The Battlefield Swarmer is a sickly, corpse-fed insect mount whose bloated, iridescent body and frantic wings embody the grim, opportunistic nature of the Maw. Its dark, chitinous armour and the unsettling hum of its swarm make it a favourite among collectors who appreciate mounts with a predatory, battlefield aesthetic. The flavour text speaks to its macabre diet: "Corpseflies are strongly attracted to the smell of dead bodies and will swarm an active battlefield as soon as the first corpse falls." For collectors who value prestige and the satisfaction of a long-term reputation grind combined with challenging achievements, this mount is a true trophy — a symbol of your mastery over Death's Advance and the chaotic assaults of the Maw.
Introduced in patch 9.1.0 "Chains of Domination", the Battlefield Swarmer is a mount that rewards those who fully commit to the chaotic warfare of the Maw. It is not a simple drop or a quick purchase — it demands a combination of reputation grinding, achievement hunting, and coordination with the ever-shifting Covenant Assaults. The journey spans weeks of daily quests, weekly events, and careful planning around the assault rotation. For players who thrive on multi-layered challenges and want a mount that truly reflects their dedication to the war against the Jailer, the Battlefield Swarmer stands as one of the most rewarding goals in the Shadowlands.
The Battlefield Swarmer is purchased from Duchess Mynx at Keeper's Respite in Korthia for 1,000 Stygia, but only after reaching Exalted reputation with Death's Advance and completing the On the Offensive achievement. This is a 100% guaranteed acquisition once you meet the requirements — there is no RNG involved in the purchase itself, only in the time required to complete the achievements.
Important Note on Covenant: This mount is exclusive to the Necrolord Covenant for purchase. You do not need to be a member of the Necrolord Covenant to ride this mount — only to purchase it. Once learned, the mount is account-wide and available to all your characters.
If you are not already a member of the Necrolord Covenant, you must first join them. This becomes available after you complete the main Shadowlands campaign and finish the quest Choosing Your Purpose in Oribos, where you pledge your allegiance to a covenant. The Necrolord Covenant is essential for this mount, as it is exclusively available to its members.
You must complete the quest Welcome To Our House and the basic tasks that unlock the sanctum Seat of the Primus.
To unlock Korthia, you must first complete chapter 2 of your chosen covenant campaign after your first meeting with Ve'nari and rescuing Baine Bloodhoof from Torghast. Then, you will have to do the second chapter of the 9.1 campaign which starts with Opening the Maw. Completing each of the chapter 2 quests will unlock features in Korthia. The 6th quest, Opening to Oribos, will unlock a portal to Korthia on the top floor of Oribos so you will have an easy way to get back in the future.
Death's Advance reputation is unlocked after completing Chapter 2 of the Chains of Domination Covenant Campaign, Maw Walkers. The final two quests of the chapter, Surveying Secrets and In Need of Assistance, will unlock the faction, as well as daily quests in Korthia. Other activities related to Death's Advance, such as Covenant Assaults, are also unlocked once the chapter is completed.
The main source of Death's Advance reputation is via Korthia activities — completing Korthia dailies and the Korthia weekly quest.
Some of the activities in the Maw also grant reputation with Death's Advance.
Killing bosses and certain mobs in the Sanctum of Domination raid also grants reputation with Death's Advance. As of Patch 10.1.5, you can solo queue LFR to do this by yourself. Look for the NPC named Ta'elfar in the Enclave section of Oribos.
Stygia is a currency that comes from The Maw and Korthia. It can be looted from the corpses of most enemies in the Maw and Mawsworn/rare enemies in Korthia. Rares and Rare Elites drop more than basic mobs.
Some other ways to gain Stygia:
As there are limited ways to earn reputation each day, it is essential to take advantage of reputation buffs whenever possible. Below are the most effective bonuses:
Pro tip: Stack multiple buffs when possible. For example, a Human character during Shadowlands Timewalking with the Darkmoon Faire buff active will earn reputation at an accelerated rate, saving you days of grinding. Save your World Quest completions and turn-ins for these windows.
The On the Offensive meta-achievement requires you to complete 4 out of 9 sub-achievements related to the Covenant Assaults in the Maw. These assaults rotate twice a week in a fixed order: Kyrian, then Venthyr, then Night Fae, then Necrolord, and then the cycle repeats. Each assault is straightforward: you travel to the area, speak with the leader, complete four quests, and finish a short scenario.
It's wise to start this achievement as early as possible, as some of the sub-achievements can take weeks to complete due to the rotation schedule. Which sub-achievements you can pursue depends entirely on which assault is active and which quests are available at that time. You can check the current assault and available quests by visiting Wowhead's front page and looking under the Shadowlands section.
If you haven't unlocked flying in the Maw yet, the Necrolord, Night Fae, and Venthyr covenants offer a free transportation service that will quickly take you to their assault area. Simply enter the Maw as usual and head to the right. The Kyrian do not offer this service because their assault takes place right next to Ve'nari's Refuge.
Now, let's go through each of the sub-achievements. Remember, you only need to complete four of them in total! Choose the ones that fit your schedule and the assaults you're most comfortable with.
United Front is the most straightforward of the achievements. It simply requires you to complete all four Covenant Assaults. Since the assaults follow a strict rotation without repeats, this should take about two weeks to complete.
Jailer's Personal Stash requires you to find ten Rift Hidden Caches during the Night Fae assault. You don't need a specific quest for this — you just need to be able to enter the Rift phase. To do that, you must reach Tier 4 with The Archivists' Codex and purchase a Repaired Riftkey.
To begin, enter the Rift via the Korthia portals and then head to the Maw. When the Night Fae Assault is active, use your Cypher of Relocation to travel to Ve'nari while staying in the Rift. In Shadowlands, only six caches were available per day, though this may have changed.
