How to Complete the United in Stormwind Demon Hunter, Druid, and Hunter XP Achievements

Welcome, fellow achievement hunters.

Our stay in the famed Alliance city is finally coming to an end, and so now would be a perfect time to take one final look at your progress and decide just which Gameplay XP Achievements from this expansion could be reasonably finished in the little amount of time that remains. The clock is ticking once again. 

The expected timeframe we were working with here turned out to be on point, as we've now received the official confirmation:

Quote From Celestalon

Achievement XP swaps over from United in Stormwind achievements to Fractured in Alterac Valley achievements *tomorrow*, with the 22.0 patch.

Not much of an advanced warning there, and this mention didn't even make it into the published 22.0 patch notes. You might recall the whole confusion that took place at the end of Forged in the Barrens (back then it was all covered by us here): we did not get much information either, and what we got turned out to be wrong as the pre-expansion patch for United in Stormwind came with misleading notes that claimed players would still have an extra week to gather any remaining XP bonuses. Obviously that turned out to be an error, getting people's hopes up only to result in a fair share of anger and disappointment. 

And so we've made the reasonable assumption that Hearthstone team would continue following this philosophy until we hear otherwise. Then it came as no surprise to see this announcement of the pre-expansion patch for Fractured in Alterac Valley arriving as soon as November 30 on Tuesday and disabling all current XP Achievement gains in the process - just like its predecessors had done earlier this year. 

With all of that in mind, we wanted to send a fair reminder to everyone (better safe than sorry!), and provide a few condensed guides to take you through every achievement from United in Stormwind with the Deadmines Mini-Set included. A handful of relevant tips, tricks, and decks, without getting into all the smaller details. We will also include a relative speed rating where 1 = slowest and 5 = fastest, for quick reference. Each achievement has its own section below, so you can always scroll down or do a manual name search if looking for anything in particular. 

• Stormwind XP Achievements Set #1 - Achievements for Demon Hunter, Druid, and Hunter
• Stormwind XP Achievements Set #2 - Achievements for Mage, Paladin, and Priest
• Stormwind XP Achievements Set #3 - Achievements for Rogue, Shaman, and Warlock
• Stormwind XP Achievements Set #4 - Achievements for Warrior and Neutral Cards

A Few Things to Keep in Mind

• One extra small tip for later in the day: as long as you stay in the game even once the patch has been released (and the Battle.net client is ready to update), you would still be dealing with an older Hearthstone version where Stormwind XP Achievements have not yet been disabled. This might buy you a few extra hours at the very least! Just keep in mind that you will eventually get disconnected or kicked out, and the client will require that new 22.0 patch to proceed afterwards. For mobile devices, this "grace period" (before one is prompted to download a new patch) is actually even longer, and you could find the time to finish a few more achievements this way - as long as you don't update your game account version on the desktop (if they don't match, you likely won't be able to log in on mobile anymore until it's also patched).

Certain achievements are very grindy and will require dozens of attempts or cards being played, whereas others can be completed even within a single game or two. We try to mention this as we go. Check your current progress and identify what's in your reach within the time that remains. You may be able to finish playing 30 Deathrattle or Divine Shield minions, but perhaps not something like 100. 

Same as ever, achievements only count for Constructed, Duels, and Arena. For Standard or Wild it's good to stay at a Ranked floor where you can't lose any stars. For Duels, Casual mode is your best free ally.

Stormwind achievements as a whole seem better than many of the ones we faced with Darkmoon and Barrens. So if those discouraged you before or just weren't worth the time, it might be worth to take a closer look again. There are still some overly grindy tasks, but several achievements can be completed quickly and there is far less left to lucky chances or having to worry about pulling off wacky combos. 

If you still don't own some of the required Epics or Legendaries, best to skip any related achievements. It won't ever be worth that dust investment just for a small amount of extra Rewards Track experience. 

We tend to default to Standard format lists with the assumption that many players may not have the necessary older cards, then adding relevant notes for Wild and Duels modes where applicable. There are usually multiple alternatives or directions to take, depending on your entire collection. Let's start off with: 

Demon Hunter Stormwind Achievements - General

Apart from just one exception, United in Stormwind's achievements for Demon Hunter can be described with a single word: grind. This doesn't necessarily mean that it will take you a lot of time or effort, but rather that there isn't much you can do to speed up the process other than sitting on your most comfortable couch and enjoying the ride.

How to Complete the "Drawing Frenzy" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 4/5.

This is what we were referring to when talking about the exception to Demon Hunter's grindy-ness. In fact, even if you own just a single copy of Lion's Frenzy, it won't take you much to earn your XP. What you should consider is that your achievement doesn't necessarily ask you to get 10 attack through your weapon's effect: in fact, buff spells like Relentless Pursuit and Fury (Rank 1) count, and are the easiest way to get the job done.

