The Barrow Deeps

The Barrow Deeps is a 10-player, eight-boss, level 60 raid in World of Warcraft: Forever: the night elf prison that held Illidan Stormrage, reached from Mount Hyjal, Winterspring and Blackmaw Hold, unlocking on Dec 9, 2026.

27:24 The Barrow Deeps is a 10-player raid for level 60 characters in World of Warcraft: Forever, one of the two new raids Blizzard announced at BlizzCon 2026. On the What's Next panel the presenter describes it as a sacred place to the night elves: barrow dens are scattered across the land, and their winding tunnels are said to lead to one pivotal location, the Barrow Deeps. No one knows how far or how deep the tunnels run. The night elves hold some of their most dangerous prisoners there, and rumor has it an infamous demon hunter was once kept inside; players may get to see his prison. Blizzard's raid overview of Oct 20, 2026 names him: the prison "once held Illidan Stormrage for 10,000 years", and 10-player groups face eight bosses in its depths when it opens on Dec 9, 2026.

A wide, dim blue cave with a snow-covered floor curves around a sheet of glowing frozen water, where tall dark rock columns reach down from the ceiling. Clusters of rocky, many-limbed creatures move over the snow and the ice, a wooden crate sits in the foreground, and a ruined stone archway stands at the far left. — Craggy stone creatures roam a snowy cavern around a frozen pool and dark rock columns, below a ruined stone archway, in the Barrow Deeps, in an official World of Warcraft: Forever press screenshot. Blizzard Entertainment

Quick facts

Type	Raid
Raid size	10 players
Level	60
Unlocks	Dec 9, 2026
Setting	A sacred night elf prison at the end of the barrow dens' tunnels
Bosses	Eight
Entrances	Three: Mount Hyjal, Winterspring and Blackmaw Hold
Resets	Weekly, as Blizzard currently plans for all raids
Other raids on Dec 9	Hyjal Summit (20 players), Onyxia's Lair (40)

The prison beneath the barrow dens

28:03 The night elves are reluctant to let anyone in, allies included. The presenter has heard that, like the furbolgs of Blackmaw Hold, they may be dealing with some sort of corruption, and warns that the danger is no joke: the presenter would send no fewer than 10 of their greatest adventurers. Blizzard's written recap calls the raid a "maximum-level 10-player challenge", and MMO-Champion's notes from the panel record that the night elves hold some of their most infamous prisoners there.

A dark cavern of towering mushroom-shaped rock pillars is strung with thick cobwebs and lit by glowing orange pods that shed sparks, with teal mushrooms and pale egg-like mounds on the green-tinged floor. Small red-marked spiders crawl at left, and a hunched creature with a purple mane stands with its back to the viewer at right. — Glowing orange pods hang from giant mushroom-shaped pillars draped in cobwebs, with spiders in the shadows and a hunched, purple-maned figure at right, in the Barrow Deeps, in an official World of Warcraft: Forever press screenshot. Blizzard Entertainment

9:27 At BlizzCon Blizzard did not name the demon hunter. MadSeasonShow, in a summary video of Sep 14, 2026, called the Barrow Deeps the former prison of Illidan Stormrage, and Blizzard's raid overview of Oct 20 confirmed it: the passages are open, and players descend to learn what became of those left behind and how the wardens plan to contain the danger below (Blizzard). He also notes the debate over raid sizes: at launch and for the foreseeable future the new raids are for 10 and 20 players, and whether the original 40-player raids will change size remains to be seen.

A huge curtain of gray web sweeps diagonally across a dark rock wall, and more webbing climbs to a ledge dotted with small pale shapes. Rows of pale, rounded mounds line the foot of the wall between glowing red mushrooms, with giant mushroom shapes and a glowing orange pod high above. — Sheets of thick web stretch across a cavern wall lined with pale, egg-shaped mounds and red-capped mushrooms, in the Barrow Deeps, in an official World of Warcraft: Forever press screenshot. Blizzard Entertainment

Ways in

12:08 The raid has three entrances. Introducing the new Mount Hyjal zone, the What's Next panel said that Hyjal is one of them. The panel's tour of the new dungeons also ends at Blackmaw Hold, the furbolg city in Azshara, whose tunnels run deep into the mountain. Anyone who explores those tunnels may find an entirely different kind of danger, the presenter says, before moving straight on to the Barrow Deeps. Blizzard's raid overview of Oct 20, 2026 names all three: entrances connected to Mount Hyjal, Winterspring and Blackmaw Hold give raiders multiple paths in (Blizzard).

In a dark earthen cave, a wooden doorway with a round door patterned like tree rings glows warm orange behind two brown, bear-like furbolgs wearing blue feathers, one carrying a stick and the other a white-headed club. Further back, a purple-skinned figure with antlers walks near a small campfire, and a smaller figure stands among the rocks. — Two brown furbolgs wearing feathers, one holding a club, stand before a round wooden door marked with tree rings in a dark cavern, in the Barrow Deeps, in an official World of Warcraft: Forever press screenshot. Blizzard Entertainment

A dark cave path winds past twisted roots toward a wooden dwelling with a round door glowing orange in the distance. At right, large glowing purple crystals frame an opening where two pale furbolgs stand, while another pale furbolg and a dark green furbolg carrying a lantern walk along the path. — Pale furbolgs stand among glowing purple crystals beside a root-lined cave path that leads to a wooden dwelling with a round door, in the Barrow Deeps, in an official World of Warcraft: Forever press screenshot. Blizzard Entertainment

When it opens

43:18 The Barrow Deeps does not open at launch on Nov 4, 2026. Associate production director Clay Stone said the new raids unlock on Dec 9, 2026, followed by more raids, new dungeons, PvP updates and world content; see Release and Roadmap.

Frequently asked questions

How many players is the Barrow Deeps for? Ten. Hyjal Summit, which opens the same day, is for 20 and Onyxia's Lair for 40.

How many bosses are in the Barrow Deeps? Eight, according to Blizzard's raid overview of Oct 20, 2026.

When can I raid the Barrow Deeps? From Dec 9, 2026, five weeks after launch.

Who was imprisoned there? Illidan Stormrage, for 10,000 years, Blizzard's raid overview of Oct 20, 2026 says. At BlizzCon it had spoken only of an infamous demon hunter.

How do you get in? Through any of three entrances, connected to Mount Hyjal, Winterspring and Blackmaw Hold, the furbolg city in Azshara.

Is the Barrow Deeps a weekly lockout? Blizzard says all raids are currently planned to reset each week.

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
BlizzCon 2026 - World of Warcraft: Forever - What's Next Panel Recap, MMO-Champion, Sep 12, 2026
These Are Warcraft Forever's New Leveling Dungeons, Icy Veins, September 2026
World of Warcraft: Forever - What's Next Panel | BlizzCon 2026, World of Warcraft, Sep 13, 2026 (video)
World of Warcraft: Forever - Everything We Know, MadSeasonShow, Sep 14, 2026 (video)

Moments

World of Warcraft: Forever - What's Next Panel | BlizzCon 2026

World of Warcraft

27:24 The Barrow Deeps is a 10-player raid for level 60 characters in World of Warcraft: Forever, one of the two new raids…
28:03 The night elves are reluctant to let anyone in, allies included. The presenter has heard that, like the furbolgs of…
12:08 The raid has three entrances. Introducing the new Mount Hyjal zone, the What's Next panel said that Hyjal is one of…
43:18 The Barrow Deeps does not open at launch on Nov 4, 2026. Associate production director Clay Stone said the new raids…