Original Dungeons and Raids

3:29 World of Warcraft: Forever keeps the original dungeons, refreshing "nearly every Vanilla dungeon, including updated rewards and increased quest experience", but holds back the original raids: of those, only Onyxia's Lair has a date, Dec 9, 2026. Molten Core is promised "revamped" with no date, and as of Oct 31, 2026 Blizzard has not publicly named Blackwing Lair, Zul'Gurub, Ahn'Qiraj or Naxxramus in anything this page has read. Forever launches on Nov 4, 2026; new content is on Dungeons and Raids.

Quick facts

Original dungeons

1:18:02 Blizzard chose not to rebuild them. Asked on the podcast of Oct 22, 2026 whether old bosses might gain mechanics, a designer said the team "wanted it to feel authentic to that original experience", and that the new dungeons were built to "fit next to those legacy dungeons". The team began by replaying its own Classic Era client.

What has changed is around the bosses. Blizzard's Deep Dive panel said every dungeon boss's loot was re-examined; see Items and Stats. Blacksmithing and Leatherworking recipes meant as random dungeon drops arrived in the Oct 1 beta build (Blizzard). In Shen'dralas, players find new reasons to visit Maraudon and Razorfen Downs; see Shen'dralas.

7:53 Deadmines shows what the quests pay. Hammerdance told the Oct 8 podcast that before the changes a full run with its quests handed in earned him "almost two levels around level 16", and that "even after the nerf" the quest experience still feels "pretty good". Blizzard had cut the extra experience from dungeon quests by half on Oct 1, 2026. On Oct 8 it raised experience from dungeon kills by about 20%.

Dungeons opened in the beta

Blizzard's notes of Oct 1 list these as available, alongside the new Hall of Thanes, Ruins of Lordaeron and Excavation Site (Blizzard):

Ragefire Chasm, Wailing Caverns, The Deadmines, Shadowfang Keep, The Stockade, Blackfathom Deeps, Gnomeregan, Razorfen Kraul and Scarlet Monastery, with Razorfen Downs from level 25 and Uldaman from level 30 added that day.

Level ranges, from guide sites

Blizzard's notes give no ranges for these beyond those two minimums, and the guide sites disagree. These are their lists, not Blizzard's, shown so a reader can see how unsettled the numbers are. Check the game's group finder at launch.

Blackrock Depths and Upper Blackrock Spire matter early: both are steps of the Drakefire Amulet chains on Onyxia's Lair.

Original raids

43:55 "The original iconic raids that you know and love have not opened yet, and we're excited for you to rediscover them in the future," Clay Stone said at BlizzCon. Blizzard frames this as story as much as schedule: Forever "takes place at the beginning of World of Warcraft". His slide listed "revamped iconic raid" in the summer column of the roadmap, without saying which.

1:16:28 Molten Core is the only one the developers have discussed, and only when pressed. Asked on Oct 22 whether it would gain new mechanics, they replied: "We don't have too much to share about Molten Core quite yet." One added it was "pretty safe to say" players would not just stand there and tank Golemagg, and another recalled the word used at BlizzCon, "revamped". That is not Blizzard confirming Molten Core is the summer raid. The questioner took that as a hint it is "not going to be your granddaddy's Molten Core".

53:31 Its old attunement came up on Oct 8, when Hammerdance asked whether future attunements would look like the Molten Core one through Blackrock Depths. The developers answered about Onyxia and the new raids, and promised no details on Molten Core.

Mobalytics' map lists Molten Core, Zul'Gurub, both Ahn'Qiraj raids and Naxxramus under "Raids (Wow Classic)", but does not give dates and marks them as Classic's (Mobalytics). Being on a map does not mean a raid is open.

What is not stated

Not known as of Oct 31, 2026:

• Which raid is the "revamped iconic raid", and its date.
• Whether original raids keep 40 players. Forever's commitment is to 10 and 20 player content patch after patch.
• Whether Blizzard's phrase "nearly every" leaves out particular dungeons. It has not named any.
• The final level ranges of the original dungeons above level 30, which the public did not test.

Frequently asked questions

Is Molten Core in WoW Forever? Not at launch. Blizzard says the original iconic raids "have not opened yet" and describes a future "revamped" raid; developers discussed Molten Core without giving a date.

Is Blackwing Lair in WoW Forever? Blizzard has not said, as of Oct 31, 2026. No Blizzard article or panel this page has read names it.

Are the Deadmines in WoW Forever? Yes. Deadmines was open in the beta, with its quests paying extra experience.

Are the original dungeons changed in WoW Forever? Their rewards and quest experience are; their encounters are meant to stay authentic, the developers said.

What is the revamped iconic raid? A line on Blizzard's roadmap for summer. Blizzard has not named it.

Do original dungeons give good experience? Yes, the first time with quests. Blizzard wants grinding them to be "not the optimal thing to do".

Sources

• World of Warcraft: Forever Raid Overview: Locations, Raid Sizes, and Attunement, Blizzard Entertainment, Oct 20, 2026
• WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, Blizzard Entertainment (Kaivax), World of Warcraft forums, Sep 24 to Oct 26, 2026
• World of Warcraft: Forever What's Next Panel Recap, Blizzard Entertainment, September 2026
• Dungeons, Nevermore, Warcraft Tavern
• Dungeon and Raid Map, Mobalytics
• Launch Dungeons | World of Warcraft: Forever, World of Warcraft, Oct 14, 2026 (video)
• World of Warcraft: Forever - What's Next Panel | BlizzCon 2026, World of Warcraft, Sep 13, 2026 (video)
• Dive into Dungeons with Devs ft. @hammerdancegaming | Episode 3 - The WoW: Forever Podcast, World of Warcraft, Oct 8, 2026 (video)
• End of Beta Special ft. @Meeix | Episode 5 - The WoW: Forever Podcast, World of Warcraft, Oct 22, 2026 (video)