Destruction Warlock DPS Castle Nathria Raid Guide — Shadowlands 9.0.5
On this page, you will find tips, tricks, and strategies tailored to your Destruction Warlock for each boss of the following raid: Castle Nathria. All our content is updated for World of Warcraft — Shadowlands 9.0.5.
Disclaimer
This page is largely based on Beta information. Multiple bosses may be changed since Beta and thus the advice might not line up exactly with how the bosses look on live servers. If this happens, we will update these bosses as soon as possible so it matches live server.
Introduction
In this section, you will find information and guidance for each boss individually in Castle Nathria as a Destruction Warlock. These are not complete encounter guides, but rather provide specific tips for any Destruction Warlock on each boss.
Talent and Legendary Cheatsheet
We advise to use the following talents on Shriekwing.
- Level 15:
Flashover or
Soul Fire
- Level 25:
Internal Combustion (or
Reverse Entropy, situationally)
- Level 30:
Burning Rush (situational options:
Demon Skin or
Dark Pact)
- Level 35:
Cataclysm
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Roaring Blaze (or
Rain of Chaos, situationally)
- Level 50:
Dark Soul: Instability (situational options:
Soul Conduit or
Channel Demonfire)
We advise you to use the following Legendary on Shriekwing: Cinders of the Azj'Aqir.
We advise to use the following talents on Huntsman Altimor.
- Level 15:
Flashover (situational options:
Eradication or
Soul Fire)
- Level 25:
Reverse Entropy or
Internal Combustion
- Level 30:
Demon Skin or
Dark Pact (or
Burning Rush, situationally)
- Level 35:
Cataclysm (or
Fire and Brimstone, situationally)
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Roaring Blaze or
Rain of Chaos
- Level 50:
Dark Soul: Instability (situational options:
Soul Conduit or
Channel Demonfire)
We advise you to use the following Legendary on Huntsman Altimor: Cinders of the Azj'Aqir.
We advise to use the following talents on Sun King's Salvation.
- Level 15:
Flashover or
Soul Fire
- Level 25:
Reverse Entropy (or
Shadowburn, situationally)
- Level 30:
Burning Rush (or
Demon Skin, situationally)
- Level 35:
Inferno (situational options:
Fire and Brimstone or
Cataclysm)
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Rain of Chaos (or
Roaring Blaze, situationally)
- Level 50:
Soul Conduit or
Dark Soul: Instability
We advise you to use the following Legendary on Sun King's Salvation: Wilfred's Sigil of Superior Summoning.
We advise to use the following talents on Artificer Xy'Mox.
- Level 15:
Flashover or
Soul Fire
- Level 25:
Internal Combustion (or
Reverse Entropy, situationally)
- Level 30:
Burning Rush (situational options:
Demon Skin or
Dark Pact)
- Level 35:
Cataclysm
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Roaring Blaze (or
Rain of Chaos, situationally)
- Level 50:
Dark Soul: Instability (situational options:
Soul Conduit or
Channel Demonfire)
We advise you to use the following Legendary on Artificer Xy'Mox: Cinders of the Azj'Aqir.
We advise to use the following talents on Hungering Destroyer.
- Level 15:
Flashover or
Soul Fire
- Level 25:
Internal Combustion (or
Reverse Entropy, situationally)
- Level 30:
Burning Rush (situational options:
Demon Skin or
Dark Pact)
- Level 35:
Cataclysm
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Roaring Blaze (or
Rain of Chaos, situationally)
- Level 50:
Dark Soul: Instability (situational options:
Soul Conduit or
Channel Demonfire)
We advise you to use the following Legendary on Hungering Destroyer: Cinders of the Azj'Aqir.
We advise to use the following talents on Lady Inerva Darkvein.
- Level 15:
Flashover (situational options:
Eradication or
Soul Fire)
- Level 25:
Reverse Entropy or
Internal Combustion
- Level 30:
Burning Rush (situational options:
Demon Skin or
Dark Pact)
- Level 35:
Cataclysm (or
Fire and Brimstone, situationally)
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Roaring Blaze or
Rain of Chaos
- Level 50:
Soul Conduit or
Dark Soul: Instability (or
Channel Demonfire, situationally)
We advise you to use the following Legendary on Lady Inerva Darkvein: Cinders of the Azj'Aqir.
We advise to use the following talents on The Council of Blood.
