How to Complete the United in Stormwind Warrior and Neutral 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 conclude this with:

Warrior Stormwind Achievements - General

Pirates and weapons, the usual familiar package. There is some grind and there is some RNG involved in a couple of instances, but there is also at least one very easy and quick option where we can remain in charge. For the most part, even the regular ladder decks can do the job.

How to Complete the "A Pirate's Life For Me" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 1/5.

The notorious life of a pirate is apparently full of tiresome grinding, as attacking enough times with the tribe takes seemingly forever. I know that I've been playing a ton of Pirate Quest Warrior for the past couple months (enough to go beyond Diamond 5 rank twice), and I've barely made it to 250 recorded attacks... The progress on this one is way too slow. 

The only upside of this painful achievement is how it could've been moved along while climbing ladder. 

• Wild format: Pirates get even stronger and cheaper there, with many good synergies for Patches the Pirate & Co. It's a far better choice if you've got the cards, although many players may consider you to be one of those Questline tyrants. Pirates and 'bad' reputation, check! 

How to Complete the "Broadside!" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 2/5. 

You just need that lucky lethal hit from The Juggernaut. It's largely RNG-based, as you can only do so much to control your opponent's Health. If you've got the luxury to set this up and wait, it might even feel easy. Helps if your opponent doesn't like to play minions; Mages used to be the best target. 

Can be achieved by playing any Pirate Quest Warrior deck, naturally. 

How to Complete the "Hammer DOWN!" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 4/5.

Only need to trade Blacksmithing Hammer a few times (it's going to be our mulligan target, along with any cheap Pirates). Slightly adjusted Quest Pirate Warrior still does the job for this one, as Raid the Docks offers a weapon draw for completing its first stage.

But the Questline isn't a strict must, at least. Corsair Cache is just great at tutoring Blacksmithing Hammer, Cutting Class helps thin out the deck further (either with Sword Eater or once The Juggernaut is in play).

• Wild mode: we do have Forge of Souls as another tutor option, and better cards to use overall.

How to Complete the "Why You Bully Me?" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 3/5. 

This one can still take a while (at least a dozen of not-so-fast games on average), as Big Warrior is our only recourse in Standard. All down to re-using Commencement and our brave Cowardly Grunt while stalling just long enough. 

I probably wouldn't attempt it from scratch as that can mean a couple of hours. 

• Wild format: better support tools for the archetype, but also another viable route with using Patches the Pirate instead.
• Duels mode: there is Brewster, the Brutal, and overall Bruising is a far superior hero power.

Neutral Stormwind Achievements - General

This is an all-encompassing category where gradual or even full progress across many achievements just happens by simply playing the game. If you get something completed accidentally, that's usually one of those. Chances are you could still finish a bunch of them even within an hour or two, depending on how far along you happen to be. 

Because there are so many separate small pieces of flexible nature, it wouldn't make much sense to focus on every single achievement here and discuss it with its own deck. Instead, we'll aim to hit as many of them as possible in one grand take, and only separately cover a chosen few that warrant such approach. We may add a simple short note or two for the rest of them where it's applicable.

Completing Various Neutral Stormwind Achievements In One Go

Speed Rating: 6/5? 

To be fair, for most cards and achievements in this category any class and deck of your choice could be adapted to the situation (only in the instance of Mount spells or 0 Attack weapons do we hit some limitations). You could get creative with anything we've shared before in these articles or use a known ladder deck; maybe even try to target a couple of class-specific achievements at the same time.

The deal is simple: something goes in (say Flightmaster Dungar or Goldshire Gnoll), and then goes out as soon as the relevant achievement is marked as completed. We'll provide a couple of deck examples here. 

Personally, I've had a very good time achieving gradual progress across multiple tasks by playing a modified Questline Demon Hunter. Just Standard cards, but courtesy of Wild mode's welcoming Bronze/Silver ranks where I still ended up winning more than half of the games without even trying or ever hitting opponents in the face. Apparently not everyone has enough patience if you just play along with your cards and continue disarming their boards. 

Avalon, on the other hand, claims that the following take on Questline Priest has allowed him to knock out multiple achievements over time. Very spicy. 

• If you're not a fan of either of those or don't have the necessary cards, just settle for your comfort class! Warlock and Shaman are also fine natural choices.

Weapons & Mounts

Speed Rating: 2/5. 

Elekk Mount for Priest is okay as long as you are trying for that class' achievement as well, otherwise kind of too expensive. Kodo Mount in Druid can be quick due to Moonlit Guidance and various Discover effects. Otherwise both Paladin and Hunter currently use Noble Mount and Ramming Mount in their respective ladder decks.

With 0 Attack weapons, probably best to pair with Elwynn Boar Hunter plus the Mage and Warlock class achievements that we've already covered. Spiked Wheel and Sphere of Sapience exist as well. Many Priests on ladder have also started using Shadowcloth Needle.

How to Complete "???" or Gift of Elune Cardback Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: ???

Our dedicated guide for this special achievement can be found here. Still a juicy amount of XP if you've got the patience.

How to Complete the "Return of the King" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 5/5. 

A fitting The Lord of the Rings reference. Varian, King of Stormwind has been deemed most worthy (although perhaps not in Hearthstone's power terms, thus far). But that Diamond animation alone... 

It's very easy with any type of Paladin. Just one and done.

How to Complete the "Magician's Assistant" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 4/5.

Most classes have access to 3 (or even 4) Spell Schools, but it's quite difficult to get your hands on one that can play 5 of them in the same game. Fortunately for us, there are some cases we can exploit in order to get our XP, and Rogue is the class we're going to play.