• If you want to speed things up, you can complete this achievement together with Vengeance Doesn't Come Cheap (see below).
• Wild format note: Twin Slice is absurdly good for this achievement, and for 2 mana it gives you almost half of the attack you need.
• Duels format note: Outlander Demon Hunter is well positioned in the current meta, and it is all about smashing your opponent with Stelina's cute face.

How to Complete the "Even Playing Field" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 2/5.

What you should do in order to guarantee this achievement to progress every time you cast Proving Grounds is to include in your deck only minions with more Health than Attack, and to be precise that minion with the most Attack cannot surpass the Health of your most resilient unit. Here's what we came up with (but you can include pretty much what you want, as long as it respects the aforementioned rule):

• Mulligan for: Proving Grounds obviously.
• Glide is a nice way to get a new hand in case you didn't draw Proving Grounds before turn 6.
• If that's too many minions for your needs, it's fair game to cut some and include more card draw instead.

How to Complete the "Spam Caller" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 1/5.

Deathrattle Demon Hunter is by far the best way to go. Although it hasn't received many new toys since Forged in the Barrens (in fact, the only new addition is Persistent Peddler itself), it's still the most effective way to cheat out your Peddlers.

• If you want to speed up the process, you may consider playing some bouncers like Youthful Brewmaster, or make extra copies with Zai, the Incredible.
• Wild format note: N'Zoth, the Corruptor is great to have, while effects like Augmented Elekk, Zola the Gorgon or Baleful Banker offer further help.

How to Complete the "Vengeance Doesn't Come Cheap" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 1/5.

Just as we said for some of the previous ones: if you want to complete this achievement you just need a lot of patience, and you'll eventually get there. For this, a regular Quest DH list will do, and this is what's been popular lately.

• As we mentioned above, you can easily complete Lion's Frenzy's achievement together with this one, as drawing a lot is literally your game plan.

Druid Stormwind Achievements - General

None of Druid's achievements require you to set up unreliable combos or to rely on pure luck to bring home your XP. In fact, all 4 of them can be easily achieved through normal gameplay, and can be translated to "play what Druid is popular for right now". You can complete three different class achievements with a single (competitive) deck, which is not something all heroes can do. Definitely one of the easiest achievement sets in Stormwind.

How to Complete the "'¿Por Que No Los Dos?" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 2/5.

Jerry Rig Carpenter is definitely one of the most controversial cards of the Deadmines mini-set: the Hidden Oasis bug drove to madness many Wild players, and it took a hotfix to return everything to normal. Memes aside, there are two ways to complete this achievement: you can either play Token Druid (the same as for Everybody Shufflin' below) and use JRC to draw Sow the Soil or go with Anacondra Druid to draw Nourish. Both decks are playable, although the former is definitely cheaper than the latter.

• Moonlit Guidance can give you extra copies of Jerry Rig Carpenter, should you get lucky.
• Power of the Wild, Feral Rage, and Runic Carvings are your other Choose One spells that could be added as a backup. 
• Wild format note: now that's where lots of great Choose One spells reside. 

How to Complete the "Claws Out" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 2/5.

Given that Druid's base Hero Power is Shapeshift, you do not really need any particular card to complete this achievement. Pressing your Hero Power 600 times may be a bit too much to ask when one's short on time, so fortunately for us there are ways to exponentially speed up the process. Long story short, the quickest way to complete this achievement is playing some Questline Druid, as Lost in the Park's Guff the Tough can be duplicated with Solar Eclipse/Mark of the Spikeshell shenanigans for even more progression.

• Wild format note: you know, all these extra Attack cards that exist. To mention Savage Combatant, Secure the Deck, or Gnash.
• Duels note: Forest Warden Omu does have a handy Nature's Gifts hero power. 

How to Complete the "Everybody Shufflin'" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 3/5.

This achievement is perfectly doable in Standard, and if you don't want to play sub-optimally there's also a decent deck out there to use: Taunt Druid. Sure, the archetype has been nerfed in Razormane Battleguard a couple weeks ago, but it's still far away from being unplayable. Your best friend is Vibrant Squirrel: while always keeping it in the mulligan may not be the best choice if you care about your winrate, we advise you to do so to save up some time.

Just make sure to have the right background music while playing.

• Rotten, But Not Forgotten can be completed with the same Token Druid deck as this achievement.
• Mankrik only shuffles one Cast When Drawn spell, but it still works.
• Sheldras Moontree is another Stormwind card that is supposed to work with this achievement: although it's not the quickest way to complete the achievement, you may want to include it in your Clown Druid if that's your jam.
• Wild format note: Ysera, Unleashed shuffles 7 Portals in your deck, so you may as well give her a chance, although this may be one of the most complicated metas ever for you to be playing a 9 mana card for its full cost.