- Level 15:
Flashover (situational options:
Eradication or
Soul Fire)
- Level 25:
Reverse Entropy or
Internal Combustion
- Level 30:
Burning Rush (situational options:
Demon Skin or
Dark Pact)
- Level 35:
Cataclysm (or
Fire and Brimstone, situationally)
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Roaring Blaze or
Rain of Chaos
- Level 50:
Soul Conduit or
Dark Soul: Instability (or
Channel Demonfire, situationally)
We advise you to use the following Legendary on The Council of Blood: Wilfred's Sigil of Superior Summoning.
We advise to use the following talents on Sludgefist.
- Level 15:
Flashover or
Soul Fire
- Level 25:
Internal Combustion (or
Reverse Entropy, situationally)
- Level 30:
Burning Rush (situational options:
Demon Skin or
Dark Pact)
- Level 35:
Cataclysm
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Roaring Blaze or
Rain of Chaos
- Level 50:
Dark Soul: Instability (situational options:
Soul Conduit or
Channel Demonfire)
We advise you to use the following Legendary on Sludgefist: Cinders of the Azj'Aqir.
We advise to use the following talents on Stone Legion Generals.
- Level 15:
Flashover (situational options:
Eradication or
Soul Fire)
- Level 25:
Reverse Entropy or
Internal Combustion
- Level 30:
Burning Rush (situational options:
Demon Skin or
Dark Pact)
- Level 35:
Cataclysm (or
Fire and Brimstone, situationally)
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Roaring Blaze or
Rain of Chaos
- Level 50:
Dark Soul: Instability (situational options:
Soul Conduit or
Channel Demonfire)
We advise you to use the following Legendary on Stone Legion Generals: Wilfred's Sigil of Superior Summoning.
We advise to use the following talents on Sire Denathrius.
- Level 15:
Flashover or
Soul Fire
- Level 25:
Internal Combustion (or
Reverse Entropy, situationally)
- Level 30:
Burning Rush (situational options:
Demon Skin or
Dark Pact)
- Level 35:
Cataclysm
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Roaring Blaze (or
Rain of Chaos, situationally)
- Level 50:
Dark Soul: Instability (situational options:
Soul Conduit or
Channel Demonfire)
We advise you to use the following Legendary on Sire Denathrius: Cinders of the Azj'Aqir.
Shriekwing
We advise you to use the following talents against Shriekwing.
- Level 15:
Flashover or
Soul Fire
- Level 25:
Internal Combustion (or
Reverse Entropy, situationally)
- Level 30:
Burning Rush (situational options:
Demon Skin or
Dark Pact)
- Level 35:
Cataclysm
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Roaring Blaze (or
Rain of Chaos, situationally)
- Level 50:
Dark Soul: Instability (situational options:
Soul Conduit or
Channel Demonfire)
We advise you to use the following Legendary against Shriekwing: Cinders of the Azj'Aqir.
Tips
Single-target encounter with 2 phases.
Smart Demonic Circle placement can trivialise the movement
requirements of abilities such as
Earsplitting Shriek and
Echolocation.
During Phase 2, focus on dodging Echoing Sonar.
For more information, please refer to our Shriekwing guide.
Huntsman Altimor
We advise you to use the following talents against Huntsman Altimor.
- Level 15:
Flashover (situational options:
Eradication or
Soul Fire)
- Level 25:
Reverse Entropy or
Internal Combustion
- Level 30:
Demon Skin or
Dark Pact (or
Burning Rush, situationally)
- Level 35:
Cataclysm (or
Fire and Brimstone, situationally)
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Roaring Blaze or
Rain of Chaos
- Level 50:
Dark Soul: Instability (situational options:
Soul Conduit or
Channel Demonfire)
We advise you to use the following Legendary against Huntsman Altimor: Cinders of the Azj'Aqir.
Tips
Council fight with multiple targets and few burst phases.
Try to maximise Havoc windows while not delaying the ability.
Avoid Spreadshot and consider talenting
Dark Pact to
mitigate
Vicious Lunge damage.
Demonic Circle and
Demonic Gateway placement can give
healers more time to handle the
Rip Soul mechanic.
Fear can be applied on
Shades of Bargast to increase the
damage taken through
Destabilize right before bursting them down. Try
to pool resources when that happens and save
Mortal Coil for emergency
heals or to interrupt
Deathly Roar if needed.
Unending Resolve can be used to alleviate the incoming damage from
Crushing Stone should the tank decide to drop a large amount of stacks
from the boss. Use
Demonic Circle to drop Stone shard patches away
from the group when targeted by
Petrifying Howl.
