WoW Forever Raids Guide

Blizzard opens the first tier of WoW Forever raids on December 9, 2026, for level 60 characters. It includes three raids of varying sizes: Barrow Deeps for 10 players, Hyjal Summit for 20, and Onyxia's Lair for 40. Preparation relies on a roster with a bench, the Drakefire Amulet, and pre-raid BiS gear. After the opening, groups can expect weekly lockouts, rare chase items, and 18 tier sets.

Players spend the five weeks between the launch of World of Warcraft Forever on November 4 and December 9 reaching level 60, completing the Drakefire Amulet questline, and collecting pre-raid gear. For new level 60s, our team gathers the amulet, pre-raid BiS gear for their spec, and FR gear for Onyxia in the WoW Forever Raid-Ready Bundle.

Blizzard opens Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit, and Onyxia's Lair for level 60 on December 9, 2026 (five weeks after the November 4 launch), so players have time to reach level 60 and prepare. The World of Warcraft Forever raid list includes three instances:

Onyxia's Lair remains the single Tier 1 raid for 40 players, as it alone came over from Classic. Of the two new raids, Barrow Deeps is smaller, while Hyjal Summit (with 13 bosses) is the largest in the tier. Since the WoW Forever raid release date is the same for all three, progress on each can begin in the first week.

WoW Forever raid sizes are fixed at 10, 20, and 40 players with no scaling. An extra 21st player at Hyjal Summit stays out of the group. Each instance has a single WoW Forever raid difficulty. There are no Heroic or Mythic modes, which Blizzard has no plans to introduce.

The World of Warcraft Forever raid size also determines the lockout, as each raid has its own. Blizzard resets all three instances once a week. Running both Barrow Deeps and Hyjal Summit consumes two lockouts. A character can receive loot from each boss once a week.

Guilds assemble their own WoW Forever raid comp for all 10-, 20-, or 40-player slots, since Blizzard does not give ready-made comps.

This shortage is addressed by the bench and a class plan for each raid:

• 10-player roster - the bench has two or three substitutes, including a healer or a tank. Most classes have one spot here, or none at all.
• 20-player roster - the bench expands to four or five substitutes of various roles. Most classes get one or two spots.
• Dual spec - it unlocks at level 40 and gives a second spec for a backup role.

I recommend building a core team for Hyjal Summit and using that same core to form a Barrow Deeps team so you can cover both raids with the same group of players.

The Classic Era raid composition rules do not apply to the WoW Forever raid comp following the buff and debuff reworks. Class selection is affected by six changes:

• Basic buffs - Blessing of Kings, Divine Spirit, and Improved Mark of the Wild do not require a talent. Battle Shout includes Improved Battle Shout.
• Self-debuffs - Shadow Weaving, Improved Scorch, and Winter's Chill increase the caster's damage. Each Mage has their own Ignite.
• Target's Armor - Expose Armor reduces armor by about five stacks of Sunder Armor and does not block them.
• Warlock Curses - Curse of the Elements affects all magic instead of Curse of Shadows.
• Party Critical Strike - Leader of the Pack and Moonkin Form give the party critical strike and do not stack. I recommend placing two such Druids in different parties.
• Shaman Totems - Windfury Totem and Flametongue Totem buff the party instead of weapon enchantments. You cannot combine Windfury Totem with Grace of Air or Flametongue Totem.

Barrow Deeps is a level 60 raid for 10 players with eight bosses in a prison beneath Kalimdor, where Illidan Stormrage spent 10,000 years. Players descend into the opened passages to discover what has become of those left inside and how the wardens are containing the threat. The tunnels (based on the Night Elf campaign from Warcraft III) are home to the Druids of the Claw and dangerous prisoners. Barrow Deeps has no attunement questline.

Among the eight bosses, the Legacy menu lists Deepscar Matriarch, Khalith the Dreadspinner, and Elder Tangleclaw. Also featured are Well of Sorrow, Ravus and Darlissa, and Sonya Darkhallow. I consider Barrow Deeps a good starting point for a group of friends, since it's easier to gather 10 players than 20.

