WoW Forever raids: the December 9 raids, their bosses, attunements and the roadmap

When do raids open in WoW Forever?

Raids open in WoW Forever on December 9, 2026, five weeks after the November 4 launch, for level 60 players, according to Blizzard: the Barrow Deeps for 10 players, Hyjal Summit for 20 players and Onyxia's Lair for 40 players, all on the same day and all planned to reset each week. The two new raids hold 21 bosses between them. Blizzard has not given an opening time.

Blizzard sums up the launch as "nine new dungeons, two new raids": the Barrow Deeps and Hyjal Summit are new, while Onyxia's Lair is the Classic raid, whose rows in the beta game files are unchanged from Classic Era. The two new raids are absent from the public beta data, and the beta, which closed on October 23, 2026, stopped at level 30. Their places and the Onyxia attunement come from Blizzard's raid overview of October 20, 2026.

What is in the Barrow Deeps raid?

The Barrow Deeps is a new "maximum-level" raid for 10 players in WoW Forever with 8 bosses, "hidden beneath Kalimdor" in the prison that held Illidan Stormrage for 10,000 years, according to Blizzard, with entrances through Mount Hyjal, Winterspring and Blackmaw Hold. The beta's Legacy data names the bosses: Chillhowl, Elder Tangleclaw, Khalith the Dreadspinner, Well of Sorrow, Amethrax, Del'lynar Songwood, Ravus and Darlissa, and Sonya Darkhallow.

Blizzard's raid overview of October 20, 2026 says the prison's "dark passages have been opened". One entrance goes through Blackmaw Hold, the level 55-60 furbolg dungeon of Azshara, which Blizzard says may lead farther below Azeroth (see our dungeons guide). Blizzard Watch, reading the Legacy window of the BlizzCon demo in September, named Deepscar Matriarch where the beta data of October has Chillhowl; the seven other names match. The list follows the order of the beta game data (CriteriaTree, build 1.60.1.70374). Icy Veins also found 22 encrypted raid encounters for the two new raids in the beta files, one more than the 21 known bosses.

What is in the Hyjal Summit raid?

Hyjal Summit is a new 20-player raid in WoW Forever at the peak of Mount Hyjal, near the World Tree Nordrassil, with 13 bosses that start with an ancient guardian, according to Blizzard. The beta's Legacy data names them: 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 Dreambound and The Wild King.

Blizzard adds that raid groups can pick between several paths across the mountain, through ruins above and below ground. Mount Hyjal is the level 60 zone reached from Winterspring through Darkwhisper Gorge (Icy Veins). In the beta game files, the zone's Group Finder range is 55-60, and flight paths link the Summit of Eternity, the Tainted Foothills and Everlook for both factions. The Summit of Eternity's internal zone name is HyjalSummitZone; no source gives the exact door of the raid. Blizzard Watch gave the same 13 names from the BlizzCon demo.

Does Onyxia's Lair need an attunement in WoW Forever?

Yes. Onyxia's Lair opens in WoW Forever on December 9, 2026 as a 40-player raid in Dustwallow Marsh, and Blizzard says each member of the raid must carry the Drakefire Amulet to enter: in the bags, it does not need to be equipped. The amulet comes from a faction questline through Blackrock Depths and Blackrock Spire. Blizzard names no attunement for the Barrow Deeps or Hyjal Summit.

Both chains go through dungeon runs and elite quests, including Blackrock Depths and Blackrock Spire, and Blizzard advises building fire resistance before the three-phase fight against Onyxia. JudgeHype's report of the official podcast added that the attunement is per character at launch, not account-wide, and the podcast teased more attunement-type quests later (MassivelyOP). The beta game files hold two hidden factions named "Hyjal Attunement", one for Leyara and one for Gol'gere; nothing official links them to the new raids. Defeating Onyxia gives one Legacy point (Blizzard).

What are the raid lockouts and loot rules in WoW Forever?

Blizzard says all WoW Forever raids are "currently planned to reset each week", without naming the reset day, in its raid overview of October 20, 2026. The loot system is not announced as of October 25. What is known: an epic raid drop gives its appearance only to the player it binds to, item stats stay hidden until an item drops, and GDKP is ruled out.