Burning Rush can bypass movement slows during the fight and give
increase mobility but
Demon Skin and
Dark Pact offer much
higher damage mitigation.
For more information, please refer to our Huntsman Altimor guide.
Sun King's Salvation
We advise you to use the following talents against Sun King's Salvation.
- Level 15:
Flashover or
Soul Fire
- Level 25:
Reverse Entropy (or
Shadowburn, situationally)
- Level 30:
Burning Rush (or
Demon Skin, situationally)
- Level 35:
Inferno (situational options:
Fire and Brimstone or
Cataclysm)
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Rain of Chaos (or
Roaring Blaze, situationally)
- Level 50:
Soul Conduit or
Dark Soul: Instability
We advise you to use the following Legendary against Sun King's Salvation: Wilfred's Sigil of Superior Summoning.
Tips
Multi-target fight with frequent adds dying and few priority targets.
Pay attention to boss mechanics that require spreading and the cone that
has to be baited. Use Havoc cleave to bolster your resources and
stack as many
Rain of Fire as possible while getting as many
Immolates rolling when playing with
Inferno. If talented
with
Fire and Brimstone, do not focus on
Immolate after the 5th
and instead use
Incinerate as the main shard generator in order to
cast as many
Rain of Fire, while saving
Havoc to burst down
targets with
Chaos Bolt.
For more information, please refer to our Sun King's Salvation guide.
Artificer Xy'Mox
We advise you to use the following talents against Artificer Xy'Mox.
- Level 15:
Flashover or
Soul Fire
- Level 25:
Internal Combustion (or
Reverse Entropy, situationally)
- Level 30:
Burning Rush (situational options:
Demon Skin or
Dark Pact)
- Level 35:
Cataclysm
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Roaring Blaze (or
Rain of Chaos, situationally)
- Level 50:
Dark Soul: Instability (situational options:
Soul Conduit or
Channel Demonfire)
We advise you to use the following Legendary against Artificer Xy'Mox: Cinders of the Azj'Aqir.
Tips
Single-target fight with multiple mechanics that involve a good amount of movement.
Demonic Circle and
Demonic Gateway can help both you and
the raid placing
Dimensional Tears or moving
Seeds of Extinction.
For more information, please refer to our Artificer Xy'Mox guide.
Hungering Destroyer
We advise you to use the following talents against Hungering Destroyer.
- Level 15:
Flashover or
Soul Fire
- Level 25:
Internal Combustion (or
Reverse Entropy, situationally)
- Level 30:
Burning Rush (situational options:
Demon Skin or
Dark Pact)
- Level 35:
Cataclysm
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Roaring Blaze (or
Rain of Chaos, situationally)
- Level 50:
Dark Soul: Instability (situational options:
Soul Conduit or
Channel Demonfire)
We advise you to use the following Legendary against Hungering Destroyer: Cinders of the Azj'Aqir.
Tips
Single-target fight with various movement phases involved.
When targeted by Gluttonous Miasma, absorbs from both
Soul Leech and
Dark Pact work.
Demonic Circle can be used to help place
Expunge rifts
away from the others, and to nullify the pull from
Consume,
together with
Demonic Gateway.
For more information, please refer to our Hungering Destroyer guide.
Lady Inerva Darkvein
We advise you to use the following talents against Lady Inerva Darkvein.
- Level 15:
Flashover (situational options:
Eradication or
Soul Fire)
- Level 25:
Reverse Entropy or
Internal Combustion
- Level 30:
Burning Rush (situational options:
Demon Skin or
Dark Pact)
- Level 35:
Cataclysm (or
Fire and Brimstone, situationally)
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Roaring Blaze or
Rain of Chaos
- Level 50:
Soul Conduit or
Dark Soul: Instability (or
Channel Demonfire, situationally)
We advise you to use the following Legendary against Lady Inerva Darkvein: Cinders of the Azj'Aqir.
Tips
Demonic Circle and
Demonic Gateway can be used to soak
Bottled Animas relatively efficiently, even if Warlocks are not the
best recipients.
The additional adds spawning from Unleashed Shadow can be used to
generate plenty of extra resources to funnel boss DPS.
For more information, please refer to our Lady Inerva Darkvein guide.
The Council of Blood
We advise you to use the following talents against The Council of Blood.
- Level 15:
Flashover (situational options:
Eradication or
Soul Fire)
- Level 25:
Reverse Entropy or
Internal Combustion
- Level 30:
Burning Rush (situational options:
Demon Skin or
Dark Pact)
- Level 35:
Cataclysm (or
Fire and Brimstone, situationally)
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Roaring Blaze or
Rain of Chaos
- Level 50:
Soul Conduit or
Dark Soul: Instability (or
Channel Demonfire, situationally)
We advise you to use the following Legendary against The Council of Blood: Wilfred's Sigil of Superior Summoning.