The Barrow Deeps location has three entrances to the prison beneath the mountain: from Mount Hyjal, from Winterspring, and from the Blackmaw Hold dungeon. This dungeon for level 55–60 characters is located in northern Azshara and is part of the route for pre-raid BiS gear. Players travel on foot from Winterspring through Darkwhisper Gorge to reach the Mount Hyjal zone itself. The Hyjal Barrow Dens with a similar name do not lead to the raid, as this location is part of the retail Mount Hyjal from the Cataclysm expansion.

Hyjal Summit (located near the World Tree Nordrassil at the peak of Mount Hyjal) features 13 bosses for 20 level-60 players (more than any other raid in this tier). Players investigate what is draining the power from the lands surrounding the summit following Archimonde's defeat, when the night elves lost their immortality. The raid begins with a fight against an ancient guardian, after which the group chooses a path through the ruins (either above or below ground). All paths converge on the final fights.

Of the 13 bosses, the Legacy menu lists Bandalar, Old Gloomlurker, and Kathris the Haunted. The same list includes Council of Thorns, Ancient of Decay, and Sylvestris Dusksong. Hyjal Summit is also associated with a legendary item announced by Blizzard.

The level 60 Mount Hyjal zone in northern Kalimdor is considered contested territory. Players reach it on foot from Winterspring (55–60) via Darkwhisper Gorge. Blizzard has designed it to serve as both a leveling zone and an endgame area. Quests in subzones like the Shrine of Aviana, Summit of Eternity, and Tainted Foothills help the forests of Hyjal recover from corruption.

These quests also increase Guardians of Hyjal reputation, which raiders need to reach Revered. Our team brings it up to Revered in the WoW Forever Guardians of Hyjal Reputation Boost, while the entire zone or introductory quest chain is covered in the Mount Hyjal Questline Boost. At this rank, the Rousing Seed Pod lets you wear two crafted tier set pieces instead of one; the recipes for these are sold by Aisarra Nightmeadow.

WoW Forever Onyxia's Lair (designed for 40 level-60 players) features a single boss hidden in Dustwallow Marsh. Onyxia (a Black Dragonflight dragon and Nefarian's younger sister) guards her brood and manipulates mortal races. Her fight consists of three phases with powerful fire attacks. The battle shifts around the raid, that's why the 40 players have to reposition themselves.

Everyone should have the Drakefire Amulet in their bag, though it doesn't need to be equipped. A player without the amulet holds up the entire raid, since they cannot enter the instance. Warriors and Paladins with the Quel'Serrar quest chain should also pack the Unfired Ancient Blade, because their final step requires Onyxia's fire breath.

Blizzard recommends building up fire resistance before entering Onyxia's Lair, but does not specify any FR thresholds. Since Shaman resistance totems in Forever cover the entire raid instead of just one group, all 40 players receive the FR bonus from such a totem. Each player tops up their own FR with a class-specific set made from crafted BoE pieces and BoP items from level 55–60 dungeons. I recommend collecting this set during the same runs as your pre-raid BiS gear, since the BoP items for FR drop in dungeons along the same route.

The quest chains for the Drakefire Amulet differ between the Alliance and the Horde, but both end in Upper Blackrock Spire with a fight against General Drakkisath. Their route matches Onyxia attunement WoW Classic for the most part.

Blizzard recommends starting the quest chain early and setting aside time for high-level dungeon runs. In the Onyxia Attunement Boost, our team completes the entire quest chain or any remaining quests, either with a pilot or in self-play. I would pick up the chain's quests before the first runs for pre-raid BiS gear, since its steps in Blackrock Depths and Blackrock Spire take place in the same dungeons.

The Alliance Drakefire Amulet quest begins in the Burning Steppes with Dragonkin Menace from Helendis Riverhorn. From there, the path takes you through Blackrock Depths, Stormwind, and Upper Blackrock Spire and consists of 11 steps:

Blackrock Depths appears in four steps. Three of them (Marshal Windsor, A Crumpled Up Note, and A Shred of Hope) lead to Windsor. Jail Break! brings him out of the dungeon. For The Great Masquerade in Stormwind, I recommend inviting allies in advance.