• Lockouts: weekly for all three raids, "currently planned" (Blizzard, October 20, 2026); the reset day is not given. The beta files have no lockout row for the two new raids, and Onyxia's Lair keeps its Classic Era rows.
• Transmog: an epic raid drop gives its appearance only to the player the item binds to (Blizzard).
• Hidden items: Josh Greenfield told MMORPG.com that "you will not see an item's stats until it drops" (Method). Icy Veins counted 153 encrypted loot entries for the two new raids.
• No PTR: there is no public test realm, and "You won't know what raid bosses you're going to fight until you go in for the first time", Josh Greenfield said, with no dungeon journal at first (Method).
• No GDKP: the team confirmed that GDKP will not be in WoW Forever, according to MassivelyOP's summary of the BlizzCon follow-up Q&A.
• Gear pace: gear power will rise between raid tiers, but in a limited way, and some old items will stay best in slot for a long time, the developers said at PAX Aus (JudgeHype).

What tier sets and legendary come with the WoW Forever raids?

Blizzard says WoW Forever's raids bring "new tier sets and a legendary reward we're looking forward to revealing in full", and its roadmap adds a new legendary questline in spring 2027. Nothing more is official. In the beta files, Icy Veins also found crafted tier sets that need Malleable Essence of Nature, disenchanted from Hyjal Summit and Barrow Deeps items.

• Crafted tier sets (datamined by Icy Veins, September 2026): Bind on Equip, 3 Malleable Essence of Nature for shoulders, boots, legs or gloves. You can equip only one crafted tier piece at first, and two with a reward of the Guardians of Hyjal reputation.
• Set names in the beta files: Grovekeeper Raiment, Rage, Eclipse and Ferocity (Druid), Wildstalker Armor (Hunter), Manaflare Regalia (Mage), Justice Battlegear, Armor and Battleplate (Paladin), Vestments and Raiments of Conviction (Priest), Grimstitch Armor (Rogue), The Spiritcaller, The Spiritcaller's Rage and The Spiritcaller's Storm (Shaman), Demonheart Raiment (Warlock), Battlegear and Battleplate of Glory (Warrior).
• Legendary clues (datamined by Icy Veins, spoilers): a "Cenarion Circle (Legendary Event)" faction, a "Bough of the World Tree" with six vessels, steps in Hyjal Summit, solo fights and an Un'Goro pylon puzzle. Blizzard has not presented it yet.

What raids come after December 9 in WoW Forever?

Blizzard's WoW Forever roadmap adds two new raids in spring 2027, one for 10 players and one for 20, with two new dungeons and a new legendary questline, then a "revamped iconic raid" and another new raid in summer 2027. None of them is named yet, and the roadmap warns: "Content and timing subject to change".

Icy Veins' roadmap article listed "2 new class and race combos" for spring 2027; Blizzard's roadmap image shows the new legendary questline instead. The developers also said PvP reward periods will roughly follow raid tiers (JudgeHype). Hardcore has its own Hardcore guide.

Are Molten Core and the other Classic raids in WoW Forever?

Not on the roadmap. Blizzard's WoW Forever roadmap names no Classic raid besides Onyxia's Lair: Molten Core, Blackwing Lair, Zul'Gurub, Ahn'Qiraj and Naxxramas are not announced, and their rows in the beta game files are unchanged from Classic Era. The summer 2027 "revamped iconic raid" is not named, and Blizzard sets Forever's story "before Molten Core".

Blizzard places Forever "after the events of Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom and before Molten Core". Which raid the summer 2027 revamp brings back is still an open question; we will update this guide when Blizzard names it.

Do raids give Legacy points in WoW Forever?

Yes. WoW Forever has three raid Legacy challenges, each worth one account-wide Legacy point: defeat Onyxia, defeat all 13 bosses of Hyjal Summit and defeat all 8 bosses of the Barrow Deeps. With the three dungeon challenges, raids and dungeons give 6 of the 29 Legacy points one character can earn, according to Blizzard's Legacy article.

The full list of challenges is in our Legacy challenges guide, the Legacy planner counts your points, and the dungeons on the way to level 60 are in our dungeons guide.