WoW Forever Raids

World of Warcraft: Forever opens its first raids on December 9, 2026: the new Barrow Deeps and Hyjal Summit, and the original Onyxia’s Lair. Here is what each raid is, how Blizzard is designing raids for Forever, what the 2027 roadmap adds and what is still unknown.

From Blizzard’s What’s Next panel and recap, the Deep Dive recap and developer interviews. Boss names from the BlizzCon demo and tier sets from the beta client are labeled as demo or datamined; both can change. Last reviewed: October 23, 2026.

Raids open: Dec 9; 5 weeks after launch
Raid sizes: 10/20/40; fixed, no flex at first
New raids: 2; plus the original Onyxia’s Lair
Tier 1 sets: 18; datamined, not linked to a raid yet

The first WoW Forever raids

All three raids unlock on the same day, Dec 9: 5 weeks after Forever launches on Nov 4. Blizzard’s recap says the two new raids bring new tier sets and a legendary reward it will reveal in full later.

The Barrow Deeps

Deep below the night elves’ barrow dens

10 players
Max level
New raid

A place sacred to the night elves. Barrow dens are scattered across the land, and their winding tunnels are said to lead to one pivotal place, the Barrow Deeps; no one knows how far or how deep they run. The night elves keep some of their most dangerous prisoners here, and rumor has it an infamous demon hunter was once held here. Blizzard teased that you might get to see his prison.

The night elves are wary of letting anyone in, allies included, and like the furbolgs of Blackmaw Hold they may be dealing with some kind of corruption. Blizzard plans it as a max-level raid for 10 players.

Three entrances. One is on Mount Hyjal; Blizzard hasn’t named the others, but hinted that the deep tunnels of Blackmaw Hold lead there.

Hyjal Summit

Mount Hyjal

20 players
New raid

At the Battle of Mount Hyjal, Malfurion Stormrage gave up the power behind the night elves’ immortality to defeat Archimonde. Now someone or something is draining the power from the land around Hyjal Summit, and Blizzard hinted that not every night elf agreed with Malfurion’s choice.

Blizzard calls it “by far our largest raid in WoW Forever” without saying by what measure: it is built for 20 players, fewer than Onyxia’s Lair’s 40. The panel described snowy peaks, a raging river through ancient elven ruins and the whispers of ghosts from the Third War. There is “legendary power” to be had, Blizzard says, though it hasn’t shown the legendary yet.

The raid sits on Mount Hyjal, which Forever opens as a new zone: see WoW Forever zones.

Onyxia’s Lair

Dustwallow Marsh

40 players
Original raid

The original 40-player raid opens on the same day as the two new ones. Blizzard hasn’t announced changes to it, and in the BlizzCon demo’s Legacy Challenges Onyxia was still its only boss.

It is the only original raid in the first unlock. Blizzard says Forever starts at the beginning of World of Warcraft, so the iconic raids players know haven’t opened yet and will be rediscovered later; in an interview with The Sun it said Molten Core will open someday, but not now.

How Blizzard is designing raids for Forever

Sizes

Fixed sizes, no flex raiding at first

Mike Nuthals told Kotaku there will be no flex raiding: each raid is built for a set number of players. The September 17 Live Q&A put it more cautiously: Blizzard said it will not be starting with flex raiding, but it wants to support guilds of different sizes.

Small groups

A 10-player raid in every tier

Tim Jones told Kotaku there will always be a 10-player raid in every tier, with its own challenge and rewards, so a group that doesn’t want 20-player raids can keep raiding. In the September 17 Live Q&A, Blizzard went further: every tier has both a 10-player and a 20-player raid, and the 10-player raids have a lot of bosses.

40 players

40-player raids, but not every tier

In the September 17 Live Q&A, Blizzard said 40-player raids are coming, starting with Onyxia’s Lair, but that not every tier will have one.

Difficulty

One difficulty, no level scaling

In the September 17 Live Q&A, Blizzard said dungeons and raids in Forever have a single difficulty. In an interview with But Why Tho?, the developers added that raid difficulty doesn’t adjust itself or scale with your level, so you can out-gear or out-level a raid.

Attunement

No attunement for the first new raids

In an interview with But Why Tho?, the developers said the first new raids won’t need an attunement. Asked about later raids, they didn’t give an answer. On the WoW Forever Podcast episode 3, the designers said the Onyxia attunement stays, per character, “at least at launch”, and that nothing stops you walking into the new raids, though “the full experience” may take “a little digging”.

