Best (and worst) rares added to Shadowlands in Patch 9.1

Shadowlands patch 9.1 added a good number of rares to Korthia and the Maw, but like the daily quests they’re not all created equal. While none of them are quite as annoying to get to as Mor’geth, there are some that feel like they’re practically hidden while others are basically begging to be made a loot piñata. Throw in some weird mechanics (Consumption I am looking at and judging you) and the fact that there are some that don’t spawn daily for reasons that can’t be fathomed, and the experience isn’t as even as the daily quests. The loot is good though, so let’s see who we should kill.

[Article note: as many of the rares on the map are indicated by their event name, I’ve listed them based on that, but linked to the rare that ultimately drops rewards.]

The best rares to beat up for their loot

Best of the Covenant mount-dropping rares: Broken Gatecrasher

We’re starting the list off with an upset, as I probably need to go into hiding for not giving this title to Popo. And while tackling the Wild Worldcracker isn’t bad, I find it hard to speak positively about any escort quest, even if most players just proceed directly to the spawn point.

The Venthyr event has many things going for it, but the aspect I want to highlight is the fact that you don’t need to do anything once you start the event until the rare spawns. The waves of adds don’t attack Drippy and the other Covenant members there — they despawn after about 10 seconds if no one engages them. Even the Stygian Stonecrusher just stands there if no players are around to fight it, but since it drops the goods it probably does need to be killed. Out of the four Covenant events, this one is also the easiest to solo as long as you have some form of self-heal — even a minor one.

Best of the non-Covenant mount-dropping rares: Malbog

Another controversial choice, but frankly the other choices are for this category (Fallen Charger, Konthrogz, and Reliwik) were all vying for placement under the worst rares, not the best. Malbog is itself an annoying spawn — there’s essentially a minigame of following tracks closely through a host of shardhides in order to spawn him, and soloing is tough due to the rapid respawn of the shardhides in that area. Fortunately there tends to be a good number of other players around to jump in and help out, and enterprising individuals have found ways to get Malbog to spawn even on days when the event is not up! Plus shardhide mounts are cute so this one garners a thumbs up.

Best rare to kill if everyone remembers how to interrupt: Kroke the Tormented

While he doesn’t drop a mount, Kroke has a lot to recommend. First off, the spawn point is right by the quest hub, meaning there’s always a good number of players around to jump in and help. Kroke also drops a pair of cosmetic shoulders that help fill out your Maw-themed transmogs. The respawn rate is high, and while there’s no guarantee Kroke will spawn every day it’s up most days and since you’re liable to be nearby anyway it’s not a hard task to wait out. Also cool: it’s worth 25% of completion towards Continued Efforts: Scholar’s Den.

Just make sure all the players who can are interrupting or everyone will die.

Rare I want to hate but can’t bring myself to hate it: Assault Supply Carriage

It’s not up every day. It sometimes bugs out. And it drops you off in the Maw far away from everything else going on. But dredgers are awesome and it’s a blast to ride along with them, so I’m including them with the best rare events. Bonus points to Blizzard for tailoring the event conversation based on which Covenant assault is up.

These rares are just the worst

Rare voted most likely to single-handedly restart the Faction War: Consumption

Consumption evolves twice, from level 60 in the cave, to level 61 outside the cave, to level 62 still outside the cave. While level 62, it can still build stacks even though that doesn’t apparently do anything when it does. Every day it becomes a case of what’s more likely to happen: someone pulls at level 61, or someone resets even though it’s level 62. What is guaranteed is a lot of gestures between the players of the different factions and arguing in the general chat.

The one positive about Consumption: it’s not up every day.

Rares that are fundamentally annoying because of the Rift mechanic: All of them

Don’t get me wrong, I like the Rift: a little world within the world with different objectives and things to do — it’s just the rares that are in there are fundamentally in conflict with Rift mechanics. To get into the Rift, you use a key which you can find out in the world or purchase from Archivist Roh-Suir once you’ve reached level 4 with the Archivist’s Codex. When used at one of the portals in Korthia you have 15 minutes to explore before you get automatically kicked out. If you die you’re kicked out as well.

That last part is why the rares that are persistently in the Rift (Observer Yorik, Guard Orguluus, Blinding Shadow, and Torglluun) are a huge risk to attempt solo or even with a small group. Meanwhile, the other three riftbound rares – Silent Soulstalker, Screaming Shade, and Deadsoul Hatcher – immediately kick you from the Rift if you bring them out into Korthia for others to help fight. So choosing to engage a rare is choosing to potentially end your Rift interval, even if you haven’t accomplished all you want to there yet.

This conflict between hunting rares and hunting chests (both while dodging overpowered mobs) essentially creates a Sophie’s Choice of what to do while riftbound. If admission was made free, or if the only way to leave was voluntarily, this choice would be removed and these rares could be judged more objectively.

Worst rare that is in a cave! With a bunch of gromits!: Zelnithop

Gromits are so cute and cuddly, but I loathe their hop ability, so I try not to fight them for either reason. Getting to Zelnithop, however, means you’re not going to be able to avoid them even while in stealth. That’s not the worst part, though: like real estate, it’s all about location location location. The only rare in the back of a cave in Korthia, placed all the way in the farthest spot on the map, just checking to see whether it’s up is a journey — one with the potential of no payoff because it does not spawn daily. The fact that the main drop is a cute gromit pet is just salt in the wound.

Worst rare: Reliwik the Defiant

I know what you’re going to say. The only reason I am putting Reliwik as the worst on my list is because I’ve killed her close to 200 times and the mount hasn’t dropped for me. While that is what made me consider putting Reliwik here, the real issue is her spawning – or lack thereof.

Reliwik probably spawns the least of all the rares in Korthia, averaging 3 or 4 days each week. The problem becomes, how do you know if she’s actually up that day? If there’s no nest, sure, she’s not up, easy-peasy. But what if there is a nest? Does that mean she’s up that day? No, it doesn’t, because Reliwik and the nest don’t despawn at reset if already up. So even on days where she won’t respawn, you can still get a kill or three in as the ones that were still up at reset can be killed. Then you wait to see if she does respawn normally, though, but there’s no way to know until she does.

The location is also on the discouraging side, as there’s rarely concurrent activities to do there and there’s a fair number of elite mobs hanging around. So you’re sitting there for 30 or 40 minutes waiting. Hoping. Only to be disappointed one way or another because have I mentioned that the mount just won’t drop for me?