This Week in WoW: Secrets of Azeroth Finale (2023)

Key Takeaways

The week of September 11, 2023 (Dragonflight) was built around the finale of the Secrets of Azeroth event, with the final clues released on September 13.
Secrets of Azeroth was a detective-style hunt: players started with Preservationist Kathos in Valdrakken and worked through 15 daily clues, riddles, ciphers, and treasure hunts spread across Azeroth.
The headline reward was Pattie, a white alpaca mount taught by Pattie's Cap, earned through the Whodunnit? meta-achievement along with the Honorary Preservationist title.
Because the event is permanent, Pattie and the rest of the Secrets of Azeroth rewards are still obtainable today.
The week's bonus activities (September 12) were the Pet Battle Bonus Event, the PvP Brawl Deepwind Dunk, and the Arena Skirmish Event.
Deepwind Dunk is a 15-versus-15 basketball-style Dunkball brawl on Deepwind Gorge, not a capture-the-flag mode.

In the week of September 11, 2023, during the Dragonflight expansion, the big story was the wrap-up of one of WoW's rarer event types: an in-game mystery hunt. Here is what closed out that week, and what is still worth chasing today.

The Secrets of Azeroth Finale

Secrets of Azeroth was a community-wide detective event that ran from late August through September 13, 2023. It was unusual for WoW: instead of a boss to kill or a track to grind, it asked players to solve a chain of puzzles. The trail started with Preservationist Kathos at The Roasted Ram Inn in Valdrakken, and from there players worked through 15 daily clues, a mix of riddles, ciphers, and treasure-hunt steps that pointed to locations all over Azeroth rather than just the Dragon Isles. Each solved clue advanced the meta-achievement, and the whole thing leaned heavily on players sharing findings.

The roundup that week confirmed the last clues would drop on September 13, with the mystery resolving at Tyrhold and the Cache of Cosmic Mysteries. The important part for anyone who missed it: the event never left. Unlike a holiday, Secrets of Azeroth is permanent, so the clues and rewards can still be worked through at your own pace years later.

📌 Still doable today: If you skipped Secrets of Azeroth in 2023, it is one of the few "limited-time" events that turned out to be permanent. You can start it at Preservationist Kathos in Valdrakken and earn every reward, including Pattie, whenever you like.

The Rewards: Pattie and More

The payoff that drew most players was Pattie, a white alpaca mount taught by Pattie's Cap, awarded for completing the Whodunnit? meta-achievement. Finishing that meta also granted the Honorary Preservationist title. Beyond the headline mount, the event handed out a healthy spread of collectibles: the Tobias battle pet, the Blue and Brown Tweed Caps, three toys in the Tricked-Out Thinking Cap, Torch of Pyrreth, and Idol of Ohn'ahra, plus the Tyr's Titan Key weapon transmog appearance.

That mix of a mount, a pet, toys, and a transmog made Secrets of Azeroth one of the better value events of the Dragonflight cycle for collectors, especially since none of it is on a clock.

Weekly Events for September 12

The rest of the week followed Dragonflight's usual bonus-event rotation, with three activities going live on September 12:

Pet Battle Bonus Event: a week of bonus pet-battle experience, a good window to level up the collection of anyone working toward battle-pet achievements.
PvP Brawl: Deepwind Dunk: a 15-versus-15 brawl on the Deepwind Gorge map. It plays like basketball, with Dunkballs spawning at the central and side mines and teams scoring by sinking long-range shots or dunking at the enemy basket. The team with the most baskets when time runs out wins, so it is a scoring race rather than a flag carry.
Arena Skirmish Event: bonus Honor from unranked arena skirmishes, a low-stakes way to warm up comps.

Players who would rather push ranked instead of running casual skirmishes can see our arena rating carries. The Blizzard roundup also flagged a Blues News post for September 15, the usual mid-week community update.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still do Secrets of Azeroth and get Pattie?

Yes. Secrets of Azeroth is a permanent event, not a holiday, so the clue chain and all of its rewards are still available. Start by speaking to Preservationist Kathos at The Roasted Ram Inn in Valdrakken, work through the clues at your own pace, and complete the Whodunnit? meta-achievement to earn Pattie, the white alpaca mount.

What was the final reward of Secrets of Azeroth?

The headline reward was Pattie, a white alpaca mount taught by the item Pattie's Cap, earned by finishing the Whodunnit? meta-achievement. The meta also awarded the Honorary Preservationist title. Secondary rewards included the Tobias pet, two tweed caps, three toys, and the Tyr's Titan Key transmog.

When did the Secrets of Azeroth clues end?

The final clues were released on September 13, 2023, which is why the September 11 weekly roundup framed that week as the finale. The event had run since late August 2023, unlocking a new clue each day, with the mystery resolving at Tyrhold.

Is Deepwind Dunk a capture-the-flag brawl?

No. Deepwind Dunk is a basketball-style brawl on the Deepwind Gorge map, played 15-versus-15. Players grab Dunkballs from the mines and score by shooting or dunking at the enemy basket, and the team with the most baskets at the end wins. Capture-the-flag is a different mode entirely.

What is the Pet Battle Bonus Event?

The Pet Battle Bonus Event is a recurring weekly bonus that increases pet-battle experience for the duration. It is a popular time to level battle pets and chip away at pet-collection achievements, since pets gain experience faster than usual.

How did the Secrets of Azeroth event work?

It was a puzzle-solving event rather than a combat grind. Players investigated a series of clues, riddles, ciphers, and treasure hunts that pointed to spots all across Azeroth. Solving each clue advanced the meta-achievement, and the community collaborated heavily to crack the harder steps, making it one of WoW's most distinctive in-game mysteries.

Last reviewed 2026-06-22 against the Secrets of Azeroth event and Dragonflight weekly events of September 2023 — Maintained by WowCarry's WoW team.