WoW Forever Raids

First Raid Tier: A Raid for Every Roster

Forever opens its endgame with three raids at once instead of a single 40-player gate. Small guilds get Barrow Deeps, mid-sized teams get Hyjal Summit, and full rosters get Onyxia's Lair, all unlocking on the same day and all planned to reset weekly.

Barrow Deeps: 10-Player Raid

A 10-player prison raid under Kalimdor, with eight bosses and three ways in.

The Barrow Deeps held Illidan Stormrage for ten thousand years. Now its passages are open again, and a 10-player raid descends into the fabled prison to learn what became of the ones left behind, and how the wardens plan to contain what still waits below.

Three entrances connect the Deeps to the surface: one from Mount Hyjal, one from Winterspring, and one through the Blackmaw Hold dungeon. Inside, eight bosses guard the prison's depths.

• A 10-player roster suits a smaller guild, a second raid team, or a regular group of friends.
• Blackmaw Hold, the level 55–60 dungeon in Azshara, connects to the raid, so its route is worth learning while you gear.

Hyjal Summit: 20-Player Raid

A 20-player raid across Mount Hyjal, with 13 bosses and branching routes.

Hyjal Summit climbs to the peak of Mount Hyjal, near the World Tree Nordrassil. Thirteen bosses wait across the mountain, and the first is an ancient guardian at its foot.

Past the guardian, the raid chooses its own path. Routes cross ruins above and below ground as you confront the forces threatening Hyjal, and every path leads toward the final encounters.

• With 13 bosses, Hyjal Summit is the biggest raid of the tier. Budget raid time accordingly.
• Branching routes let your raid leader pick the order, so agree on a route before the first pull.

Onyxia's Lair: 40-Player Raid

The 40-player black dragon raid. Every raider needs the Drakefire Amulet.

Onyxia, of the Black Dragonflight and younger sister of Nefarian, guards her brood deep in Dustwallow Marsh while she works to manipulate Azeroth's mortal races.

Her three-phase encounter punishes an unprepared raid with powerful fire attacks. Build fire resistance before you go in, and be ready to reposition as the fight shifts around you.

• Every one of the 40 raiders needs the Drakefire Amulet, so start the attunement long before December 9.
• The attunement runs through Blackrock Depths and both halves of Blackrock Spire, which doubles as gearing for the raid.

The lair sits in Dustwallow Marsh. Before your first visit, each raider needs the Drakefire Amulet: the Alliance chain begins with Helendis Riverhorn in the Burning Steppes, the Horde chain with Warlord Goretooth in Kargath, and both end with General Drakkisath in Upper Blackrock Spire.

Get Raid-Ready Before the Unlock

Five weeks between launch and the first raid night is enough time if you spend it with a plan.

1. Reach 60 and run the dungeons. The level 55–60 dungeons are your pre-raid gear, and the dungeon guide lists every boss and quest.
2. Start the Onyxia attunement early. It runs through Blackrock Depths and Blackrock Spire, so fold it into your gearing runs.
3. Collect fire resistance. Onyxia's fire attacks punish an unprepared raid.
4. Pick your raid by roster size. Ten, twenty, or forty: choose the raid that fits the players you can field every week.
5. Set a weekly schedule. With weekly resets planned for every raid, a fixed raid night keeps the whole team on track.

Common Questions