Group content grows across the whole journey. Nine new dungeons bring long-discussed places in the original world to life, from the Hall of Thanes beneath Ironforge to the Shaper's Terrace.
At level 60, raids unlock on December 9: Barrow Deeps for 10 players, Hyjal Summit for 20, and Onyxia's Lair for 40. The first tier offers a raid for every group size, and the Darkspear Islands battleground brings 15-vs-15 PvP.
Nine New DungeonsNew
The new dungeons give you fresh reasons to revisit familiar corners of the world: helping the Forsaken reclaim the Ruins of Lordaeron, investigating strange magical trouble in the City of Dalaran, uncovering titan mysteries in Un'Goro, facing naga and pirates around the Drowned City, and confronting corruption in the depths of Blackmaw Hold.
Every dungeon drop across the game has been re-examined, unique boss items are blue quality, and advanced camping Blueprint recipes drop from specific dungeon bosses.
| Classic Baseline | WoW Forever Overhaul |
|---|---|
| The original dungeon list. | Hall of Thanes, Ruins of Lordaeron, an excavation above Whelgar's Excavation, City of Dalaran, Blackmaw Hold, Drowned City, Krol'dok Stronghold, Alcaz Prison, and Shaper's Terrace. |
Raids on December 9: Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit, and Onyxia's LairNew
Raids open about five weeks after launch. Barrow Deeps is a maximum-level challenge for 10 players, Hyjal Summit brings 20-player encounters to one of Warcraft's most important locations, and Onyxia's Lair returns for 40. New tier sets and a legendary reward come with them.
The roadmap adds two more raids in spring 2027, one for 10 players and one for 20, then a revamped iconic raid and another new raid in summer 2027.
| Classic Baseline | WoW Forever Overhaul |
|---|---|
| Molten Core and Onyxia's Lair as the first raids, both for 40 players. | Barrow Deeps (10 players), Hyjal Summit (20 players), and Onyxia's Lair (40 players) unlock together on December 9. |
December 9 Raids
- Barrow Deeps: 10 players.
- Hyjal Summit: 20 players.
- Onyxia's Lair: 40 players.
Darkspear Islands: A 15-vs-15 BattlegroundNew
Darkspear Islands combines strategic control points with Arathi Basin-style flag captures and defense.
Battlegrounds and PvP content progress you through an Honor ranking system with 14 ranks for each PvP season or patch cycle, with cosmetic rewards and armor with PvP stats. The roadmap includes PvP season refreshes in 2027.
| Classic Baseline | WoW Forever Overhaul |
|---|---|
| Warsong Gulch, Arathi Basin, and Alterac Valley. | A new 15-vs-15 battleground off the coast of Kalimdor. |
Meeting Stones Find Groups Instead of SummoningChanged
Meeting Stones outside dungeons now open a group listing feature, letting you list your group or discover others.
They no longer summon players, so your party travels to the entrance together, unless you have a Warlock. The developers see that downtime as a chance for players to meet and talk.
| Classic Baseline | WoW Forever Overhaul |
|---|---|
| Meeting Stones summoned party members to the dungeon entrance. | Meeting Stones open a group finder where you list and discover groups; they no longer summon. |
Item Stats Stay Hidden Until Something DropsNew
Blizzard told MMORPG that it is obfuscating items across the game. You do not see what an item does until it drops for you or for someone on your server, so a tier cannot be solved on paper before anyone sets foot in it.
There is no Dungeon Journal either, which means boss abilities are learned by meeting them. Blizzard expects the first week of a raid to be genuinely unsettled, with best-in-slot lists assembled by players as drops surface.
| Classic Baseline | WoW Forever Overhaul |
|---|---|
| Stats and boss abilities are published before a tier opens. | Item stats stay hidden until the item drops, and there is no Dungeon Journal. |
What This Changes About Preparation
- An item’s stats become visible once it has dropped for you or on your server.
- No Dungeon Journal, so boss abilities are not listed in the client.
- Best-in-slot lists exist, but they are written after the fact rather than before launch.
Forgotten Loot Finds Its Way to Your MailboxNew
Seen in the beta: when you leave an item behind in a dungeon, it is not lost. It arrives later in your mailbox, in a letter from Rix Xizzix of the Steamwheedle Lost and Found.
In Classic, a Rare or Epic that nobody picked up vanished once the corpse despawned, and the only fix was another run. Forever turns that into a trip to the mailbox.
| Classic Baseline | WoW Forever Overhaul |
|---|---|
| An item left on a corpse is gone once the corpse despawns. | Dungeon drops you forget to loot are mailed to you by the Steamwheedle Lost and Found. |
Dungeon Quests Pay, Dungeon Grinding Does NotChanged
Principal designer Kris Zierhut said the experience from killing monsters inside dungeons has been brought way down, while the experience for completing dungeon quests has gone much higher.
Blizzard's October 1 beta notes trimmed the payout: dungeon quests now give 50% less extra experience beyond a normal quest. They still beat open-world quests, by a smaller margin.
The overall 1 to 60 curve is unchanged, so this is not a slower game. What moved is where your experience comes from: run a dungeon for its quests and it pays very well, run the same one again and again and it no longer does. Blizzard’s stated aim is to send players back into the open world, where they meet each other.
| Classic Baseline | WoW Forever Overhaul |
|---|---|
| Grinding dungeon trash is one of the fastest ways to level. | Kill experience inside dungeons drops sharply, and dungeon quest experience rises sharply. |
How to Read the New Maths
- Pick up every quest attached to a dungeon before your first run of it.
- A first clear with its quests turned in is worth far more than a repeat clear.
- The total experience needed for 1 to 60 has not changed.
Getting Your Group Ready
- Run each new dungeon on the way to 60: they hold re-examined loot and the Blueprint recipes for advanced camp objects.
- Settle your raid roster before December 9: 10, 20, and 40-player raids all open that day.
- Invite a Warlock: with no Meeting Stone summons, a Warlock summon saves your group the trip.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Onyxia's Lair in WoW Forever?
Yes. Onyxia's Lair returns as a 40-player raid on December 9, alongside Barrow Deeps and Hyjal Summit.
What raids come after December 9?
Spring 2027 brings two new raids, for 10 and 20 players. Summer 2027 adds a revamped iconic raid and another new raid.
Where to Go Next
More WoW Forever Changes
- Class and Talent Changes7 confirmed changes
- Race and Racial Changes3 confirmed changes
- World and Leveling Changes8 confirmed changes
- Profession and Camping Changes3 confirmed changes
- Realm, Name, and Legacy Changes6 confirmed changes
- Visual and Control Changes6 confirmed changes
- Browse the complete searchable change database →