The Horde chain begins in Kargath (Badlands) with Blood and Thunder from Warlord Goretooth. It then leads through Blackrock Spire, Orgrimmar, and Desolace. The second half of the journey goes through the Western Plaguelands, Dustwallow Marsh, and Upper Blackrock Spire. In total, the Horde has 12 steps:

Blizzard recommends inviting friends to the chain's elite quests designed for groups. I'd take those same friends to Upper Blackrock Spire to fight General Drakkisath. The Horde brings his blood to Rexxar in Desolace, who then grants the Drakefire Amulet.

World of Warcraft Forever raids hide the stats of new items until the first loot drop, so drop lists are compiled from live bosses. The main hunt is for chase items, of which a boss has one, sometimes two or three. These items (with their low drop rates) are more powerful than regular loot. Kris Zierhut from Blizzard compared them to the Dragonspine Trophy from The Burning Crusade.

WoW Forever raid gear doesn't give a one-size-fits-all set for every spec, since many items are strong against specific types of creatures or in certain environments. Even chase items aren't BiS for every class, so different classes are looking for different drops. I recommend disenchanting excess loot from Hyjal Summit and Barrow Deeps into Malleable Essence of Nature to craft tier sets.

Nine classes share 18 WoW Forever raid sets, since many have their own set for each role. Each of the WoW Forever raid tier sets consists of six ilvl 65 pieces that are BoP. Crafted BoE versions at ilvl 61 with the same bonus are available for all slots except the head and chest, which drop in raids.

A 6/6 set includes all four bonuses, as they are unlocked at 2, 3, 4, and 5 pieces. WoW Forever tier sets for a single class look identical and differ in their role-specific bonuses. I recommend choosing the sixth piece based on its stats, since the fifth piece unlocks the final bonus.

WoW Forever tier set names for classes with multiple roles are the same, although the set bonuses differ. The Grovekeeper, Justice, and Conviction sets share a common name. Spiritcaller and Glory sets are structured the same way. Each class has received between one and four sets:

WoW Forever armor sets for Hunters and Mages are limited to one set per class. Rogues and Warlocks also have one set for all specializations. All three Hunter specializations wear a single WoW Forever Hunter tier set called Wildstalker Armor.

WoW Forever tier set bonuses for 2 and 4 pieces depend on the role. Bonuses for 3 and 5 pieces are class-specific. All new tier sets WoW Forever offers for a single role follow the same pattern, which simplifies class comparisons across the four roles:

• Healer - healer sets give +10 Spirit for 2 pieces. The second role-specific bonus adds up to +26 to healing and up to +9 to spell damage.
• Tank - tanks receive +7 Defense for just 2 pieces. With 4 pieces, the chance that a target will dodge or parry your attacks is reduced.
• Caster - with 2 pieces, the hit chance increases by about 1%. The bonus for 4 pieces gives up to +21 to spell damage against a single type of creature; for the Manaflare Regalia, this is Elementals.
• Physical Damage - attacks and spells gain a speed boost of about 1% for 2 pieces, except for Grimstitch Armor, which instead grants the same percentage to hit chance. At 4 pieces, the set gives +36 Attack Power against a single creature type; for example, Beasts for Wildstalker Armor.

Class bonuses for 3 and 5 pieces reduce cooldowns or enhance abilities. Vestments of Conviction takes 60 seconds off the Fear Ward cooldown. Demonheart Raiment enhances Life Tap, which gives 20% more mana.

