WoW Shadowlands is contending to be one of the best World of Warcraft expansions in recent memory, and that's due in part to the well done first raid, Castle Nathria.
Here's everything you need to know about Castle Nathria, and the second Shadowlands raid that fans are now looking forward to - Sanctum of Domination.
Latest News - Shadowlands' new raid Sanctum of Domination is Coming
WoW Shadowlands has been an eventful expansion so far, and we still haven't even moved on from its first raid just yet.
The upcoming Shadowlands 9.1 update will push the expansion further than any patch before it, though, adding the new raid Sanctum of Domination along with plenty more.
To learn more about Sanctum of Domination before launch day, read over it all here.
Mythic World First Race is Complete!
The Castle Nathria Mythic World First race has finally come to a close with two guilds killing Sire Denathrius so far.
These two guilds are Complexity Limit, and Echo.
click to enlargeIn the end, Complexity Limit managed to clear Mythic Castle Nathria first to become the World First guild!
READ MORE: Castle Nathria Mythic World First Race - Live Updates
This is a massive achievement, taking down the first WoW Shadowlands raid on its hardest difficulty.
Castle Nathria Nerfs
Recent WoW Shadowlands patches have given plenty of Castle Nathria nerfs as well as bug fixes.
click to enlargeThese include overall damage reductions, fixes for boss abilities accidentally repeating, hard to see visuals, and more.
You can read over the Castle Nathria Nerfs in recent WoW Shadowlands hotfix patches here.
Castle Nathria
The first raid of WoW Shadowlands is an iconic one, taking players deep into the dark domain of Sire Denathrius.
click to enlargeHere are the challengers you'll face entering the gates of Castle Nathria.
Bosses
Castle Nathria has 10 bosses. While this will be the usual kill order, some of these bosses can be done in different order depending on your raid's preference.
click to enlargeThe first boss will be Shriekwing.
Shriekwing will involve AOE/line of sight sonic abilities players will have to avoid, bat adds, and blood pools.
click to enlargeThe second boss will be Huntsman Altimor.
Huntsman Altimore has several ranged abilities including a cone players must dodge, and 3 beast pets (Margore, Bargast, and Hecutis) that all have different abilities that players must juggle.
click to enlargeThe third boss will be Hungering Destroyer.
Hungering Destroyer is a massive creature with a single phase - attacking the raid with massive single-target damage abilities and AOE damage fueled by energy.
click to enlargeThe fourth boss will be Artificer Xy'Mox.
Artificer Xy'Mox has many mechanics that players will have to use Wormholes to survive, portals that are placed by raid members. This boss has 3 phases based on its health percentage, each with a new relic that activates new mechanics. These mechanics will force the raid to move Wormholes to different locations to survive.
click to enlargeThe fifth boss will be Sun King's Salvation.
Sun King's Salvation will center around restoring the health of Kale'Thas Sunstrider. This fight will feature waves of adds, a mini boss, and two phases based on the health percentage of Kale'Thas Sunstrider.
click to enlargeThe sixth boss will be Lady Inerva Darkvein.
Lady Inerva Darkvein only has one phase, where her abilities will be modified by Anima Containers that fill throughout the fight. Players must empty these Anima Containers while juggling Darkvein's abilities.
click to enlargeThe seventh boss will be The Council of Blood.
The Council of Blood is made up of 3 bosses, Baroness Frieda, Castellan Niklaus, and Lord Stavros. These three bosses will be a bizarre fight in a party environment with a dance floor, Party Foul debuff for players that leave the dance floor, and will have to match the dance moves of their partners throughout the fight. Raids will have to kill each individual boss as they have separate health pools, and the others will heal when one is killed.
click to enlargeThe eight boss will be Sludgefist.
Sludgefist has only one phase, and will work to destroy four pillars around the room and bash into the wall. Players will have to juggle tether mechanics and heavy AOE damage to prevent Sludgefist from destroying the room.
click to enlargeThe ninth boss will be Stone Legion Generals.
Stone Legion Generals includes two different bosses in a three-phase fight. This fight will feature plenty of adds, and tons of randomly targeted damage abilities with devastating consequences for misplay.
click to enlargeThe tenth and final boss of Castle Nathria will be Sire Denathrius.
Sire Denathrius will have three phases based on his health percentage. This fight features tons of AOE damage, random targeting and will require tanks to frequently reposition. Sire Denathrius has an energy bar that players must monitor. When it fills, he will cover a third of the area in a massive aoe damage zone in phase one, summon massive moving swords all around the area in phase two, and summon a copy of himself that casts these abilities in phase three.
Loot
Castle Nathria will drop Item Level 187 gear for Raid Finder difficulty, Item Level 200 gear for Normal difficulty, Item Level 213 gear for Heroic difficulty, and Item Level 226 gear for Mythic Difficulty.
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Like BFA, the last two bosses (Stone Legion Generals and Sire Denathrius) drop stronger loot.
READ MORE:Classic WoW: Naxxramas Attunement Available Now - How to Get Naxx Attuned
Gear from these two bosses will be 7 Item Level higher in each difficulty.
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