How to tame spirit beast Aradan in World of Warcraft: The War Within

A blue gryphon standing on a stone path in World of Warcraft The War Within
(Image credit: Heather N. / Blizzard)

Spirit beast Aradan in World of Warcraft: The War Within takes a few more steps to tame than most hunter pets in the game. Hunters are always searching for new pets to tame and use in combat and fortunately there's a shiny new one in the expansion: a bright blue electrified gryphon named Aradan.

Spirit beasts are especially important pets. While they're only available to hunters with the Beast Mastery specialization, they're also the critters those hunters will use almost all of the time they play in PVE combat, thanks to their special abilities.

So far The War Within only has a single new spirit beast: Aradan, a beautiful blue stormrook/gryphon with lightning effects. But getting him is a bit tricky, requiring some travel and a dungeon detour.

Everything you need to do to tame Aradan is below but here's a quick list of the steps:

  1. Reach level 70 as a Beast Mastery hunter
  2. Dive deep into the ocean northwest of Dornogal (29, 36) and loot the Void-Scarred Stormhammer
  3. Bring the hammer to The Rookery dungeon
  4. Kill the Kyrioss boss and jump down the pit
  5. Turn left and walk up the stairs, past the neutral enemies
  6. Right-click the Void-Scarred Stormhammer and wait for Aradan to land

How to tame spirit beast Aradan in The War Within

Two blue gyphons standing on either side of a Vulpera in World of Warcraft The War Within

(Image credit: Heather N. / Blizzard)

First, make sure that you're level 70, have The War Within expansion and are in Beast Mastery specialization, since you can't tame spirit beasts in any other spec. Next, you'll need an item sunk at the bottom of the ocean, the Void-Scarred Stormhammer (a nifty Warhammer 40,000 reference).

Find it off the coast of Storm's Watch, northwest of the capital city of Dornogal. It looks like it should be in a fatigue zone, but is not - it's a long dive, though! It's a lootable item lying on the sea floor at coordinates 29.0, 36.2 in the Isle of Dorn, and looks like a traditional dwarvish hammer.

Once you've obtained the hammer, you can take a group into The Rookery dungeon in Dornogal on any difficulty, or simply queue for a Follower Dungeon run using the Looking for Group tool. You don't need to complete the dungeon, so you're better off using followers or friends rather than abandoning a group.

Kill Kyrioss, the first stormrook boss in the dungeon, as usual, and jump down using the feathers as you typically would, until you get to the bottom of the pit with the other rooks on ledges. You would normally start killing the enemies to the right as you come out of that area at the bottom. Instead, turn left, walking through the neutral mobs and up the stairs until you emerge on an open balcony.

(Image credit: Wowhead / Blizzard)

You'll see a gryphon labeled Aradan flying, making lazy circles off in the distance, and he's friendly to you. Right-click the Void-Scarred Stormhammer in your bags and you'll assume a heroic pose, holding it aloft for him to see. He'll circle down to you and land, now neutral, so that you can tame him.

Aradan has a number of subtle variations in his beak and his head feathers, and you can tame all five different looks by running the dungeon multiple times. The hammer is not consumed on use, which means you can also use it to help hunter friends. Or tame a matching pair to use with your Animal Companion two-pet talent - they'll even do the pretty gryphon bow/curtsy in unison. Enjoy your new spirit beast!

Contributor

Heather Newman has reported on games for more than 25 years, with an internationally syndicated column and stories in dozens of magazines. In World of Warcraft, her Mythic Plus dungeon team was No. 1 in all-star points in North America for a number of weeks for slightly cheesy reasons. She scored one measly point against Jonathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel in Unreal Tournament and was, exceedingly briefly, top 50 world in Halo.

Read more
A raven holding a charm in its beak
Diablo 4 is getting its first bird pet in Season 7
Monster Hunter Wilds Sandstar - Samin
Sandstar location in Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds Seikret customization - Chick
How to customize your Seikret in Monster Hunter Wilds
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Spirits of the Dalish - Ghost
How to complete the Spirits of the Dalish quest in Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Monster Hunter Wilds' Arkveld, a white whyvern
How to defeat Arkveld in Monster Hunter Wilds
WoW Classic: Season of Discovery
World of Warcraft Classic’s Season of Discovery may be teasing a legendary weapon that players have speculated is in the game for two decades
Latest in World of Warcraft
WoW Classic: Season of Discovery
World of Warcraft Classic’s Season of Discovery may be teasing a legendary weapon that players have speculated is in the game for two decades
Gallywix wears an uneasy smile as he's confronted by Xal'atath in WoW: The War Within.
After 12 days and 100s of wipes, World of Warcraft's latest world first raid ends in anticlimax: 'That's the boss?!?'
A goblin with sharp teeth, wearing goggles, lets out a mischievous cackle in WoW's latest patch: Undermine(d).
The hooligan hacker guild that tore up WoW's newest raid (twice) just posted video evidence of the whole thing, and it's got me feeling weirdly nostalgic
Concept art of WoW's upcoming player housing system, showing a warm homestead with a welcoming figure in shade.
WoW flexes its MMO player housing system in a new blog post, and it really might just beat FF14's dated furniture placement into the dirt
Gallywix wears an uneasy smile as he's confronted by Xal'atath in WoW: The War Within.
World of Warcraft guild uses exploits to get world 'first' on the game's new raid, gets banned, puts its name backwards and does it again
A World of Warcraft dwarf and human character standing in front of the entrance to a delve dungeon
WoW's nerfed its poor Delve companion into a dwarf-shaped crater after his tank spec made them too easy, and people aren't happy
Latest in Guides
Assassin's Creed Shadows allies - A close-up of Yaya smiling after joining the League.
All Assassin's Creed Shadows allies and how to unlock them
Three mobs in their regional forms in Minecraft Spring to Life update
Minecraft Spring to Life update: everything you need to know about the newest drop
Assassin's Creed Shadows Tea Ceremony answers - Naoe about to sip tea from a bowl.
All Assassin's Creed Shadows Tea Ceremony answers
Assassin's Creed Shadows guided exploration - A close-up shot of Naoe with a contemplative expression, inside a dim building.
Assassin's Creed Shadows guided exploration explained
Assassin's Creed Shadows immersive mode - Naoe holding a tanto in her hand as two guards fall to the ground behind her.
Assassin's Creed Shadows immersive mode explained
Assassin's Creed Shadows canon mode - An upper-body shot of Yasuke standing in the hideout.
Assassin's Creed Shadows canon mode explained