In fact, Scholomance Academy's Wand Thief is the cornerstone of our strategy. Let us explain what we're going to do:

• You'll have Wand Thief Discover a Mage Fire Spell.
• If you don't manage to get it on the first try, remember that you can always Shadowstep it back for a second roll.
• Once you have found a Fire spell, you just need to cast it along with 4 other different spell schools that are included in your deck.
  • Frost: Brain Freeze.
  • Arcane: Potion of Illusion.
  • Nature: Paralytic Poison, Silverleaf Poison.
  • Shadow: Shadowstep, Cloak of Shadows.
• Play your Multicaster to wrap up the process.

• Mage class has access not only to Fire Spells, but Arcane and Frost as well (or even an instance of Shadow with the updated Mask of C'Thun): if you do not own Potion of Illusion for example, you could always find a fitting Arcane spell through Wand Thief too! Add Youthful Brewmaster if you want to have more chances at this.
• If you own Shadowjeweler Hanar, that could be used as an extra option (Paladin has access to Holy and Shadow secrets, Hunter to Fire and Frost, Mage to Frost and Arcane, plus Rogue's own Shadow Clone).
• Wild format: much Discover, much bounce, and so on. Although random "burgle" cards aren't the most reliable way to go about it.
• Another Wild alternative is to just play Shaman, which has access to 5 spell schools there (but Big Bad Voodoo and Haunting Visions are Epic cards). 

Pack Mule, Enthusiastic Banker, and Coins

A few relevant notes for the purpose of speeding these up:

Encumbered Pack Mule achievement Speed Rating - 3/5.

• Northshire Farmer was clearly made just to assist with the Encumbered Pack Mule achievement. Glide is by far the most superior option for multiplying all your mules, and Demon Hunter has excellent card draw. Moonlit Guidance can help in Druid. Wild mode has the likes of Plot Twist and Baleful Banker.

Enthusiastic Banker achievement Speed Rating - 2/5.

• Priest has Amulet of Undying now and plenty of Deathrattle support. But Demon Hunter is better at tutoring it with Tuskpiercer, and with overall card cycling. Plenty of other ways to make extra copies of the card in Wild. 

Coins achievement Speed Rating - 3/5.

• Besides Mailbox Dancer that's available for everyone, Rogue is the only valid answer here. Loan Shark + Sketchy Information + Counterfeit Blade = profit. It gets even smoother with some Wild cards for support.

How to Complete the "Sneed's New Shredder" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 1/5.

There's no real way to speed up this achievement, other than playing a slow control deck and hoping that your opponent will play minions for you to shoot at. When talking about grindy decks, there's no one better than Kibler: the Dragon Master gave us not one, but two different decks that run Goliath, Sneed's Masterpiece.

On a closing note, this achievement is extremely slow to complete, and since time is running out we advise you to invest it elsewhere with faster XP tasks. 

• Brilliant Macaw does replicate Goliath, Sneed's Masterpiece, but unfortunately it won't count towards the achievement. Learnt it the hard way...
• You can do the usual Druid mana cheating, and even discover extra Goliath copies with Moonlit Guidance. Youthful Brewmaster will work as well.
• Then there is also that small chance of finding another copy with Deeprun Engineer. If you've been playing a lot of Arena before this card got banned there, perhaps you've been able to make some incidental progress on the Goliath front. 

How to Complete the "The Adorable Aspect" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 4/5.

There are two ways you can complete this achievement:

• Discount a Legendary Dragon to 0 thanks to the usual Sethekk Veilweaver/Nazmani Bloodweaver in Miracle Priest.
• Fill your deck with 0 mana minions, play Lady Prestor and hope that RNG will assist you.

We are going to cover only the former of these two methods, as we think it's by far the most reliable to get the achievement done.

Here's the procedure you should follow:

• Get your card generation/mana cheat train going with Sethekk Veilweaver and Nazmani Bloodweaver.
• Reduce to 0 mana either your Brightwing or a Legendary Dragon you Discover from Draconic Studies.
  • Be sure to always keep a Legendary Dragon from Draconic Studies, even if it costs a lot: in the end, your goal is playing it for free!
• Play the discounted Dragon once it costs 0 mana, and collect your XP.

• Wild format: Dragonqueen Alexstrasza to the rescue (the nerf has been reverted once the card rotated out of Standard, so the dragons given once again cost proper 0 mana. 

How to Complete the "The Usual Suspects" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 2/5. 

There are currently 150 collectible 3 mana Minions in Standard, 23 of which are Legendaries. After doing some really basic math, you'll notice that you have roughly a 15% chance to roll a Legendary unit: not a high percentage, but not that low either - we've seen far more unrealistic highrolls!

Our best advice for completing this achievement is to play Stubborn Suspect in a deck that has some synergy with it: namely, we're talking about Deathrattle Demon Hunter, since both Razorfen Beastmaster and Death Speaker Blackthorn can help you putting the suspect card into play.

• Duels note: Hunter's Death Games and Deathstrider can make life easier.

How to Complete the "That Which Has No Life" Stormwind Achievement

Speed Rating: 3/5.

With the infamous reference to the World of Warcraft episode of South Park, Elwynn Boar landed with a thump. Many people just had to try to take the bait in order to wield the ultimate power of the Sword of a Thousand Truths.

This achievement does take a good deal of set-up and requires a bit of patience to appreciate the Boar-ness aspect. Devouring Swarm (and Resizing Pouchto discover more copies) is a great tool in Hunter. And there are plenty more cards to spawn Elwynn Boar after Elwynn Boar. The Legendary cards are not a must-inclusion if you don't have them, it's only extra layers. 

Just hope that your opponent is nice enough not to concede on the spot when you are about to equip and swing with your majestic Boarsword. 

• Resurrect Priest can take care of this Boar-spawning achievement just as proficiently, especially in the Wild mode.

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!