Of all the pet battle trainers you can tackle in The War Within, the Awakened Custodian can be one of the trickiest, unless you use the right strategy.
In this article, we’ve picked out the best teams for dealing with the Awakened Custodian, and compiled a few tips to help you find the NPC.
How to win the Awakened Custodian pet battle
The Awakened Custodian is a level 25 battle pet in the Mechanical category. It’s a wild boss battle, meaning you can’t capture the critter after defeating it.
In order to find the Awakened Custodian in The War Within, you need to have completed the introductory quests for the Isle of Dorn and have access to level 25 pets.
You can find the Awakened Custodian sitting above the city of Dornogal. Follow the waterfall up and head to the location shown on the map below. If you’re trying to complete the Safari achievement for the zone, keep an eye out for wild spawns as you fly over.
To battle the Awakened Custodian, all you need to do is select the NPC to enter a battle with it. It’s worth spending some time considering your team before doing this, though, as this enemy hits hard and can one-shot an unprepared team.
You can see the team of battle pets we used to defeat the Awakened Custodian in seven turns in the table below, along with their movesets and how to get them.
| Pet | Level | Slot | Moves | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unborn Val’kyr | 25 | 1 | Shadow Slash, Curse of Doom, and Haunt. | Wild spawn in Dragonblight, Northrend. |
| Zandalari Anklerender | 25 | 3 | Hunting Party, Primal Cry, and Black Claw. | Dropped from mobs on the Isle of Giants in Pandaria. |
| Zandalari Kneebiter | 25 | 2 | Hunting Party, Black Claw, and Leap. | Dropped from mobs on the Isle of Giants in Pandaria. |
To use this team, send out Unborn Val’kyr first, and use Curse of Doom, then Haunt, to apply some stacking damage.
Once Unborn Val’kyr goes down, send in Zandalari Kneebiter and use Black Claw then Hunting Party until the tiny dino is knocked out. By this point, there should be a decent stack of damage on the Awakened Custodian, with the Curse of Doom kicking in around this time.
Finally, send in Zandalari Anklerender. Apply Black Claw once again, then use Hunting Party twice in a row. This will knock out the enemy and win the battle.
Using two Beast pets is admittedly a little risky, as they’re susceptible to boosted Mechanical damage, but the Zandalari dinosaurs from Pandaria are some of the tankiest critters in the category. The combination of Hunting Party and Black Claw makes them invaluable.
It’s possible to sub the Zandalari dinosaurs for other battle pets with similar abilities, like Ikky, the quest reward Kaliri who you can get from the Spires of Arak in Draenor.
Alternatively, using Elemental pets like Lil’ Ragnaros from the in-game shop can make the battle even speedier thanks to the type advantage. Mechanical pets are weak to Elemental attacks, so having pets with this typing or move typing can be a huge help.
Regardless of which pet team set-up you choose to run with, make sure to prioritize stacking damage with attacks like Black Claw and Hunting Party. Be mindful of which pets will get hit the hardest by the mechanical nuisance, and have some battle pet bandages on hand in case things don’t go to plan.
