WoW Forever raid release date, sizes and schedule
Updated 2026-11-02
The WoW Forever raid release date is 9 December 2026, for level 60 characters. All three raids open together: The Barrow Deeps (10 players), Hyjal Summit (20) and Onyxia's Lair (40). These details are Confirmed from Blizzard's raid post and launch post.
Raid sizes
| Raid | Players | Bosses | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Barrow Deeps | 10 | 8 | Inside Mount Hyjal, with entrances from Mount Hyjal, Winterspring and Blackmaw Hold |
| Hyjal Summit | 20 | 13 | Summit of Mount Hyjal, near Nordrassil |
| Onyxia's Lair | 40 | Onyxia, a three-phase fight | Dustwallow Marsh |
Raid schedule
- 9 December: all three unlock. Blizzard hasn't given a time of day in the posts we've read.
- Resets: all three are planned to reset weekly. Blizzard words that as a plan, so it could still change.
- After that: Blizzard hasn't published a phase schedule. Anything else you read is a guess.
Raid difficulty
Unknown. Blizzard's raid post doesn't describe difficulty modes.
Raid tier sets
Partly known. Blizzard says set bonuses have been improved and that hundreds of new drops were added (panel recap). It doesn't list which sets drop in which raid, and the raid post doesn't name tier sets, so we don't either. Our item database and each spec's gear page fill in once we've seen the loot. Epic raid drops grant their transmog appearance only to the player the item binds to.
Raid comp
No published numbers. Blizzard hasn't suggested a raid composition, and any comp list you find now is a guess from beta testing without raids to run. What we can say:
- Onyxia needs fire resistance, according to Blizzard, so plan gear for it.
- Everyone in Onyxia needs the Drakefire Amulet in their bags. Blizzard's raid post lists the Alliance and Horde quest chains, and both end in Upper Blackrock Spire, so plan group runs before 9 December.
- The role picks in our tier lists cover which classes we'd bring. Our opinion, dated and versioned.
Getting ready
Level 60 dungeons are on the dungeons page, and each spec's gear page fills in from the live game.