You know it doesn’t take much to get me back to Uldum if it means hanging out with Harrison Jones, digging up canopic jars or finding that right mysterious camel figurine but a bug mount? The complete Shadowbarb Drone guide starts by looting An Incredible Egg but you can only interact with the egg if you’ve completed the questline that leads you back to King Phaoris, the Ruler of Ramkahen.

An Incredible Egg - Shadowbarb Drone Guide

Stage 1: Egg Stage

It all started out okay, except for a rather annoying giant worm and not bothering to grind another legendary cloak. On day 9, there was less than 300 to go so I was pretty excited for the 10th day… until I wasn’t. By the way, am I the only one who would like to interact with The Reliquary instead of the Explorer’s League every once in a while?

It took eleven days for the egg to hatch into a larva (see video for timestamps)

SHADOWBARB DRONE QUESTLINE (Part 1)
Day 1 – The Incredible Egg & Match The Hatch
Day: 2 – Void Incubation
Day 3: Wrapping Up
Day 4 – Warmth of the Sun
Day 5-6 – Continued Incubation
Day 7 – Encased in Amber
Day 8-10 – Continued Incubation
Day 11 – Coming Out of His Shell and A Balanced Diet

Stage 2: Larva Stage

From there, you’ll need to grind another 5,000 rep with the Aqir Hatchling through feedings and pimping out his playpen.

Shadowbarb Larva  - Shadowbarb Drone Guide

The Shadowbarb Hatchling is rewarded at the end of the larval stage. From there, there’s a daily that summons the hatchling for 10min at a time to help you fight mobs in the zone. The rarer the mobs, the more XP the hatchling receives but the amount doesn’t vary that much.

SHADOWBARB DRONE QUESTLINE (Part 2)
Day 12 – Meat Alternatives
Day 13 – Fetid Filets
Day 14 – Action Figures
Day 15-19 – More Fetid
Day 20 – Bug Buddies
Day 21 – Super Jelly
Day 22 – They Grow So Fast and Aqir Instincts

Shadowbarb Hatchling - Shadowbarb Drone Guide

Stage 3: Hatchling Stage

We get to test the hatchling’s abilities in a pet battle for The Mantle’s Mettle before he grinds out a few more days aiding us in combat. I recommend focusing on the easier mobs so you can kill more things within that 10min period (unless you farm as a group) and don’t die because that automatically completes the task.

Vil'thik Hatchling  - Shadowbarb Drone Guide

On Day 27, we’re offered another training opportunity to test out the Hatchling against a Mogu Statue that was mistakenly animated by the Stoneshapers. The Littlest Defender is the second pet battle in this questline.

Baruk Stone Defender - The Littlest Defender pet battle - Shadowbarb Drone Guide

Two pet battles in a row? Yes, pls! This time he gets to engage Someone His Own Size.

Retinus The Seeker pet battle - Shadowbarb Drone Guide

Another day, another pet battle with Big Bad Beetle.

Aqir Sandcrawler - Shadowbarb Drone Guide

Once this quest was handed in, my hatchling levelled into a fully grown drone.

Shadowbarb Drone pre saddle - Shadowbarb Drone Guide

Final Stage: Shadowbarb Drone

On the final two days, we help the blacksmith acquire some unique materials for a custom saddle. The next day, you can finally ride your Shadowbarb Drone.

SHADOWBARB DRONE QUESTLINE (Part 3)
Day 23 – The Mantid’s Mettle
Day 24-26 – Honing Instincts
Day 27 – The Littlest Defender
Day 28 – Someone His Own Size
Day 29 – Honing Instincts
Day 30 – Big Bad Beetle
Day 31 – A Custom Order, Otherworldly Armaments
Day 32 – My Own Drone

Note: The time it takes complete this questline will vary depending on which assault is up that day. It is possible to complete it sooner if an assault happens to switch (often triggering the next quest in the series).

Shadowbarb Drone mount  - Shadowbarb Drone Guide

It would have been cool to see the pet replicate. You know, Gremlins style. That way, it’d make sense to get the pet and then the mount later on.

Are you looking forward to this new mount grind? I guess the Shadowbarb Drone is the closest we’ll get to a bee mount.

Watch the entire questline including low-level pet battle teams on YouTube.