Since the early days of World of Warcraft, raids have been one of the main goals for players who reach the maximum level. They offer difficult encounters, powerful gear, and rewards that cannot be obtained from regular leveling content. WoW Forever will continue this part of the game, but the first raid tier will be different from the one players remember from Classic.
The game will launch on November 4, while the first raids are planned for December 9. Two completely new raids will be added alongside the return of Onyxia's Lair, and more raids are already planned for 2027. We'll talk about what raids will look like in WoW Forever in our guide.
Unlike the classic raid progression, where Molten Core and Onyxia's Lair were among the first major raids available at level 60, WoW Forever will start with three different options. All of them are planned to become available on December 9:
Barrow Deeps and Hyjal Summit are completely new raids, while Onyxia's Lair is returning from Classic. Both new raids are designed for level 60 characters and will introduce new raid encounters, tier sets, and a legendary reward. Blizzard has not revealed the complete details about these rewards yet.
The timing is also worth mentioning. WoW Forever will launch on November 4, but players won't be able to enter the first raids immediately. This gives everyone a little more than a month to level their characters, explore the new zones and dungeons, and prepare for the first raid release.
Barrow Deeps is a new 10-player raid located in Mount Hyjal. The Night Elves hold dangerous prisoners inside the location, and players will have to deal with the threats hidden in the depths.
The raid will have eight bosses. This is already confirmed by the Legacy System, where defeating all eight Barrow Deeps bosses is one of the raid challenges. We don't have the final boss list or detailed encounter information yet, however, so there isn't much to say about individual fights at this point.
Barrow Deeps will have three entrances around the world, with one of them located in Mount Hyjal. The exact entrance information and attunement requirements have not been revealed yet.
The raid will become available on December 9 together with Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair.
Hyjal Summit is the second new raid coming with WoW Forever. It is also located in Mount Hyjal, but unlike Barrow Deeps it is designed for 20 players.
The summit is being drained of its power, and players will have to find out what is happening there. Blizzard describes the raid as one of the main new challenges for level 60 characters, with new encounters and a new tier set.
There will be 13 bosses in total. This number is already available in the Legacy System, which has a separate challenge for defeating all 13 Hyjal Summit bosses. The names of the encounters, their order, and their mechanics have not been officially revealed yet.
At the moment, the entrance, attunement requirements, and exact raid rewards are also still unknown.
Onyxia's Lair will return as a 40-player raid and will be available on the same day as the two new raids.
The raid itself should be familiar to anyone who played Classic. It is located in the southern part of Dustwallow Marsh and revolves around the encounter with Onyxia.
However, players shouldn't assume that the Forever version will be exactly the same. Blizzard has not confirmed whether Onyxia's Lair will receive any rework, and the current entrance information is still listed as subject to change. The attunement requirements for Forever have also not been announced yet.
For now, Onyxia's Lair remains a 40-player, level 60 raid with Onyxia as its boss.
The full loot tables for the first raid tier are not available yet. What we do know is that Barrow Deeps and Hyjal Summit will have their own tier sets, while Blizzard has also announced a legendary reward connected with the new raid content. More details about these items will be revealed later.
Raids will also play a role in the new Legacy System. Players can earn three Legacy Points from raid challenges:
These challenges are part of the 65 Legacy Challenges available in the system, with each completed challenge providing one Legacy Point. The points are shared across the account and can be spent on Legacy Perks.
So, raids in WoW Forever won't only be about getting better gear. Completing the first raid tier will also help players progress through the new account-wide system.
The first three raids won't be the complete endgame lineup. WoW Forever is planned as a permanent level 60 version of Azeroth, with new content being added instead of increasing the level cap. Here's what awaits us shortly after release:
There is therefore still quite a lot to discover. Even the first raid tier has several unanswered questions, especially the boss encounters, loot tables, attunements, and legendary reward. Surely, we'll get more information before December 9, and we'll update this article as soon as the developers reveal it.
Don't forget to check out our WoW Forever Announcement overview to learn more about all the novelties and changes the game has in store for us. Also, the WoW Forever Roadmap overview may be useful to you, as it will give you an idea of what to expect in future updates.
