Perks N Peeves: Shadowlands: Pets From The Queen's Conservatory (Night Fae)

There are ~8 pets that are shared across the four Covenants, obtained in different ways depending on which Covenant you're in.

This overview explains how to obtain these battle pets as a member of the Night Fae.

Many thanks to @patf0rd for their help testing.

If there's anything I've missed or is incorrect, please let me know, thanks!

Covenant (Sanctum) Feature

The Covenant (or Sanctum) Feature that yields these pets is called The Queen's Conservatory. Think of it as a "talent" for your hall/sanctum, and it can be upgraded multiple times. Each Tier upgrade unlocks additional content and provides bonuses.

Once the feature is unlocked, you'll gain access to what I like to think of as a private garden atop one of the gigantic Ardenweald trees. In addition to growing plants, your ultimate goal is to help the dead (Spirits) grow enough to be able to transition back into the realm of the living (reincarnation).

You'll start out with a modest number of pods and plots to work with. As you apply upgrades more pods and plots will become available.

Each Tier upgrade costs an increasing amount of Reservoir Anima and Redeemed Souls, and will take an increasing amount of time to complete.

For the pets, you'll want The Queen's Conservatory, Tier 2 (Initial Growth) at the very least. This unlocks at least one Wildseed pod that is attached to two Catalyst plots. More is better, of course! Additional information on why this is the case listed below.

TL;DR -
1. Upgrade Conservatory to Tier 2. (if you use your Spirits prior to this is up to you, but not worth it IMO)
2. Get 3 Wildseed Root Grain.
3. Place the 3 Wildseed Root Grain in dirt piles so that all three are touching 2 pods. (see image below, where the #4 is the area you're targeting, so those 3 connecting dirt piles + 2 pods)
4. Make sure the 2 pods have Wildseed Root Grain buffs each. (can click on them to check)
5. Insert the Spirit of your choice into each pod. (each category of Spirit has 2 possible pets each, Prideful = Venthyr-themed pets for example)
6. Wait for however many days for your Wildseed to mature. (can click on the pod to check its buff for time left)
7. Open the mature Wildseed, talk to the Spirit who will spawn a chest. Pet drops from the chest and NOT the Artisan Satchel that also appears in the chest.
8. Repeat until you get all the pets! Good Luck!
(see this list of which Spirits drop which pets)

Conservatory Layout

Queen's Conservatory Tier 4 Layout (click to enlarge)

This is your garden, shown above. At lower Tier upgrades, it will look relatively the same, except there won't be as many unlocked spots. For the image above, I've upgraded the Conservatory to Tier 4 (there's a total of 5 Tiers). To get started on collecting the battle pets, you only need Tier 2.

Important Terms

Anima Catalyst Plot (#1 in image above) - plots where you plant Catalysts
Catalysts - temporary plants that you plant in plots to provide buffs to your Wildseed of Regrowth

obtained by growing Catalyst Seeds or as rewards from quests/dailies, and maybe as drops(?)
3 types:

Temporal Leaves = speeds up growth of pod
Wild Nightbloom = increases yield of drops from chest
Wildseed Root Grain = increases quality of drops from chest

plants only stay active for ~12 hours, but its buff on pod lasts duration of pod growth so no replanting is necessary

Catalyst Seeds - seeds that you grow in pods to get Catalysts

can be purchased from Seed Merchant Daybreak
3 types (similar as above)

Wildseed of Regrowth (#2 in image above) - pods where you insert Catalyst Seeds or Spirits

buffed by any connected plots
Catalyst Seeds and Spirits take varying amounts of time to mature
most pods start out inactive (#3 in image above), but become active as you apply upgrades to the Conservatory
only affected by the *last* type of plant that it was connected to (even if it shows more than one type of buff on the pod)

Spirits - use on pods to "grow" an entity that will be reincarnated

obtained from quests/dailies, and maybe as drops(?)
4 types: Dutiful, Martial, Prideful, Untamed

Uncommon (green) = the base name
Rare (blue) = take above names and add "Greater", i.e., Greater Dutiful Spirit
Epic (purple) = take above names and add "Divine", i.e., Divine Dutiful Spirit
Legendary (orange) = ?? (not sure, haven't tested)

each quality takes a different amount of time to mature:

? days (uncommon)
3 days (rare)
? days (epic)

each type has a different loot table(?)

