The Wriggling Parasite is a grotesque, unsettling mount that perfectly captures the chaotic essence of N’Zoth’s Black Empire. As its name suggests, the creature constantly writhes and twists — a mass of flesh and eyes that seems to defy natural anatomy. The in‑game flavour text says it all: “It's so wiggly! Just looking at it move is chaotic and unnerving.” This mount is the final reward for completing the Glory of the Ny’alotha Raider meta‑achievement, which requires you to master a series of unique challenges across all twelve bosses of the Ny’alotha, the Waking City raid.
First introduced in patch 8.3.0 “Visions of N’Zoth”, the Wriggling Parasite has become a favourite among achievement hunters and mount collectors who enjoy tackling creative encounter conditions. Unlike rare drops that rely on luck, this mount is a guaranteed reward for completing every sub‑achievement — a true test of your ability to follow unusual mechanics, coordinate with others (especially for the later bosses), and navigate the corrupted versions of Uldum and the Vale of Eternal Blossoms to access the raid.
The Wriggling Parasite is obtained by completing the meta‑achievement Glory of the Ny’alotha Raider. This requires you to finish 12 individual achievements, one for each boss in the Ny’alotha raid. Most of these achievements can be done on Normal difficulty (recommended), though some mechanics behave differently on Mythic — stick to Normal or Heroic for the smoothest experience. You can complete them across multiple lockouts, but you must personally satisfy the conditions for each achievement.
Because Ny’alotha is a legacy raid from Battle for Azeroth, you can easily solo most bosses at level 70 or higher. However, a few achievements (notably Cleansing Treatment on Carapace of N’Zoth and the final fight with N’Zoth himself) are significantly easier with at least one other player. The guide below covers every achievement in detail, including step‑by‑step tactics, important warnings, and tips for solo players.
If you’re brand new to BFA content, you will need to complete the BFA intro questline up to and including A Nation Divided if you’re Alliance or Welcome to Zuldazar if you’re Horde. For Horde the questline starts with Battle for Azeroth: Mission Statement, which you can get from the Warchief’s Herald in the Valley of Strength outside of Grommash Hold. As for Alliance, you’ll want to pick the quest up from the Hero’s Herald next to the Hero’s Call Board outside the main auction house in the Trade District of Stormwind. The quest should be called Battle for Azeroth: Tides of War.
You’ll also need to obtain your Heart of Azeroth via the quest A Dying World. It should be given to you automatically when visiting Boralus or Dazar’alor as long as you are not on any Dragonflight introduction quests. If it is not, you should be able to pick up the quest from Earthen Guardian at the following locations.
/way #1165 50.2 41.6 Earthen Guardian Zuldazar
/way #1161 75 15.1 Earthen Guardian Boralus
Earthen Guardian Zuldazar
Earthen Guardian Boralus
Once you have done these steps, you should look for the quest The Wolf's Offensive or Send the Fleet given by Genn Greymane on the Alliance ship in the Port of Boralus if you’re Alliance. For Horde, you should look for the quest The Warchief's Order or Send the Fleet given by Nathanos on the Horde ship in the Port of Zuldazar.
Complete the Nazjatar intro until Magni Bronzebeard shows up in your camp. This should happen after the quest called A Way Home. Complete the quests Magni gives you up to and including Harnessing the Power.
You should then be able to start the 8.3 Visions of N’Zoth questline with Return of the Black Prince Horde or An Unwelcome Advisor Alliance. These should show up in your quest log the next time you go to Boralus/Dazar’alor. It’s recommended to do the whole questline to fully unlock features such as Visions of N’Zoth. You’ll also obtain Ashjra'kamas, Shroud of Resolve, which used to be required to kill the last two bosses.
Ny'alotha is a unique raid as it has two possible entrances. The first is in Uldum, Kalimdor. There is a portal directly to Uldum in the section with the other Cataclysm portals in your main city. The other is in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms in Pandaria! To get there, you’ll need to take the portal to the Jade Forest in your main portal room and fly the rest of the way.
The entrance rotates every week and is based on which zone is going through the major assault. You can find this info on the front page of Wowhead in the BFA section.
