Here’s what item level you’ll need to run Castle Nathria — and what item level you’ll get for downing its bosses

So you want to run Castle Nathria. A wise decision! Raiding is fun, and vampires are cool. But we all know the real reason why we all want to raid: the loot, right? So you might be wondering: What item-level loot drops from the first Shadowlands raid? And furthermore, when does it all become available? The expansion itself releases on November 23 — but what about the start of PVE and PVP Season 1?

Fret no longer, my dear reader, for here is all the raid information you need! The gates to Castle Nathria will open on December 8, and wings will be opening until early February.

Normal

Normal difficulty becomes available December 8.

• The first eight bosses drop item level 200 gear
• The last two bosses drop item level 207 gear — which is also the item level for the gear dropped by the four World Bosses.

Heroic

Heroic difficulty becomes available December 8, same as Normal difficulty.

• The first eight bosses drop item level 213 gear
• The last two bosses drop item level 220 gear.

Mythic

Mythic difficulty becomes available December 15, one week after Normal and Heroic difficulties.

• The first eight bosses drop item level 226 gear
• The last two bosses drop item level 233 gear.

Raid Finder

Unlike the other difficulties, LFR opens over the course of several weeks:

• Wing 1: December 15
• Wing 2: January 5
• Wing 3: January 19
• Wing 4: February 2

Your character needs to have an average item level of 170 to be able to queue for the Raid Finder version of Castle Nathria.

• The first eight bosses drop item level 187 gear
• The last two bosses drop item level 194 gear.

And there you have it. Use this release schedule to plan out when and how you want to storm this vampiric castle — and have fun!

Originally published 09/23/2020. Updated 12/03/2020.