Players craft four pieces of the tier set (all slots except head and chest) using Malleable Essence of Nature. There are no other sources for this essence besides disenchanting loot from Hyjal Summit and Barrow Deeps. The process to obtain a piece involves five steps:

1. Armor-type profession - you need a skill level of 300 in Tailoring (cloth), Leatherworking (leather and mail), or Blacksmithing (plate).
2. Recipe from Aisarra Nightmeadow - she sells BoP recipes for the set pieces in Mount Hyjal.
3. Reagents - shoulders, gloves, and boots each require 3 Malleable Essence of Nature; legs require 5.
4. ilvl 61 piece - crafting yields a BoE item, which players without the profession can purchase from a crafter.
5. Artisan's Tier limit - you can equip one such piece. A Rousing Seed Pod obtained at the Revered reputation level with the Guardians of Hyjal raises the limit to two, which is enough to trigger the bonus for 2 pieces.

Our team trades Crafted Hyjal Tier Pieces from any of the 18 sets and Malleable Essence of Nature to those who don't have a profession or the essence. An ilvl 61 crafted piece shares the same bonus as ilvl 65 raid pieces from the same set.

WoW Forever pre raid BiS is the best gear available before raid loot. It's collected from level 55–60 dungeons, crafting, and BoE world drops. The remaining slots are covered by reputation gear and early PvP gear (blue sets obtained with Honor Points starting at level 55). WoW Classic pre raid BiS lists do not apply to Forever, since Blizzard made hit and crit rates universal for spells, melee, and ranged attacks.

Wowhead maintains WoW Forever BiS lists for Phase 1, organized by spec. Aside from the new Blackmaw Hold and The Shaper's Terrace, items from these lists are farmed in five classic dungeons:

• Blackrock Depths
• Blackrock Spire
• Dire Maul
• Stratholme
• Scholomance

I recommend cross-referencing the WoW Forever pre raid BiS list with your spec list, because shared hit and crit stats change the value of older items.

In Forever raids, world buffs and tribute run buffs from Dire Maul do not work. They are replaced by Legacy perks and Alchemy 300 flasks starting at level 55, which do not stack. The flask lasts 2 hours even after death and gives +60 Stamina, and in Mount Hyjal, Hyjal Summit, and Barrow Deeps, it also grants a role-specific bonus:

• Flask of Natural Accuracy - a zone bonus of +5% to hit chance; I recommend this for physical DPS and casters who lack the required hit rating.
• Flask of Natural Precision - for tanks and melee classes, this reduces the target's chance to dodge or parry by 5%.
• Flask of Natural Aggression - for anyone dealing damage, this flask adds +4% critical strike chance.
• Flask of Natural Swiftness - +5% haste is useful for both healers and DPS. Since Onyxia's Lair isn't included in these zones, any flask used there will leave you with +60 Stamina.
• Legacy Perks - Permanence extends party, raid, and camping buffs. The Quick and the Dead speeds up the run to the corpse and makes party and raid buffs free after resurrection.

For WoW Forever raids, our team assembles a full group for each raid and leads it through all bosses in the WoW Forever Raid Boost category. In WoW Forever boosting services, there's a specific boost for every raid and objective:

• WoW Forever Barrow Deeps Boost - the group clears 8/8 or individual bosses with loot priority. Conqueror of the Deeps Boost gives a Legacy Point for all eight.
• WoW Forever Hyjal Summit Boost - 13/13 or individual bosses are cleared with a priority on tier gear. Conqueror of the Wilds Boost clears all 13 for a Legacy Point, with or without loot.
• WoW Forever Onyxia's Lair Boost - you get a spot on an Onyxia kill in self-play or with a pilot. Head of Onyxia is a separate option.
• WoW Forever Tier 1 Set Boost (Hyjal Summit) - our team collects a 6/6 set for your class and role or individual ilvl 65 pieces.
• WoW Forever Full BiS PvE Gear Boost - Phase 1 BiS gear for your spec is collected from three raids, with tier items in BiS slots.
• WoW Forever Coaching - hourly voice sessions with screen sharing, including raid analysis.

A full BiS set takes several weeks of lockouts, since each boss drops loot for your character once a week. For Onyxia, you'll also need the Drakefire Amulet in your bag. The WoW Forever Raid-Ready Bundle covers the amulet and pre-raid gear for a fresh level 60.