and kill the other, or control both and focus Shadetooth. The real danger is its fear: it scatters you into the grass, which spawns more Lurkers. Clear the area first and fight where there is no grass under your feet. It can be slowed and stunned, which helps when it enrages near 30 percent health.
Highland Horror, the Alliance quest elite
The Highland Horror is a level 28 elite elemental that only matters for the Alliance quest Horrors in the Highland. Kill it and loot the Horrible Rootcore. Players place it past Shadetooth, near a camp hut, surrounded by slimes. Horde groups can skip it.
Relic Guardian, the titan construct at the end
The Relic Guardian stands inactive until someone presses the panel beside it. It is a gear and level check: heavy damage on the tank, a large health pool, a slowing aura on everyone within 10 yards, plus knockbacks and a short stun on the tank. It can be stunned and slowed. Ardin Grassman, for Lost in the Thicket Things, is on the wooden structure near this boss.
Three boss drops each, plus two camp Blueprints
All boss drops are rare quality and bind when picked up. Stats are from the live item tooltips.
| Boss | Item | Slot | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saltspine | Supple Bellyskin Leggings | Leather legs | +6 Strength, +14 Stamina |
| Saltspine | Saltscale Girdle | Mail waist | +9 Strength, +9 Intellect |
| Saltspine | Glinteye Slippers | Cloth feet | +9 Stamina, +6 Spirit, up to 7 spell damage and healing |
| Shadetooth | Raptorclaw Greaves | Mail feet | +7 Strength, +7 Stamina, +6 Intellect |
| Shadetooth | Garb of Florid Feathers | Leather chest | +9 Agility, +15 Intellect |
| Shadetooth | Raptor’s Gaze | Off-hand | +4 Stamina, +4 Intellect, up to 8 spell damage and healing |
| Relic Guardian | Reliquary Mantle | Mail shoulders | +12 Stamina, 0.4% hit |
| Relic Guardian | Golemsight Long Gun | Gun | 16.6 damage per second, +6 Agility |
| Relic Guardian | Ring of Power Regulation | Ring | 3 mana per 5 sec, up to 6 spell damage and healing |
Saltspine and Shadetooth drops require level 26, Relic Guardian drops require level 28. Forever unlocks the appearance of a bind-on-pickup dungeon drop for the whole group, so you do not need to roll on an item just for its look.
Two of Forever’s camping Blueprints drop here too. Blueprint: Greenhouse (Herbalism 140) drops from Shadetooth and places a camp feature that grows herbs from planted seeds. Blueprint: Rock Garden (Mining 140) drops from the Relic Guardian and spawns a common mining node over time. Both replace the basic Incense Candle and Lodestone camp objects and keep their buffs. Collected loot data puts each under 8 percent, and neither tooltip says it binds, so check the Auction House before you farm.
FAQ
What level is the Excavation Site in WoW Forever?
Blizzard lists 24 to 29. You can take the quests at 24, but boss loot requires 26 to 28 and the last boss is tougher than the range suggests, so 26 to 28 is the comfortable window.
Where is the Excavation Site entrance?
In the Wetlands, at the top of a new road around 47.8, 56.3, above Whelgar’s Excavation and near Thelgen Rock and Dun Algaz. The meeting stone is at the bottom of the climb.
How does the Horde get to the Excavation Site?
Fly to Hammerfall in the Arathi Highlands, then ride south over the Thandol Span into the Wetlands. Pick up Dragonmaw Rumors from Zaruk in Hammerfall on the way.
How many bosses are in Excavation Site: Wetlands?
Three loot bosses (Saltspine, Shadetooth and the Relic Guardian) plus the Highland Horror, an elite that only the Alliance quest Horrors in the Highland needs.
Why can’t I get the Horrors in the Highland quest?
Rethiel the Greenwarden only offers it after you finish his three older quests: Tramping Paws, Fire Taboo and Blisters on the Land. It is Alliance only.
Where do I turn in the Titan Relic?
Alliance take it to Prospector Whelgar at Whelgar’s Excavation Site, then High Explorer Magellas in Ironforge. Horde take it to the Elder Rise in Thunder Bluff, then Muln Earthfury at the Skywatcher Plateau in Mulgore.
Is the Excavation Site worth running for XP?
Once, with all the quests. Players measured about one bubble of XP for a full clear at level 30, while each main quest pays 3,150 XP.
Checklist
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Source & credit
Level range, location and the dungeon description come from Blizzard’s dungeon overview for World of Warcraft: Forever. Quest givers, objectives, levels, XP and rewards, item stats, and NPC levels were checked against the live game’s quest and item data on November 9, 2026, with drop rates from loot data collected from players. Boss tactics, the grass mechanic and travel tips are from players’ launch-week reports in the World of Warcraft: Forever and Classic WoW communities and are not confirmed by Blizzard. The image is Blizzard’s. Our coverage: the Excavation Site reveal, the new zones by level and the dungeon and raid list.
