Jadefang and the Tiny Shale Spider



"I are the green LOL"

 As Deathwing broke free from the Plane of Earth the very crust of Azeroth's earth cracked and boiled, allowing us to travel into Deepholm to explore the fantastical geo-biological life underground. The Shale Spider is one of these fantastical creatures. These critters are generally small and peaceful, mainly found feeding and gathering near crystal and rock formations showing their affinity to the earth.

Shale Spiders are a curious beast, though they are called 'spiders' they only have six appendages as to the eight that their more widely known fleshy cousins have. This could originate from their physical composition, a being comprised of shale, stone, and crystal that would make them hardier and more resilient than your regular everyday spider. We can also assume that the shale spiders live off of the earth and will take on the same mineral makeup of what they are near.

Of all the shale spiders, there is one known to be larger than the rest, and it is made up of a different composition giving it a jade green hue: Jadefang. Jadefang seems to be a mature shale spider, being about ten times larger than any other seen in the wild so far. It lives inside an isolated cave within the Crumbling Depths in the deepest part of Deepholm. Perhaps Jadefang has lived within the Crumbling Depths all its life while consuming or synthesizing with the essence of the green crystals around it that gives it a unique green hue.

Beast Mastery specced hunters looking for a unique Tenacity pet may consider the Hunt for Jadefang. This is quite an easy "hunt" as Jadefang only has one single spawn point, and that the only trick to taming it is actually knowing how to get to its cave.

Taming Jadefang

The "regular" method of taming Jadefang requires that you have the Deepholm/Therazane dailies unlocked by doing the various quest chains in the zone. I believe it this means you have to do the ENTIRE quest chain (go figure). Once that is complete, you have to wait for a certain NPC goblin called "Ricket" to give you a quest called "Underground Economy". Ricket is located several yards into the entrance tunnel of the Crumbling Depths. The reason for this is because the quest giver will give you bombs that you can use to explode yourself up into Jadefang's cave. Jadefang resides at the very back of the cave.

If you've never been in this cave before, or easily get lost in them (such as myself), a written description may prove frustrating. Now if you're like me, and are too lazy to wait 30 seconds for a youtube video to load, perhaps my supreme artistic abilities will come in handy:






"I'm a map LOL"

Here we have a beautiful hand drawn map of the Crumbling Depths. Now to reach Jadefang here is what you do:

1. Talk to Ricket and get his bombs.

2. See the angry mean Gyreworm that is circling the next area? Run past him, past the dead end corner to your right, and run out into the Main Chamber.

3. Once in the Main Chamber, you will see a Green Stone in front of you. Above this Green Stone is Jadefang's hidden cave.

4. To the right of Jadefang's cave you will see a lower ledge, which is accessible by riding through a tunnel to your right and by looping back around. Go find it, its hard to explain!

5. When you are at the Dead End Ledge, mount up and jump onto the Green Stone.

6. Once on the Green Stone, place a bomb in front of you with your back towards Jadefang's cave.

7. Explode, and fly free!

8. If you're lucky, Jadefang will be waiting for you at the back of the cave.

Jadefang is a level 85 elite with over 100K hp, so before you go on a taming spree make sure you are level 85! Also make sure you are in your Beast Master spec, as Shale Spiders are considered Exotic Pets! Now Jadefang can also be killed (as with everything) for the companion pet that it drops, the Tiny Shale Spider. This mini-pet is an exact mini replica of Jadefang.

For myself, I kind of like the "pchaa" whipping sound that Tame Beast makes followed by the assault of mini hearts! Also, I find it hard to be killing a Silver Ringed rare mob that can be a potential companion. I logged out in Jadefang's cave and tamed it one morning, and killed it the next for the pet!


Turby crouches dramatically on a rock in Twilight Highlands with Jadefang with Jadefang Jr.!

Turby the Hunter