It is important to note that Uldum and Vale of Eternal Blossoms both have past phases of how the zones were before the N’Zoth Invasions. You will not be able to enter Ny’alotha in the past. You must be in the 8.3 Battle for Azeroth phase to enter. To change your phase, speak to Zidormi. She should be marked by a little speech bubble on your map. Zidormi can be found in Ramkahen in Uldum. In the Vale, she is on the top balcony of Mogu’shan Palace.
Below are the map locations/coordinates for both entrances:
/way #249 55 43.7 Uldum entrance
/way #390 41 45.5 Vale of Eternal Blossoms entrance
Entering Ny'alotha in Uldum
Entering Ny'alotha in Vale of Eternal Blossoms
As of patch 10.2.7, you no longer need Ashjra'kamas, Shroud of Resolve in order to kill the Carapace of N’Zoth and N’Zoth. This seems to be the case solo but it seems you still go insane if you’re in a group. I would still recommend getting the cloak just in case.
The bosses are listed in the order that groups traditionally seem to complete them in.
Below we break down every achievement required for Glory of the Ny’alotha Raider. Each entry includes the boss, the goal, and a step‑by‑step strategy. Most achievements can be done on Normal difficulty.
This achievement Smoke Test is for the first boss of Ny’alotha, Wrathion. You may want to play a fast class like Demon Hunter or Monk for this. At the very least, you’ll need decent AoE. Additionally, make sure to do it on Normal as the ability works differently on Mythic.
Strategy: Bring Wrathion down to about 50% health. He will cast Molten Eruption twice before entering stage two. You’ll know he is in stage two when he casts Smoke and Mirrors. He will also cast Scales of Wrathion which you can simply ignore (do not soak). After that, a bunch of Crackling Shards will spawn. Pop all your abilities and kill 10 of them within 3 seconds of each other.
If you’re tracking the achievement, it will turn white if you killed the Shards fast enough. When the achievement turns white, clean up the rest of the Crackling Shards so Wrathion can be targeted again. Then finish him off!
This achievement Mana Sponge is for the second boss, Maut. Note that you will first need to clear the entire platform of mobs for the boss to become active. This achievement is much easier on a pet class (Warlock, Hunter) as the pet can tank the boss away from the add.
Strategy: Pull the boss and reduce his health to ~50%. Eventually Maut will cast Dark Manifestation, spawning giant purple pools. Avoid being sucked in and wait for the Dark Manifestation add to spawn. Stand between the add and the boss — if you don’t, the add will die. Keep the add alive until Maut enters phase two.
When Maut enters phase two, he becomes a statue and begins casting Obsidian Shatter. Blue orbs spawn and head toward the boss. Drag the add in front of an orb before it reaches the boss — the add will grow and become a Forbidden Manifestation. Kill it, then kill Maut.
This achievement Phase 3: Prophet is for the third boss, Prophet Skitra. Clear the room of adds, then exit the boss room going straight forward until you can take a right. Head north until you find a mob called Disciple of the Prophet near the end of the corridor. Aggro it and drag it back to the boss room — do not kill it!
Once it’s in the boss room, pull the boss. The Disciple will split into three mobs. Kill all three, then kill Prophet Skitra.
This achievement Buzzer Beater is for Dark Inquisitor Xanesh. During the fight, Xanesh casts Void Ritual, spawning three multicolored circles. Stand in one to gain the debuff Voidwoken (40‑second timer).
A void ball spawns that you can control by walking into it. Keep it away from Azshara, non‑Voidwoken players, and walls. You want to launch the ball into the portal on the opposite side while your Voidwoken buff has 1‑3 seconds remaining. Push the ball in the general direction of the portal until you’re about 5‑8 seconds left, then line it up and launch. If successful, confetti explodes where the portal was. Repeat two more times (three launches total), then kill the boss.
This achievement Total Annihilation is for the dragon boss Vexiona. Clear her platform of all mobs. Stand in front of the add called Void Ascendant. Let it cast Annihilation on you three times (it looks like a giant void beam).
Important: If you are level 70 or above, the Annihilation ability will often ‘miss’ and you will not get stacks. Carefully monitor the debuff. If it doesn’t apply, unequip some gear or use a lower‑level character.
After three hits, kill the add and then Vexiona. After the kill, click the glowing yellow Re‑origination Anchor to teleport back to the entrance of her wing.
