World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Night Fae Guide — Travel, powers and more

Get back to nature and help spirits reincarnate.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

One of the most significant innovations ofWorld of Warcraft: Shadowlandsis theCovenant system, which lets players choose one of four factions to work with throughout the expansion’s endgame. Each has its cast of characters, zone, quests, and rewards, so choosing who to join can be hard. If you’re a fan of Night Elves, Druids, or the Emerald Dream, you might want to consider the Night Fae.

Who are the Night Fae?

When loa, wild gods, nature spirits, and ancients die, their souls travel to Ardenweald, a beautiful twilight realm where they can be restored and reborn. They are tended to by the Night Fae under the watch of the Winter Queen, who draws power from the land itself. However, like all the realms of the Shadowlands, Ardenweald is experiencing a shortage of anima that is causing its groves to wither and die, weakening the Winter Queen and leaving her realm vulnerable to invasion.

To keep the cycle of reincarnation from breaking down, you’ll need to work with some familiar faces. The shady loa of death Bwonsamdi can help you turn back an invasion by the Drust, twisted druids that would transform the realm in a blighted land of thorns. You’ll also meet the green Dragon Aspect Ysera, who was slain in Legion after being corrupted and transformed into a creature of nightmare. Ysera’s spirit now seeks to heal Ardenweald and help her old friend the Night Elf leader Tyrande Whisperwind before the dark power consumes her she imbued herself with when she swore vengeance after Sylvannas Windrunner, and the Horde burned down her home, Teldrassil.

Wild friends and enemies

Ardenweald is home to numerous fae creatures who nurture Wildseeds, which are used to return strength to ancient souls and prepare them for a new life. Faeries love performing, singing to great spirits to ease their pain. Those same strange songs can lure in lesser creatures, which the mischievous faeries kill and use to make poultices. They’re fickle creatures that can be quick to anger and forgive.

The Winter Queen commands the Wild Hunt, a group of warriors primarily composed of the centaur-like Vorkai. They protect Ardenweald and have recently been forced to enforce the Queen’s decision to let some of its groves die so that others will have enough anima to survive. Similar sacrifices are being made by the satyr-like Sylvar, who work to maintain the cycle of rebirth by creating tools and enchanted items.

The mysterious Tirnenn are the eldest members of the Winter Queen’s court. They’re typically patient and friendly, but when their groves are threatened, they will turn the very land against their enemies. While wandering the zone, you might also encounter the souls of druids, hunters, and other mortals strongly associated with nature, which have been found worthy of spending their eternity in the twilight gardens. They typically take the form of a celestial animal of their choice.

The primary antagonists in Archenweald are the Drust, an ancient enemy of the Night Fae native to the nightmare realm of Thros. They are growing their forces by binding the fae of Archenweald with dark magic and using the withered groves as a way to invade. You’ll also be harassed by Spriggan, native fae who love unleashing chaos and destruction. They’ve gotten even more dangerous recently by serving the interests of Mueh’zala, Bwonsamdi’s rival for the title of loa of death.

Get the Windows Central Newsletter

All the latest news, reviews, and guides for Windows and Xbox diehards.

Covenant powers

All characters that join the Night Fae will gain the power Soulshape, allowing them to turn into a Vulpin and increase their movement speed. Reactivating the power teleports you forward a bit. While the transformation wears off after a short duration when you’re adventuring, you can keep it up indefinitely in rest areas, letting you zip around cities faster. As you proceed through the campaign, you’ll collect other cosmetic forms.

Each character will also gain power based on their class and specialization:

A secret garden

If you join the Night Fae, your base of operations will be the Queen’s Conservatory, a garden where you’ll help restore ancient spirits and prepare them for rebirth. You’ll have access to both Wildseed pods and plots of land where you can plant catalysts that will strengthen the Wildseeds. When you finish restoring a soul, you will receive a reward, which could be resources or cosmetic items like pets or mounts. You’ll need to learn how to best manage the catalysts and Wildseeds to improve the garden’s efficiency, finding ways to reduce the incubation times or improve your rewards.

Additionally, you’ll be able to help repair Marasmius, an ancient member of the Court of Night, who will give you access to a network of Fae Circles you can use to travel throughout the zone quickly. You’ll start by being able to move through mushrooms to the Heart of the Forest, Stillglade, The Stalks, Forest’s Edge, and The Ring. When you’ve increased your Renown enough, you’ll also be able to get to Banks of Life, Elder Stand, Gormhives, and some caves within Ardenweald. Level three of the network gives you access to Crumbled Ridge, Eventide Grove, Tirna Scithe, and some islands near the zone.

You can also spend anima in various areas of Bastion to enable new content based on your priorities. Here are the benefits of restoring each location:

Grow your relationships

Your choice of Covenant also determines which denizens of the Shadowlands willSoulbindwith you, granting you special abilities based on how much Renown you’ve earned within the faction. These are the three Night Fae you can Soulbind with and their powers:

Choose wisely

Keep checking back for more information on the Venthyr and other Covenants and let us know who you plan on joining in Shadowlands!

Get back in the game

The story of Battle for Azeroth is now complete, and you can try to experience as much of it as possible before Shadowlands releases. Having extra gold will also make it easier to get into the expansion.