Raids

43:13 World of Warcraft: Forever opens three raids on Dec 9, 2026, five weeks after the Nov 4 launch: The Barrow Deeps for 10 players, Hyjal Summit for 20 and Onyxia's Lair for 40, all for level 60 characters. "You will see new raids unlock on December 9th," Clay Stone told BlizzCon, and Blizzard's raid overview of Oct 20, 2026 fixed the three together, with "all raids currently planned to reset each week" (Blizzard). No raid is open on launch day. The earlier explainer of Sep 23 had said Onyxia would be available at launch; the overview replaced that.

Quick facts

The three raids of Dec 9

1:13:31 Each size has a job. On the End of Beta Special podcast of Oct 22, 2026, the developers called Onyxia's Lair a "throwback" where "everybody comes out of the woodwork" to kill the dragon, and made a commitment about the others: 10 and 20 player content "consistently patch over patch", so that a group of 10 can plan on having something to do, and two such groups can join for the 20-player raid. They do not want to "shuffle the raid sizes around".

1:15:45 The two smaller raids are all new content, "more than 20" new bosses between them, as the same developers said. Blizzard's overview counts 21.

Attunement

54:26 Only Onyxia has a gate. "For the new raids, there's not something that's going to stop you from walking into them," the developers told the third podcast on Oct 8, 2026, then hinted that "you might have to do a little digging and figure stuff out" for the full experience.

56:13 Attunements may return when they make sense, the developers said, each "very different" if they do, and "we don't want to have formulas". The episode's summary: no classic-style attunement for raids at launch "except for" Onyxia, "but there is something similar". The quest chains for the Drakefire Amulet, Alliance and Horde, are on Onyxia's Lair.

Preparing

57:58 Preparation is the design. "A large part of your success for a raid boss is how much prep you've done," the developers said, naming resistances and consumables as the way to test it. All the classic consumables stay, they said, while Blizzard works to make them affordable so nobody has to "sweat for 40 hours a week to be able to do your three-hour a week raid". For Onyxia, Blizzard's overview advises building fire resistance.

World buffs from outside do not follow you in. Hammerdance said on that podcast that it is known world buffs "will not be a thing in raids", and Icy Veins' raid overview says they are stripped on entry (Icy Veins). The beta notes updated on Oct 26, 2026 show the same rule on two beta buffs: "Attuned" and "Charged" are "removed upon entering a raid" (Blizzard).

Icy Veins also reports no Heroic or Mythic difficulty and no scaling, so a 20-player raid takes exactly 20, and that tier pieces drop at all three sizes. That is Icy Veins' summary; Blizzard's raid overview does not cover those points.

Loot

Epic raid drops grant their appearance only to the player who loots them, unlike dungeon blues, Josh Greenfield said on the Deep Dive panel (see Transmogrification). A legendary reward is planned and has not been revealed in full; Blizzard teased "legendary power" while introducing Hyjal Summit.

After Dec 9

43:55 The roadmap's summer column promises a "revamped iconic raid", without naming it. "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," Stone said. What Blizzard has and has not said about each is on Original Dungeons and Raids, and the dates are on Release and Roadmap.

What is not known yet

Not known as of Oct 31, 2026:

• The reset day and time. Blizzard says weekly, "currently planned", and gives neither.
• The hour raids open on Dec 9.
• Whether attunements become account-wide. Onyxia's is "not account-wide, at least at launch".
• Boss names, other than Onyxia and the ancient guardian that opens Hyjal Summit.
• Loot tables. Icy Veins says stats stay hidden until a player first loots an item.

Frequently asked questions

When do raids open in WoW Forever? On Dec 9, 2026, five weeks after launch. No raid is available on Nov 4.

What raid sizes does WoW Forever have? 10 players (the Barrow Deeps), 20 (Hyjal Summit) and 40 (Onyxia's Lair).

Do raids reset weekly in WoW Forever? That is the plan. Blizzard says all raids are "currently planned to reset each week".

Do WoW Forever raids need attunement? Only Onyxia's Lair, through the Drakefire Amulet. The Barrow Deeps and Hyjal Summit have none at launch.

Is Molten Core in WoW Forever at launch? No. Blizzard says the original iconic raids "have not opened yet", and it has not given Molten Core a date.

Do world buffs work in WoW Forever raids? No, according to Hammerdance on the Oct 8 podcast and Icy Veins; the two beta buffs Blizzard described are removed on entering a raid.

Can raids mix rulesets? No. Blizzard says "cross-ruleset grouping is not supported", so a raid forms within one ruleset; see Rulesets.

Sources

• World of Warcraft: Forever Raid Overview: Locations, Raid Sizes, and Attunement, Blizzard Entertainment, Oct 20, 2026
• World of Warcraft: Forever What's Next Panel Recap, Blizzard Entertainment, September 2026
• WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, Blizzard Entertainment (Kaivax), World of Warcraft forums, Sep 24 to Oct 26, 2026
• Raid Overview, Anshlun, Icy Veins, Oct 24, 2026
• 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)