/way #1543 20.6 47.4 Rift Hidden Cache 1 /way #1543 25.3 49.1 Rift Hidden Cache 2 /way #1543 29.7 42.9 Rift Hidden Cache 3 /way #1543 26.3 37.6 Rift Hidden Cache 4 /way #1543 23.3 35.8 Rift Hidden Cache 5 /way #1543 25.1 27.1 Rift Hidden Cache 6 /way #1543 19.1 33.4 Rift Hidden Cache 7 /way #1543 20.7 29.8 Rift Hidden Cache 8 /way #1543 25.6 32.6 Rift Hidden Cache 9 /way #1543 24.6 36.9 Rift Hidden Cache 9 /way #1543 19 43.9 Rift Hidden Cache 10 /way #1543 22.6 46.2 Rift Hidden Cache 11
This Army requires the Necrolord assault to be active and the quest You and What Army to be available. You must complete this quest with each of the possible champions. Normally, this would take five weeks, but there is currently a method to speed it up. You pick up the quest, select a champion, then complete one of the other quests you've been given during the assault and turn that in. This should grant progress toward the achievement. You can then select a new champion and repeat this process for a total of three times. To min-max even further, you can get a fourth completion by waiting until the next day when the champions rotate and turning in your final quest.
To pursue Up For Grabs, you'll need the Necrolord assault to be active in the Maw. Once you've accepted the main assault quests, the Mawsworn Caches become visible in the world. These caches are scattered across Perdition Hold, typically positioned high up on walls, towers, and elevated platforms that require some creativity to reach.
There are several ways to access these elevated locations. One option is to use the grapple points scattered around the area after purchasing the Animated Levitating Chain from Ve'nari. Another is to use the Overcharged Centurion after completing the quest Putting A Plan Together. For those who prefer a more explosive approach, a Darkmoon Cannon or Borr-Geth's Fiery Brimstone can launch you toward the caches — just make sure to have a Goblin Glider Kit ready if you don't have wings! Note that you may only be able to loot six caches per day, though this cap is not entirely confirmed.
/way #1543 32.8 65.0 Mawsworn Cache 1 /way #1543 35.1 69.8 Mawsworn Cache 2 /way #1543 33.6 70.4 Mawsworn Cache 3 /way #1543 32.0 56.3 Mawsworn Cache 4 /way #1543 30.3 55.9 Mawsworn Cache 5 /way #1543 27.8 61.7 Mawsworn Cache 6 /way #1543 32.2 67.4 Mawsworn Cache 7 /way #1543 34.1 61.5 Mawsworn Cache 8 /way #1543 30.1 65.0 Mawsworn Cache 9
The Zovaal Shuffle requires the Kyrian assault to be active and the quest The Ember Count to be available. You pick up this quest, grab a parasol from Gubbins, and then need to perform the /dance emote for several seconds near five different forges. Make sure you have the Mawproof Parasol buff active, or your progress won't count! You can also track this achievement to confirm it's registering.
Waypoints for the five forges:
Hoarder of Torghast requires the Venthyr assault to be active and the quest Fangcrack's Fan Club to be available. Go over to Fangcrack and wait by the Torghast portal he's pulling things out of. Sometimes he will pull out an anima cell, which you can use to gain progress. You can also trade with the broker he pulls out for progress on this achievement, or even destroy the phylacteries. Killing enemies does not count for the achievement.
A Sly Fox requires the Kyrian assault to be active. You must speak to Orator Kloe at the coordinates 42.2 44.6 to gain the Sharp Eyed buff and a companion to track Sly's footprints. Follow the footprints, and you will eventually find him. You must follow the footprints, or Sly will not be there. You may also need to complete some of the assault quests to be able to see him. This achievement will take 3 Kyrian covenant assaults to complete, but at the end, you get to keep Sly!
Tea for the Troubled requires the Venthyr assault to be active and the quest A Tea for Every Occasion to be available. After you pick up the quest, go to Tubbins, which will allow you to control a dredger vehicle. You must Serve Tea to 8 different NPCs. Four of them will spawn per day, so do not complete this quest if you want to potentially get more done after the daily reset.
/way #1543 26.7 14.6 Simone /way #1543 27.3 20.1 Vulca /way #1543 31.7 14.2 Laurent /way #1543 24.8 17.5 The Countess /way #1543 27.1 18.5 Kael'thas Sunstrider /way #1543 26.6 20.1 Archivist Fane /way #1543 31.4 20.4 Lost Sybille /way #1543 32.8 14.8 Iven
Krrprripripkraak's Heroes requires the Night Fae assault to be active for this achievement. The quest Just Don't Ask Me to Spell It must also be available. Pick up the quest but do not finish the quest objectives until you complete this achievement, or you will be dismounted. Next, you will need to help the following NPCs with the Slanknen's Salty Soak and Awool's Rejuvenating Winds abilities. That's it!
/way #1543 26.7 14.6 Simone /way #1543 27.3 20.1 Vulca /way #1543 31.7 14.2 Laurent /way #1543 24.8 17.5 The Countess /way #1543 27.1 18.5 Kael'thas Sunstrider /way #1543 26.6 20.1 Archivist Fane /way #1543 31.4 20.4 Lost Sybille /way #1543 32.8 14.8 Iven
Farming Exalted with Death's Advance and completing the On the Offensive achievement requires consistency and organisation. The right addons can help you track your progress, locate rares and treasures, and never miss a Covenant Assault.
Pro tip: Use HandyNotes: Shadowlands to see all rare spawns and treasures on your map, then combine it with RareScanner for audio alerts when something spawns nearby. Add Events Tracker to never miss a Covenant Assault — the most reliable weekly source of Death's Advance reputation.