This achievement Realizing Your Potential is for the boss The Hivemind. Before heading to their boss room, find 3 Promising Specimens. Use the following macro to target them and put a skull raid marker over their head:
When you find one, click it and you’ll receive a two‑hour debuff. The locations are shown below.
Once you have all three debuffs, go to the boss room and pull The Hivemind. Three Evolved Specimens will eventually spawn. Kill them, then kill the bosses.
This achievement How? Isn't it Obelisk? is for Ra‑den. When you enter his room, note the two big obelisks on the far left and far right sides.
Clear the trash and pull Ra‑den near one obelisk. Two orbs spawn: Essence of Void (let it reach the boss) and Essence of Vita (kill it before it touches him). If done correctly, Ra‑den casts Unleashed Void, creating a void orb. The landing spot is telegraphed by a black puddle. Soak the first black pool while facing TOWARD the obelisk — this bounces the orb in that direction. Repeat until the orb hits and destroys the obelisk. Do the same for the second obelisk. Once both are broken, kill Ra‑den. After the fight, click the glowing yellow anchor to teleport back down. Then go down the hole in the middle for the next bosses (there’s a boss on each level).
This achievement You Can Pet the Dog, But... is for Shad’har the Insatiable. Pull the boss. While targeting him, type /pet Shad'har into your chat box. You’ll know it worked if you get the debuff Bitten Hand. If you’re in a group, everyone must also pet him and get the debuff. Then kill the boss.
This achievement Temper Tantrum is for Drest’agath. Pull the boss and kill the first two extra adds. Wait about a minute until many appendages have spawned.
Kill about half of the appendages — this triggers Throes of Agony. Wait for the cast to finish. Then kill the remaining appendages, triggering Throes of Agony again. Afterwards, kill Drest’agath. Standing in a small void zone left by an appendage helps you damage the boss.
This achievement Bloody Mess is for Il’gynoth, Corruption Reborn. Pull the boss and DPS it down until it “dies” the first time — it will enter phase two with organs around the room. The organs cast Pumping Blood, spawning Blood of Ny’alotha adds. Let 10 of them gather near you, then use AoE abilities to kill all 10 within 3 seconds. After that, finish the fight (alternate killing organs and Il’gynoth until it’s truly dead).
Once again, use the Re‑origination Anchor to get back to the beginning. The path to N’Zoth has now opened. You will need to kill all the adds on the platform leading to the entrance before the portal appears.
This achievement Cleansing Treatment is for Carapace of N’Zoth. At this point, equip your Ashjra'kamas, Shroud of Resolve if you have it.
This achievement is very difficult to solo because you must kill all Synthesis Growths within 10 seconds, and they are on two different sides of the room. After pushing Fury of N’Zoth’s health low enough, it retreats, opening two paths (left and right) filled with Synthesis Growths and slowing Mycelial Cysts. Clear as many cysts as possible before attempting the achievement. Then bring at least one other player — each person takes one path. Coordinate via voice chat or a countdown, kill all Growths on both sides within 10 seconds, then finish off the boss.
This achievement It's Not A Cult is for the final boss, N’Zoth himself.
Strategy: Pull N’Zoth and fight normally. You will be transported to the Mind Realm. Kill the large add (Psychus) and some tentacles, then exit by finding and clicking on your body (at the same location you entered). This breaks N’Zoth’s shield briefly. Wait for N’Zoth to cast Mindgate to go back to the Mind Realm again (stand in a void zone near the edge). Kill Psychus again and exit. If you have the cloak, use the extra action button to avoid going insane during the first two phases. Repeat the Mindgate process one more time.
After leaving the Mind Realm for the third time, N’Zoth transitions to the final phase. Let the new add, Thought Harvester, attack you. Do not use your cloak — wait to go insane. When your sanity reaches zero, you gain the debuff Gift of N'Zoth (20 seconds). Quickly burn down N’Zoth before the debuff expires. The achievement will pop upon his death.
Farming the Glory of the Ny’alotha Raider meta‑achievement is much smoother with the right tools. Below are the addons that will help you track objectives, coordinate with others, and reduce wasted attempts.
Pro tip: Before each boss, open IAT’s achievement window and read the specific condition. For complex ones like “Cleansing Treatment” or “How? Isn’t It Obelisk?”, share the instructions with your group via IAT’s chat command. This drastically reduces wipes due to miscommunication.
