When Icecrown Citadel opened in WotLK Classic
Icecrown Citadel opened worldwide on October 12, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. PDT (22:00 UTC). This is the historical Wrath of the Lich King Classic release, rather than an upcoming raid announcement. Blizzard confirmed the global opening in its September 18, 2023 news roundup.
The Phase 4 patch and the raid had different release dates. Patch 3.4.3 arrived on October 10, two days before the raid opened. Players could use the patch's dungeon and interface additions before entering the new raid.
Patch day and raid day were separate
| Milestone | Historical date | What became available |
|---|---|---|
| Patch 3.4.3 | October 10, 2023 | Three Frozen Halls dungeons, Random Dungeon Finder, Defense Protocol Gamma and the Collections interface. |
| Icecrown Citadel raid | October 12, 2023, 22:00 UTC | Twelve encounters across five wings, with Normal and Heroic difficulty. |
The worldwide raid opening was one shared instant; its local calendar date depended on the player's time zone.
What the Classic launch unlocked
The raid's later wings were available immediately at launch, without a weekly wing-opening gate. Heroic difficulty had a limit of 50 attempts per week. The Shadowmourne legendary quest chain was available to Death Knights, Paladins and Warriors.
The official Version 3.4.3 patch notes distinguish the new dungeons from older Gamma dungeons: the three Frozen Halls Heroics received Gamma's additional rewards, but did not receive its additional mechanics or difficulty adjustments.
Last reviewed 2026-10-24 against Wrath of the Lich King Classic Patch 3.4.3 Fall of the Lich King — Maintained by WowCarry's WoW team.