How to Complete the "Rotten, But Not Forgotten" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 2/5.

The deck you want to use to complete this achievement is Token Druid, so if you're interested in knowing more we advise to scroll up and check the Everybody Shufflin' section.

• Composting only provides decent progress if already having a wider board, so better to draw into it naturally rather than try to strictly mulligan for. 

Hunter Stormwind Achievements - General

It's a bit of a mixed bag in terms of swift completion. One quick Hero Power achievement, while the rest requires a number of games to count for that gradual progress. It helps that Monstrous Parrot and The Rat King have separate stages, so you might be able to grab at least some XP even if not completing them fully. Summoning a couple hundred rats does take a while.

How to Complete the "Carrion My Wayward Son" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 3/5.

Trusted pen and paper or a notepad might come in handy to ensure we don't repeat Deathrattles with our Monstrous Parrot. It's a pretty unique design in that way, as for example your Bloated Python won't count more than once - even if it's triggered across different turns or games. Once done, a card goes out of the deck to be replaced by another Deathrattle or more cycle options. Initially this achievement was bugged and didn't count all progress properly.

Fully obliged by law to link to Kansas' immortal song here (also known as the unofficial hymn of TV show "Supernatural"), and to bring up Carrion Grub's flavor text. 

• You could go one step further and eventually remove most Beasts from your deck, so that Monstrous Parrot is found or copied more easily through Selective Breeder or Scavenger's Ingenuity. 
• Duels note: Death Games hero power is useful, but you can't take out cards of your deck as you go and starting with 20 Health can be rather painful.

How to Complete the "How Many Arrows Do You Have?!" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 5/5. 

Super easy with Defend the Dwarven District. Once you drop Tavish, Master Marksman, it's just a matter of having enough spells in hand. It's downright impossible in Standard without the Questline, however (short of finding multiple copies of Aimed Shot). May you never run out of arrows. 

• Wild format note: there are actually roundabout ways with older cards if not owning the Quest. Odd Hunter (Baku the Mooneater) or Justicar Trueheart for improved Hero Power, Clockwork Automaton to double the output, Tour Guide or Fencing Coach to make it cheap, Garrison Commander or Blackwald Pixie if need repeating.

How to Complete the "Line of Succession" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 3/5. 

It's actually not too bad, considering it's very much possible to end up with extra copies of The Rat King and have multiple triggers per game. You usually get to progress "Looking For: Health Inspector" (or "Rats") achievement alongside it. 

I have personally completed this achievement without owning The Rat King, just by discovering it from either Resizing Pouch or Carrion Studies. In the end, I managed to resurrect it 50 times, but I can assure you that I remember that time as one of the most miserable experiences I've had in the game. At this point we simply recommend skipping if you don't own the card.

• Wild format note: cards like Nine Lives or Revenge of the Wild can result in many copies of The Rat King. Swarm of Locusts and similar effects make the resurrecting portion far easier (not to mention infinite Deathstalker Rexxar).
• Duels note: Death Games and Deathstrider is a fair choice here.

How to Complete the "Looking For: Health Inspector" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 1/5. 

Particularly fast it is not. It's the kind of achievement you would like to work on alongside The Rat King one, and so they tend to share decks. Definitely don't bother if you already aren't at least halfway through.

• Wild format note: don't forget your friendly Rat Pack. 
• Duels note: once again it's a good fit for Deathrattle Hunter. 

Closing Words

It's probably not worth trying to chase them all, unless you are a die-hard completionist. Pick and choose based on what looks feasible with only so much time left. Simply playing various modes for the past few months might've brought you close to the finish line of particular achievements. Might not be a whole lot of bonus XP all in all, but it's still good for a few extra packs. 

Any provided speed rating is relative and we could argue about specific numbers (remember we are viewing this from the angle that is Standard format; having certain Wild cards could absolutely change the score for the better). Taking into consideration all the time and effort required to complete these goals, our reasoning was as follows: 

• 1 - Likely too random or too long if your progress is near 0%. If multiple stages, partial completion at least possible.
• 2 - Fairly time consuming, but with a clearer end in sight. Still not a great choice if near 0% progress.
• 3 - Doable with some patience, while not taking terribly long.
• 4 - Rather easy to set up and execute.
• 5 - Basically free XP if you got the cards.

Our community members were once again on point with separate achievement threads for Stormwind and Deadmines throughout the expansion. The special #achievements channel on our Discord server remains open for questions just as well, and we won't miss any comments here either. 

Best of luck if you attempt any last minute achievement hunting. Let us know how many of these have you managed to complete, and whether your final speed runs ended up in any bonus XP gains. Sharing other tips and tricks is also welcome!