Tips
Council fight with periodic movement phases.
Pool resources for when the Danse Macabre happen, in order to get
the most out of
Fancy Footwork stacks.
Dark Recital can be quite annoying to deal with, with limited instant casts
available, especially as Destruction, so make sure to refresh
Immolate in time.
For more information, please refer to our The Council of Blood guide.
Sludgefist
We advise you to use the following talents against Sludgefist.
- Level 15:
Flashover or
Soul Fire
- Level 25:
Internal Combustion (or
Reverse Entropy, situationally)
- Level 30:
Burning Rush (situational options:
Demon Skin or
Dark Pact)
- Level 35:
Cataclysm
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Roaring Blaze or
Rain of Chaos
- Level 50:
Dark Soul: Instability (situational options:
Soul Conduit or
Channel Demonfire)
We advise you to use the following Legendary against Sludgefist: Cinders of the Azj'Aqir.
Tips
Standard single-target fight with enrage mechanism
Pooling resources for Destructive Impact damage amplification phase
is advised.
Dark Soul: Instability matches every other
Destructive Impact for increased burst.
For more information, please refer to our Sludgefist guide.
Stone Legion Generals
We advise you to use the following talents against Stone Legion Generals.
- Level 15:
Flashover (situational options:
Eradication or
Soul Fire)
- Level 25:
Reverse Entropy or
Internal Combustion
- Level 30:
Burning Rush (situational options:
Demon Skin or
Dark Pact)
- Level 35:
Cataclysm (or
Fire and Brimstone, situationally)
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Roaring Blaze or
Rain of Chaos
- Level 50:
Dark Soul: Instability (situational options:
Soul Conduit or
Channel Demonfire)
We advise you to use the following Legendary against Stone Legion Generals: Wilfred's Sigil of Superior Summoning.
Tips
Council fight with periodic adds and multiple phases.
Shattering Blast knockback can be nullified by
Demonic Circle activation. The ability can also be used to get back in
the group after baiting
Wicked Blade outside.
Passively cleave the Goliaths and be ready to swap once they hit 20% health
to burst them down using Havoc on boss instead.
Demonic Circle and
Demonic Gateway can also be used to
facilitate the
Reverberating Eruption mechanic. Due to good passive
and active damage mitigation Warlocks are good candidates to soak
Unstable Ground locations (from
Unstable Footing).
For more information, please refer to our Stone Legion Generals guide.
Sire Denathrius
We advise you to use the following talents against Sire Denathrius.
- Level 15:
Flashover or
Soul Fire
- Level 25:
Internal Combustion (or
Reverse Entropy, situationally)
- Level 30:
Burning Rush (situational options:
Demon Skin or
Dark Pact)
- Level 35:
Cataclysm
- Level 40:
Mortal Coil
- Level 45:
Roaring Blaze (or
Rain of Chaos, situationally)
- Level 50:
Dark Soul: Instability (situational options:
Soul Conduit or
Channel Demonfire)
We advise you to use the following Legendary against Sire Denathrius: Cinders of the Azj'Aqir.
Tips
Multiple phases encounter with a fair amount of movement involved.
Precast Cataclysm on the boss when the group of players is getting
cleaved to spawn Echoes of Sin, and follow up with
Channel Demonfire
if talented.
Demonic Gateway can be used once again to trivialise the movement
required to avoid
Command: Ravage.
March of the Penitent can be mitigated by casting
Burning Rush before boss hits 70% health, reducing the movement speed
penalty at the cost of life.
In Phase 2, Demonic Gateway can be used to reach the 3rd add.Smart
Havoc usage coupled with high
Immolate uptime can result in
a noticeable amount of additional resources.
In Phase 3, Demonic Gateway or even a pre placed
Demonic Circle can help when dealing with
Hand of Destruction,
but the latter is better saved to avoid knockbacks during this last phase.
Changelog
- 27 Dec. 2020: Tier 7 talents suggestions updated to account for a simc update.
- 07 Dec. 2020: Boss guides added.
- 01 Dec. 2020: Added placeholder Castle Nathria page.
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This guide has been written by Motoko, Warlock main since The Burning Crusade, co-admin in the Warlock Discord, and theorycrafter and contributor for LockOneStopShop.
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