Tier

Tier pieces across all three raids

In an interview with The Sun, Blizzard said raids come in 10, 20 and 40 players, it wants to encourage different raid sizes, and you can get your tier pieces across all three raids. The goal is to help players find a social group, then grow it.

Loot

A chase item on every boss

Also from The Sun interview: every boss loot table has a chase item with a low drop chance that is “very, very strong”, on the level of The Burning Crusade’s Dragonspine Trophy, so gear at 60 stays relevant.

Items

Buffs for biomes and creature types

Blizzard’s Deep Dive recap says new item effects tie gear to environments such as woodlands, mountains or deserts, and to specific creature types. Michael Nuthals told IGN Nordic you might find a raid item that gives you a speed buff in the desert, or a trinket with extra damage against dragons or dwarves; biomes and creature types, he said, let the team expand progression horizontally. In an interview with Sportskeeda, the developers said items may carry effects for forests, mountains or underground areas, and bonuses against creature types such as worgen, dwarves or dragons.

Progression

Slower gear upgrades

Blizzard wants older raids to stay worth running. Tim Jones told IGN later raids will have better gear, but not with Season of Discovery’s jumps in power, and gear from earlier raids, such as the Onslaught Girdle, should stay useful.

Legendary

A legendary reward

Blizzard’s recap says the new raids bring a legendary reward it will reveal in full later, and the What’s Next panel mentioned “our first new legendary” without details. The spring 2027 update adds a new legendary questline.

Encounters

What the first bosses do

On the WoW: Forever Podcast episode 5, lead encounter designer Michael Nuthals said raids should be something you can bring your friends to (“beer and pretzels”), yet still need preparing and calling out, by voice or with pings. His favorites in the first tier: a Barrow Deeps boss where you manage a damage buff that has a cost, another with a pair of spiders, and an undead crocolisk in Hyjal Summit whose possessor pops out, so the fight goes back and forth between two phases.

Old raids

Molten Core won’t be the old fight

On the same episode Josh Greenfield said Molten Core gets new mechanics: “you’re not just going to stand there and tank and spank Golemagg”, and he recalled that BlizzCon called the old raids revamped or reimagined. He didn’t say what changes or when it opens.

Transmog

Raid epics: the look is the looter’s

An epic raid drop grants its appearance only to the player it binds to, so loot decisions stay with the raid group. Dungeon greens and blues, by contrast, share their look with everyone eligible to loot them.

Groups

Same ruleset, same faction

You raid with players who chose the same ruleset: there is no grouping across rulesets, and Horde and Alliance can’t group. In the September 17 Live Q&A, Blizzard said there is no cross-faction play, because the Horde and the Alliance are enemies. Meeting stones don’t summon, so without a warlock you travel to the raid yourself.

WoW Forever raid roadmap for 2026 and 2027

Nov 4, 2026
Forever launches
No raids yet on launch day.
Dec 9, 2026
First raids unlock
The Barrow Deeps (10 players), Hyjal Summit (20) and Onyxia’s Lair (40).
Spring 2027
Major update: two new raids
One for 10 players and one for 20, with two new dungeons, a new legendary questline, new quests and a playable area, and a PvP season refresh.
Summer 2027
Major update: a new raid and a revamped iconic raid
Blizzard hasn’t named either raid. The update also brings two new dungeons, more world content, a PvP season refresh and profession and Legacy updates.

From Blizzard’s roadmap graphic, which notes that content and timing can change. About the PvP season refreshes: in the September 17 Live Q&A, Blizzard said Forever will have no rated PvP and will instead have a new PvP progress track that resets every season or tier. Every other date, from the beta to Hardcore, is on the WoW Forever release date page.

WoW Forever tier sets (datamined)

Blizzard’s recap promises new tier sets with the new raids but hasn’t announced their names, bonuses or which raid drops them (Wowhead says a few of the looks were previewed at BlizzCon as Hyjal raid gear). The beta client already holds 18 sets whose bonus spells are named “Tier 1”, found by the community datamine maf2414 and listed by Wowhead as well. Several classes get separate sets by talent tree or role, each set has 6 items, and bonuses come at 2, 3, 4 and 5 pieces. Every bonus of these sets, in full, is on the WoW Forever sets page.

