How to Get Arfus and The Lick King Achievement in WoW

What Are Arfus and The Lick King?

Arfus is a ghostly, undead-green dog companion in World of Warcraft, and one of the better gags Blizzard has ever hidden in a pet. The name is a pun on Arthas, the Lich King, crossed with a dog's "arf," and the pet's journal flavor text leans all the way in: "There must always be a Lick King." Collecting Arfus awards the matching Feat of Strength achievement, The Lick King, a direct play on the title of the Lich King himself.

Arfus has been earned two very different ways, which is where a lot of the confusion comes from. There is the Retail World of Warcraft method, tied to a seasonal holiday, and there was a separate Wrath of the Lich King Classic method that has since passed. This guide covers both so you know exactly which path applies to you.

Key Takeaways

• Arfus is a ghostly undead dog whose name puns on Arthas; collecting it grants the Feat of Strength achievement The Lick King, a play on the Lich King.
• In Retail WoW, Arfus drops from the Headless Horseman's Loot-Filled Pumpkin during Hallow's End, added in 2023, at a low chance.
• In Wrath of the Lich King Classic, Arfus was the reward for the meta-achievement Defense Protocol Gamma: Terminated, earned by clearing the Titan Rune Gamma dungeons.
• Arfus began as a 2017 Hearthstone card in the Knights of the Frozen Throne set before becoming an obtainable WoW pet in 2023.
• The Lick King is in the Promotion category of Feats of Strength, so it never expires once Arfus is in your collection.

Here is each acquisition path in detail, the achievement it unlocks, and where this spectral pup actually came from.

How to Get Arfus in Retail WoW

In Retail World of Warcraft, Arfus is a Hallow's End reward. The pet was added in 2023 to the Headless Horseman's Loot-Filled Pumpkin, the bonus-roll satchel you receive for defeating the Headless Horseman in his seasonal dungeon encounter. It is a low drop chance, so most collectors farm the Headless Horseman daily across the Hallow's End window each October to maximize their chances.

Because it lives in the Loot-Filled Pumpkin rather than a one-time promotion, this path is repeatable: if Arfus does not drop one year, the Headless Horseman comes back the next Hallow's End and you try again.

📌 The common mistake is hunting for a single guaranteed source. In Retail there is none; Arfus is a random Loot-Filled Pumpkin drop, so consistency during Hallow's End beats waiting for a one-time unlock.

How Arfus Was Earned in WotLK Classic

Wrath of the Lich King Classic handed Arfus out a different way. In the 3.4.3 update, the pet became the reward for the meta-achievement Defense Protocol Gamma: Terminated. Earning it meant clearing nearly every Wrath dungeon boss with the hardest Titan Rune difficulty, Defense Protocol Gamma, active.

The Titan Rune system was WotLK Classic's way of adding modern-style scaling difficulty to old dungeons, and Gamma was its top tier. That route is now retired along with the Classic timeline that hosted it, so the WotLK Classic path is a piece of history rather than something you can still complete.

The Lick King Achievement

The Lick King is a Feat of Strength, filed under the Promotion category. Crucially, you do not earn it by completing content directly; you earn it the moment Arfus enters your collection, regardless of which path delivered the pet. That makes the achievement a permanent badge tied to ownership, and like all Feats of Strength it cannot be lost once granted.

It is also one of Blizzard's better naming jokes. Pairing a "Lick King" achievement with a slobbering undead dog named after Arthas is exactly the kind of wink that makes a collectible memorable.

Where Arfus Came From: the Hearthstone Connection

Arfus did not start in World of Warcraft at all. He debuted as a card in Hearthstone's 2017 Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion, a Death Knight-flavored beast that fit the set's whole Lich King theme. The character proved popular enough that Blizzard eventually brought him across as a proper WoW companion in 2023, complete with the on-the-nose achievement.

That cross-game lineage is why Arfus feels like an inside joke shared between two Blizzard titles rather than a standard WoW pet drop. The dog was a fan favorite first, and the WoW version is the payoff.

FAQ

How do you get Arfus in WoW?

In Retail World of Warcraft, Arfus drops from the Headless Horseman's Loot-Filled Pumpkin during the Hallow's End holiday each October. It is a low drop rate, so repeated daily kills across the event are the standard approach.

What is The Lick King achievement?

The Lick King is a Feat of Strength (achievement ID 17547) awarded for collecting the Arfus pet. The name is a pun on the Lich King, matching Arfus's undead, Arthas-inspired theme.

How was Arfus obtained in WotLK Classic?

In Wrath of the Lich King Classic's 3.4.3 update, Arfus was the reward for the meta-achievement Defense Protocol Gamma: Terminated, which required clearing the Titan Rune Gamma dungeons. That path is now retired.

What exactly is Arfus?

Arfus is a spectral, undead-looking dog companion pet. His name combines Arthas with a dog's "arf," and his pet-journal flavor text reads, "There must always be a Lick King."

Is Arfus originally from Hearthstone?

Yes. Arfus first appeared as a card in Hearthstone's 2017 Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion. He only became an obtainable World of Warcraft companion in 2023.

Is The Lick King still obtainable?

Yes, through the Retail path. Because the achievement is granted simply by owning Arfus, collecting the pet from the Hallow's End Loot-Filled Pumpkin still unlocks The Lick King today.

What were the Titan Rune Gamma dungeons?

They were a WotLK Classic difficulty system that scaled old Wrath dungeons up with modern-style mechanics. Defense Protocol Gamma was the hardest tier, and clearing its full set of bosses awarded Arfus in Classic.

Last reviewed 2026-06-23 against Patch 12.0.5 Lingering Shadows — Maintained by WowCarry's WoW team.