Pet Battle Challenge: Wailing Caverns

Since this gauntlet of 11 pet battles is mostly against beast/aquatic/flying pets, it's not too rough if you have a large roster. In short: throw generic mechanicals, moths and whelpings at the earlier fights, and you can save your big guns for the end.

There's an element of randomness with the backline pets for these fights, which makes it hard to do a turn-by-turn guide, but here's a quick rundown through all 11 fights:

STAGE 1: DEVIATE DANGERS

These are essentially "trash" pets that appear randomly as backline pets through the gauntlet. You may want to scout each fight in advance to set your team accordingly; just be sure to scout with pets you're not going to use later.

1) DEVIATE SMALLCLAW (beast) + 2 others
Any mechanical with Minefield should be able to take out the first two pets. I used a generic moth to take out the third pet and didn't take any damage.

2) DEVIATE CHOMPER (aquatic) + 2 others
My moth from the first battle soloed this entire fight.

3) DEVIATE FLAPPER (flying) + 2 others
An Emerald Whelping two-shotted the first pet with Emerald Bite. The last two pets should be easy enough to dispose of.

STAGE 2: SON OF SKUM

4) SON OF SKUM (beast) + 2 others
I used the familiar combo of Clockwork Gnome + a Zandalari pet to beat all three pets. Turret, switch to Zandalari pet, Black Claw + Hunting Party, use until dead, switch back to CWG, finish off the rest of the pets.

STAGE 3: LEGACY OF FANGS

This series of three snake bosses hit a little harder and resist damage better, so they take a little more effort. I had the luxury of multiple Iron Starlettes on my roster, so I was able to burn one here, but there are many mechanicals you can lean on here.

5) PHYXIA (beast boss) + 2 others
I used my first Iron Starlette here, who soloed the entire team. Windup+Supercharge+Windup one-shot the boss, and then windup+windup took care of the backline pets.

6) DREADCOIL (beast boss) + 2 others
I used two more mechanicals here: a Warbot (using Rocket, Minefield and Rocket) to take out Dreadcoil, then a second mechanical with Minefield to finish the rest.

7) VILEFANG (beast boss) + 2 others
I went with a Darkmoon Zeppelin for this fight, using Decoy and Missile, then finished the fight with the same mechanical from fight #6, who had plenty of health left.

STAGE 4: CALL OF THE SERPENT

8) HISS (elite boss) + 2 others

This is one of the harder fights in the dungeon. I went with my second Iron Starlette + Darkmoon Tonk + Emerald Proto-Whelp.

I didn't use Supercharge, as Hiss just resists the extra damage -- you end up dying faster and doing less damage. Instead, spam Windup to chop him down as fast as you can, use Darkmoon Tonk to finish him off (using Minefield to wreck the middle pet), then EmPW to finish up the last pet.

STAGE 5: ECTOPLASMIC GROWTH

Finally, some magic pets, which is actually good news, as you can work some different pets into the mix.

9) GROWING ECTOPLASM #1 (magic boss) + 2 others
I used a Nexus Whelpling and Dark Whelpling, just spamming Tail Sweep against the boss. They were able to take out the whole team, but died in the process.

10) GROWING ECTOPLASM #2 (magic boss) + 2 others
Same story: used an Infinite Whelpling and spammed Tail Sweep, then used Dream Whelpling to finish off the rest.

STAGE 6 / 7: FINAL BOSS

11) EVERLIVING SPORE (elemental) + 2 others

I was surprised how easy this fight turned out to be. Although the spore does heavy backline damage, my Emperor Crab was able to solo this entire fight twice using Whirlpool, Healing Wave and Surge. I had a second crab and mechanical in reserve, they never got used.

There are obviously more options available to get through this gauntlet (I didn't even use Haunt Bomb!), but hopefully this will help anyone who might be stuck. Enjoy your pets!

Guide updated for patch 10.2.2. My guide relied a lot on [npc=81431], but it was changed, so you cannot have [pet-ability=312] and [pet-ability=574] at the same time, which made trash cleaning a breeze. [npc=81431] is still pretty decent for cleaning trash, my new strategy only included him as a backup. I have improved some strategies as well, so, read below.

TL;DR for pets you might want to bring and follow my strategy:

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• [npc=88355] (2,1,2)
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• [npc=62888] (2,2,2) (S/S breed, but can possibly be used with any breed)
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• [npc=71163] (1,2,1) or anything with [pet-ability=652]
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• [npc=86447] (2,1,1)
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• [npc=55367] (1,1,2)
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• [npc=50468] (1,2,2) or [npc=43800] (1,2,2)
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• [npc=69778] (2,2,1)
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• [npc=48609] (1,1,1)
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• [npc=55356] (1,1,2)
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• 2x [npc=62854] (2,1,1)
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• [npc=64899] (1,2,2) (if you don't have a second [npc=62854])
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• [npc=63849] (1,1,1) or any other frog with a similar skill set
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• [npc=97206] (1,2,2) or [npc=68850] are very a solid choice for a 3rd pet for this dungeon
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• [npc=81431] (2,2,2) is a nice backup to have, but not needed any longer
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• Some additional mechanical-type pets, such as [npc=68841] and [npc=77221]
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• Some additional dragon-type pets. Not needed, but you can be unlucky with crits
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Hint: You can fast travel to this instance entrance by speaking with [npc=121602]. He's just inside the pet store in Dalaran.