Datamined, not linked to a raid yet. No set record says which raid drops it, and the items have no stats or drop source in the client data. Wowhead expects them to come from the Hyjal raids, because the armor models it found are tagged Hyjal, and it has also found more than forty new weapon models it links to those raids. Names and bonuses can change during the beta.

The datamined bonuses follow one pattern: 2 pieces add a basic stat (hit, haste, spirit or defense); 3 pieces improve a utility spell such as Counterspell, Banish or Barkskin; 4 pieces add damage against one creature type for damage roles, healing for healers or expertise for tanks; and 5 pieces improve a core spell or ability of the class.

The 18 Tier 1 sets in the beta client, by class, with their client names. Datamined, not linked to a raid yet.
Class	Sets (talent tree, role)
Warrior	Battlegear of Glory (Arms, Fury), Battleplate of Glory (Protection)
Paladin	Justice Armor (Holy), Justice Battleplate (Protection), Justice Battlegear (Retribution)
Hunter	Wildstalker Armor
Rogue	Grimstitch Armor
Priest	Vestments of Conviction (Discipline, Holy), Raiments of Conviction (Shadow Magic)
Shaman	The Spiritcaller’s Storm (Elemental Combat), The Spiritcaller’s Rage (Enhancement), The Spiritcaller (Restoration)
Mage	Manaflare Regalia
Warlock	Demonheart Raiment
Druid	Grovekeeper Eclipse (Balance), Grovekeeper Rage (Feral Combat, tank), Grovekeeper Ferocity (Feral Combat, damage), Grovekeeper Raiment (Restoration)

WoW Forever raid bosses and loot

Blizzard hasn’t announced a boss list or loot table for any of the three raids. Replying to a player worried the beta would spoil the game, designer Josh Greenfield (Aggrend) said the team has “a few new tricks” to preserve more of the surprise, without saying what they are or whether raids are part of it. The community datamine maf2414 found no raid map or boss records for Hyjal Summit or the Barrow Deeps in the beta client tables it checked (build 1.60.1.69876), though it notes that empty journal tables and partial NPC data limit that search, so the real bosses and their loot may not be known until the raids open on Dec 9.

In the game, loot stays hidden too. In an interview with MMORPG.com, the developers said you won’t see an item’s stats until it has dropped for you or on your server, so no one knows what the best gear in the first raid is, and there is no Dungeon Journal to look it up.

The only boss names so far come from the BlizzCon demo, where Blizzard Watch read the raid challenges in the Legacy Challenges window. Onyxia was still the only boss listed for Onyxia’s Lair; the names for the two new raids are below.

Boss names in the BlizzCon demo’s Legacy Challenges, as Blizzard Watch listed them. Demo names, not an official roster.
Raid	Names in the demo
The Barrow Deeps	Deepscar Matriarch, Elder Tangleclaw, Khalith the Dreadspinner, Well of Sorrow, Amethrax, Del’lynar Songwood, Ravus and Darlissa, Sonya Darkhallow
Hyjal Summit	Bandalar, Ancient of Decay, Time-Lost Battalion, Sylvestris Dusksong, Old Gloomlurker, Gharalis the Abyssal, Kathris the Haunted, Anara Chillwind, Elder Minderel, Tracker Stillwind, Council of Thorns, Nythus the Dreadmbound (sic), The Wild King

WoW Forever raids FAQ

When do WoW Forever raids open?

December 9, 2026. The Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia’s Lair all unlock that day, 5 weeks after launch. Blizzard hasn’t given a time of day.

Are there raids at WoW Forever launch?

No. Forever launches on November 4, 2026, and the first raids unlock 5 weeks later, on December 9, 2026.

How many players are WoW Forever raids for?

The Barrow Deeps is for 10 players, Hyjal Summit for 20 and Onyxia’s Lair for 40. Sizes are fixed.

Is there flex raiding in WoW Forever?

Not at the start. Mike Nuthals told Kotaku flex raiding is out, and in the September 17 Live Q&A, Blizzard said raids won’t start with flex sizes. Every raid announced so far has a set size.

Will every raid tier have a 10-player raid?

Yes. Blizzard’s designers told Kotaku so, and in the September 17 Live Q&A, Blizzard said every single tier will have a 20-player raid too.

Will WoW Forever have 40-player raids?

