The Rusty Mechanocrawler is a charmingly dilapidated mechanical spider, a testament to the ingenuity and chaotic creativity of the Mechagon gnomes. Its rusty chassis, exposed gears, and slightly unsteady gait give it a personality that stands out among the more pristine mounts of Azeroth. The flavour text perfectly captures its endearing, ramshackle nature: "The check engine light is always on, it's when it goes off that you should be worried". For collectors who appreciate mounts with character, a sense of history, and a distinctly mechanical aesthetic, this crawler is a true trophy — a relic from the junkyards of a forgotten timeline.
Introduced in patch 8.2.0 "Rise of Azshara", the Rusty Mechanocrawler is a rare drop from a single, elusive rare elite on the island of Mechagon. Unlike many other rare mounts, this one offers a unique twist: you can hunt for it in not one, but two different versions of Mechagon — the present-day island and a dystopian alternate future timeline. This dual availability gives dedicated hunters more opportunities each day, though the low drop rate of roughly 0.5% means patience and persistence are still the name of the game. For collectors who enjoy the thrill of the hunt, this mount offers a challenging but rewarding goal.
The Rusty Mechanocrawler has a chance to drop from the rare elite Arachnoid Harvester on Mechagon Island. This is a low drop chance mount, estimated at around 0.5%, so it requires patience and a dedicated farming routine. The mount is Bind-on-Pickup, so it must be looted and learned on the character that obtains it.
The Arachnoid Harvester can be found in two different phases of Mechagon:
The rare resets once per day, so you should make use of alts to have more chances at the mount each day.
Before you can begin your hunt, you must first gain access to Mechagon Island. Complete the introductory questline for Battle for Azeroth content. First, pick up the introductory quest from your faction's board:
Follow the introductory questline until you reach your faction's capital (Boralus or Dazar'alor) and complete the initial foothold, earning the achievement Come Sail Away (Alliance) or Welcome to Zandalar (Horde).
Once this is done, locate the questgiver for Mechagon in your capital:
Tinkmaster Overspark - Alliance Questgiver
Gazlowe - Horde Questgiver
Accept and complete the quest The Legend of Mechagon to unlock the island and the Rustbolt Resistance faction. This short campaign is a prerequisite.
Note: If you're a newer player and don't see this quest, you may have to unlock your Heart of Azeroth which starts with the quest A Dying World which is given by the NPC Earthen Guardian in either Boralus or Dazar'alor.
Still don't see the Mechagon quest? You may need to complete the Nazjatar introduction first. Look for the quest The Wolf's Offensive or Send the Fleet given by Genn Greymane on the Alliance ship in Boralus if you're Alliance. For Horde, look for the quest The Warchief's Order or Send the Fleet given by Nathanos Blightcaller on the Horde ship in the Port of Zuldazar. Following this questline will take you to Nazjatar which will eventually also lead to Mechagon.
The Arachnoid Harvester is a level 50 Rare Elite mechanical spider located on Mechagon Island. It can be found by a ruined structure, covered in webs, just west of Bondo's Yard.
The rare is difficult to solo at level 50, so it's recommended to bring friends or use the Group Finder to find a group. The Arachnoid Harvester has trapped several Scrapbone Scavengers in webs. Freeing them will cause the troggs to engage the spider in combat.
Important: The Arachnoid Harvester has a daily lockout per character. This means each character can only loot the rare once per day, regardless of which phase (present or alternate) they kill it in. If you kill it in the present timeline, you cannot loot it again in the alternate timeline on the same character until the next daily reset. The lockout is shared across both phases.
You can also find the Arachnoid Harvester in the alternate future timeline of Mechagon. This is a dystopian version of the island where King Mechagon succeeded in activating his Mechoriginator device.
Why use the alternate timeline? The main advantage of the alternate timeline is not extra loot, but easier and faster farming. The alternate phase of Mechagon is usually less crowded than the present-day version. With fewer players competing for the rare, you can find and kill the Arachnoid Harvester more quickly. This is especially useful during peak hours when the present-day spawn is heavily camped.
There are two ways to access the alternate timeline:
When Chromie is a daily visitor in Mechagon, she will offer the quest The Other Place. This quest sends you to the alternate timeline to collect data from Clockwork Giants. While you are there, you can also hunt for the Arachnoid Harvester.
For more consistent access, you can craft the Personal Time Displacer. This item allows you to travel to the alternate future timeline at any time, without needing Chromie.
To craft this item, you need to complete the following steps:
Important Note about the Personal Time Displacer: There is a known bug where if you use the device outside of Rustbolt, it may transport you to Rustbolt instead of the alternate timeline, wasting a charge. To avoid this bug, only activate your displacer near /way 70.5 31.35 in Rustbolt (slightly to the left of Pascal-K1N6). This ensures the device functions correctly.
Since the Arachnoid Harvester has a daily lockout per character (shared across both phases), the best way to improve your odds is to use multiple characters.
Why alts matter for Rusty Mechanocrawler:
Recommended alt strategy:
Farming a rare mount like the Rusty Mechanocrawler requires patience, persistence, and a good set of tools to track rare spawns and coordinate with other players.
Pro tip: Combine RareScanner with TomTom for maximum efficiency. RareScanner alerts you when the rare spawns, and TomTom helps you navigate to its location quickly.