This scenario have a lot of battles, some of them are easy but you cannot heal along the way, so be sure to have extra pets if you have bad luck with criticals.

The first 2 battles are easy. Bring a [npc=88355] (2,1,2). The other 2 pets should be disposable low level pets, because these trash will AoE and you don't really need another pet. The strategy is to use [pet-ability=312] on cooldown, then use [pet-ability=504] to kill enemy pets. Use [pet-ability=922] to heal up incoming damage whenever available. Do take advantage of your pet speed. If an enemy is with low HP, kill it instead of healing. You can always heal in the following round. Having [npc=97206] as a backup pet is advisable after the second fight.

For the 3rd battle, bring [npc=62888]. Use [pet-ability=463], followed up by [pet-ability=461] and [pet-ability=299] when everything else is on CD. Enemy will be blinded often, so you can most likely kill them all this way. If not, your 2nd and 3rd pets can easily finish it. As always, I recommend having [npc=97206] in the back row.

Next is Son of Skum. I have found that a working strategy is to use [pet-ability=652] from [npc=71163] (or any other available pet) followed by [npc=86447] with [pet-ability=919] and [pet-ability=581]. This will make the boss melt. [npc=86447] can pretty much kill everything else, but if not, bring your backup pets to finish the job.

Next you'll face Phyxia, bring a [npc=55367] (1,1,2). Use [pet-ability=647] and [pet-ability=334] on cooldown. Spam [pet-ability=777] afterwards. You should be able to clear the entire fight with [npc=55367], but if there is any left, use any other secondary pet.

Next is Dreadcoil. I used [npc=50468] (1,2,2), but [npc=43800] (1,2,2) is also an option. Bring another mechanical pet just in case, your first pet should clear almost everything. Use [pet-ability=279] (or [pet-ability=208]), [pet-ability=116] (or [pet-ability=384]) and then [pet-ability=387] (or [pet-ability=644]). Afterwards spam [pet-ability=116] (or [pet-ability=384]) until your first pet dies. Use the secondary mechanic to finish things off if the first one ever dies.

For Vilefang bring [npc=69778] (2,2,1) and [npc=48609] (1,1,1). Start with [pet-ability=901], [pet-ability=204] then bring [npc=48609], which will use [pet-ability=710] and then [pet-ability=278]. Vilefang should die, just spam [pet-ability=384] until clockwork die and them finish off with your third pet.

Next is Hiss. Bring [npc=55356] (1,1,2) and two other pets, can be a mechanical for backup. Start with [pet-ability=646] and spam [pet-ability=777] until either the tonk is about to die in the next attack or if the boss gets to 500 HP, then cast [pet-ability=209]. Finish off the smaller pets with your other pets, if needed.

Now you'll face 2x Growing Ectoplasm. For the first, bring [npc=62854] (2,1,1) and another dragon-type pet for backup. Spam [pet-ability=122] until the Ectoplasm is dead. After the Whelping dies, bring your backup dragon pet to finish off the other two trash pets. The 3rd dragon pet won't be used if the Whelping solos the Ectoplasm.

For the second Ectoplasm, the strategy is the same, but if you don't have another [npc=62854], you can use [npc=64899] (1,2,2). Use [pet-ability=334] and them spam [pet-ability=115]. Can't emphasis this enough, but having [npc=81431] in your back row is a guaranteed safe strategy for these fights as well.

Finally, the last boss, Budding Everliving Spore. I did kill him with different strategies, but the one I found most reliable is to bring a [npc=63849] (1,1,1) (or any similar frog with the same skill set) and other two beast pets as backup. I say beasts because the boss will spam [pet-ability=668] (which is weak against beasts). In case you need to use the other pets, their HP will be still good enough. You cannot spam [pet-ability=233] anymore, but that's fine. Just use it and use [pet-ability=118] and [pet-ability=123] in between cooldowns, healing whenever needed. If you're lucky enough with [pet-ability=233], your frog will solo the entire combat. But, in case it don't, use your backup pets to finish it off.

You have to turn in your quest to [npc=116785], but outside the dungeon. For some reason, you cannot turn-in while instanced. She's just outside.

Some basic info:

You get the starting quest at [npc=98725] (A) or [npc=115287] (H) in Dalaran.

You can use a fast teleport to the caverns by speaking to [npc=121602] (elemental pet in the same place).

After first completion of the quest, the weekly one is in the caverns at [npc=116781].

Have fun.