Yes, starting with Onyxia’s Lair, though in the September 17 Live Q&A, Blizzard said not every tier will have one.

Do WoW Forever raids have difficulty modes?

No. Raids, like dungeons, come in a single difficulty, Blizzard said in the September 17 Live Q&A. Nor do they scale with level: the developers told But Why Tho? that you can out-gear or out-level a raid.

Do WoW Forever raids need attunement?

Not the first new raids, the Barrow Deeps and Hyjal Summit. The developers told But Why Tho? that the first new raids won’t need an attunement, and didn’t answer for later raids. Onyxia’s Lair keeps its attunement, per character, “at least at launch”, the designers said on the WoW Forever Podcast episode 3.

Do world buffs and consumables work in WoW Forever raids?

World buffs are not usable in raids, and every Classic consumable stays usable, the designers said on the WoW Forever Podcast episode 3. The economy is being tuned so a three-hour raid doesn’t need “40 hours a week” of farming. Every potion, flask and food in the beta client is in the WoW Forever consumables finder.

Is Molten Core in WoW Forever?

Not yet. On the WoW: Forever Podcast episode 5, Josh Greenfield said it will have new mechanics when it comes: you won’t just tank and spank Golemagg. Blizzard says the original iconic raids haven’t opened yet in Forever and players will rediscover them in the future; in The Sun interview it said Molten Core will open someday, but not now. The summer 2027 update has a “revamped iconic raid” Blizzard hasn’t named.

Is Onyxia’s Lair changed in WoW Forever?

Blizzard hasn’t said. It opens as a 40-player raid on Dec 9, and the BlizzCon demo still listed Onyxia as its only boss.

Where is the Barrow Deeps entrance?

It has three entrances. One is on Mount Hyjal. Blizzard hasn’t said where the others are, but hinted that the tunnels of Blackmaw Hold lead there.

What are the WoW Forever tier sets?

Blizzard hasn’t announced them. The beta client has 18 datamined Tier 1 sets of 6 items each, with several classes getting separate sets by talent tree or role, but no record links them to a raid yet and the items have no stats. See the table above.

Can you get tier sets from 10-player raids?

Wowhead’s summary of The Sun interview says you can get your tier pieces across all three raids, which at launch include the 10-player Barrow Deeps. Blizzard hasn’t said which pieces drop where.

What is the legendary in WoW Forever?

Blizzard hasn’t revealed it. Its recap says the new raids bring a legendary reward it will show in full later, and the spring 2027 update adds a new legendary questline.

What are chase items in WoW Forever raids?

Rare, very strong drops on every raid boss, compared to The Burning Crusade’s Dragonspine Trophy, so older raids stay worth running. This comes from an interview with The Sun, not from patch notes.

Who are the raid bosses in WoW Forever?

There is no official list yet. The BlizzCon demo’s Legacy Challenges named 8 bosses for the Barrow Deeps and 13 for Hyjal Summit (table above); treat them as demo names until the raids open.

Is there a Dungeon Journal in WoW Forever?

No. The developers told MMORPG.com there is no Dungeon Journal, and that an item’s stats stay hidden until it drops for you or on your server.

Do raids give Legacy points?

Yes, three, one Legacy point each: defeat Onyxia, all 13 Hyjal Summit bosses and all 8 Barrow Deeps bosses, Blizzard’s Legacy article of September 23 says. See WoW Forever Legacy.

Does raid loot give transmog to the whole raid?

No. An epic raid drop grants its appearance only to the player it binds to. Shared appearances are for bind-on-pickup greens and blues from dungeons.

Can I raid with friends on another ruleset or faction?

No. You can group, run dungeons and raid only with players on the same ruleset, and Horde and Alliance can’t group together; in the September 17 Live Q&A, Blizzard said the two factions hate each other.

Can meeting stones summon you to a raid?

No. Meeting stones open the Looking for Group feature but don’t summon, so you still need a warlock or have to travel, Blizzard’s designers told Kotaku.

Still unconfirmed

Official boss lists and loot for all three raids
What the legendary reward is and where it drops
Which raid drops the datamined Tier 1 sets, and their stats
Raid lockouts and the reset schedule
Whether Onyxia’s Lair changes from Classic
Which later raids need an attunement, and what the “digging” for the new raids involves
Where the other Barrow Deeps entrances are
Which raids the 2027 updates add, and which iconic raid is revamped

Sources

How we choose and check sources