Pathways - connections between Catalyst plants and Wildseed pods (#4 in image above)

shown by bright blue dirt leading from plot to pod
each pod has a different number of plot connections, starting with 1 all the way up to 4 (requires Conservatory upgrades)

Queen's Conservatory Cache - chest that is rewarded for fully "growing" a Spirit, always drops a satchel, has a chance to drop a (1) cosmetic item

cosmetic items include transmog gear, 8 possible pets, and mounts

Satchels - a bag filled with various crafting reagents, always drops from the chest along with other cosmetic items

different qualities

Common (white) = Novice's
Uncommon (green) = Journeyman's
Rare (blue) = Artisan's
Epic (purple) = ?? (not sure, haven't tested)

different sizes (but this doesn't impact pet drops, so won't list them)

How To

You're looking for the Queen's Conservatory Cache that drops an Artisan's Satchel (doesn't matter what the Satchel size is). This is the chest that has a loot table that contains cosmetic items (includes pets) in addition to the satchel.

(example of a pod with 2 connections, but only 1 currently active)

The Artisan's chest seems to only come from pods that were connected to at least 2 Wildseed Root Grain Catalyst (epic quality) plants. This is why you need a Tier 2 Conservatory (upgrade is called Initial Growth), as it unlocks at least one pod with connections to 2 plots. Less than or zero of this type of connection just isn't enough to produce the Artisan's loot table. See image above for an example of a pod that has 2 connections, but only one Catalyst active (right, with the plant) and an empty connected plot (left).

You'll need to stock up on Wildseed Root Grain Catalysts. Again, these can be grown by inserting seeds into the pods. However, this means taking up a spot that a Spirit could have been used on. I guess you could call this macro'ing lol. Alternatively, these Catalysts can sometimes be the reward for Conservatory quests/dailies. They could also be drops from out in the world, but I haven't tested or experienced this.

Once you've got the Catalysts and Spirits (latter is from Conservatory quests/dailies, and *maybe* drops?), make sure to plant the Catalyst in the plot BEFORE using your Spirit on the pod. If you do it the other way around, the pod won't receive the buff from the plant. You can click on the pod (before using the Spirit on it) to check and make sure it's got 2 Wildseed Root Grain Catalyst buffs.

After your Catalysts have been planted, insert the Spirits into the Wildseed pods, and then wait. And wait. And more waiting. Depending on which quality of Spirit you used, it will take 3-7 days for it to finish growing. The pod will have a buff that shows how much time is left.

Because any quality of Spirit can produce the Artisan's loot table, so long as it was connected to Wildseed Root Grain Catalyst x2, using an Uncommon Spirit might be the way to go. They take the least amount of time to mature (3 days), which means more chances at pet drops. However, it's possible that higher quality Spirits have an increased chance for cosmetic drops (I can't confirm, haven't tested enough). It's up to you which you want to focus on: faster turn-over time with lower chance on cosmetic (pet) drops, or longer turn-over with possibly higher chance on drops.

Plant enough Catalysts and Spirits and you'll get your pets! ...Eventually lol. May RNG be kind.

Conservatory Bonuses

This section doesn't impact getting the pets. They're just fun bits of trivia about the Conservatory area.

fishing nodes (I saw multiple Iridescent Amberjack Schools, but other types of fish could spawn?)
the skybox is GORGEOUS
the view is breathtaking (you're on top of a huge tree, view is way above the treeline)
private and secluded area just for you (AFAIK)
calming ambient noises, perfect spot to AFK or idle in peace
invisible wall, you can't fall off (this might be a negative for some people lol)