I made this Nightshade farming guide to help out players who want to farm the herbs instead of buying them from the Auction House.
There are no herb ranks in Shadowlands, so the only thing that will affect how many herbs you gather is your herbalism skill. You can farm Nightshade with Shadowlands Herbalism skill 1, but you will get more herbs with higher herbalism skill.
Where to get Nightshade?
The Maw is the best place to farm Nightshade because every single herb is Nightshade in the Maw, there is no other herb that grows there.
In Bastion, Revendreth, Maldraxxus, and Ardenweald, Nightshade only has a low chance of spawning instead of other herbs. (like below 5%)
Unlocking The Maw
You have to be level 60 before you can access The Maw, and you also have to complete your covenant's campaign quests. These quests will directly lead you to the Maw, so you will know when you unlock it.
Covenant campaign quests
- Kyrian Campaign - Among the Kyrian - Full Quest list
- Night Fae Campaign - For Queen and Grove! - Full Quest list
- Necrolord Campaign - Loyal to the Primus - Full Quest list
- Venthyr Campaign - Sinfall - Full Quest list
Mounting in The Maw
You can't use normal mounts within The Maw until you finish the Who is the Maw Walker? quest in the new Patch 9.1 quest chain. The quest chain starts with The First Move quest, you will automatically get this quest when you login in after the new 9.1 patch.
Farming Nightshade in The Maw
Farming routes will be different for some classes because if you have an ability like Stealth, Feign Death, or anything that lets you avoid mobs, or reset aggro, you will be able to go to more dangerous parts of the map.
These two routes below are the ones I used for farming. Both of them are good for most classes but I wouldn't recommend route 2 if you have bad gear.
There are a few patrolling elites around The Maw. If you can't get past them, it's usually just best to wait until they pass.
The Maw - Route 1
This route avoids most areas with a high density of mobs, so most classes can use this route. There is usually only 1 or 2 mobs that you will have to fight at each herb.
The Maw - Route 2
This is basically the same route, but it goes through one extra area that has a lot of mobs. It's up to you to decide if it's worth to take the small detour to get those extra herbs.
Farming Nightshade in other zones
Nightshade can sometimes spawn instead of other herbs in Bastion, Revendreth, Maldraxxus, and Ardenweald. So basically if you want to farm Nightshade outside of the Maw, you have to farm other Herbs and hope they will respawn as Nightshade. (low chance, like below 5%)
These routes below are the best because they have the most herbs, so you will have more chances of getting Nightshade.
Route 1
I gathered the most herbs using this route.
Route 2
Not much worse from the first route, but you have to watch your HP while jumping down from the cliffs at the red lines. If you are not at full HP you will probably die. I recommend using a Seraph Tenders if you don't have any self-heal or any way to prevent fall damage. The HP regen from this food is enough to keep you at max health almost all the time.