WoW Forever Raid Prep Checklist: 9 Things to Do Before the Dec 9 Unlock

Quick answer: WoW Forever's first three raids open on December 9, 2026, 27 days from today: Barrow Deeps (10 players, 8 bosses), Hyjal Summit (20 players, 13 bosses) and Onyxia's Lair (40 players). All three are level 60 and are planned to reset weekly. To be ready, hit 60, finish the Drakefire Amulet attunement if you want Onyxia, build some fire resistance for her, put together a pre-raid set, and lock in a 10, 20 or 40-player group on one ruleset and faction. One live change matters before you farm gear: Blizzard's Nov 10 hotfix moved Enhancement Shaman back toward Windfury and away from spell power gear "because it has significant implications for gearing in the upcoming raid."

Last verified: Nov 12, 2026, 00:40 UTC against Blizzard's WoW Forever Raid Overview (Oct 20), the Nov 10 hotfix notes, the Development Notes updated Nov 2 and the new players' guide (article 24315280). Nothing about boss mechanics, loot tables or the raids' unlock hour has been published yet. Anything not stated by Blizzard is marked as our advice.

Key takeaways

• 3 raids, 1 date. Barrow Deeps (10), Hyjal Summit (20) and Onyxia's Lair (40) all unlock on Dec 9. All are level 60.
• Weekly lockouts. Blizzard says all three raids are "currently planned to reset each week".
• Only Onyxia has an attunement. Every raider needs the Drakefire Amulet in their bags. It does not need to be equipped.
• Fire resistance for Onyxia. Blizzard tells players to "build their fire resistance before entering", but gives no number.
• No raid finder. Forever has no Dungeon Finder or Raid Finder, and groups only form inside one ruleset and one faction.
• Enhancement Shaman gear changed on Nov 10. Stormstrike went from 150% to 100% weapon damage, and Intellect now converts to less Attack Power. Spell power gear lost value for Enhancement.
• No big tuning planned before Dec 9. Blizzard said that, apart from bugs and serious outliers, it does not plan big tuning changes before the raids open.

When do WoW Forever raids open?

The raids open on Wednesday, December 9, 2026. Blizzard's raid overview puts it this way: "On December 9, level 60 players can put their preparation, teamwork, and mastery of their classes to the test in three raids." The same post says the date gives players "time after launch to reach level 60 and prepare their groups."

Blizzard has not published the unlock hour yet. Our WoW Forever roadmap and the raid release date page will be updated when it does.

Raid	Size	Bosses	Location	Entry requirement
Barrow Deeps	10 players	8	Within Mount Hyjal; entrances via Mount Hyjal, Winterspring and Blackmaw Hold	Level 60
Hyjal Summit	20 players	13	Summit of Mount Hyjal, near Nordrassil	Level 60
Onyxia's Lair	40 players	Onyxia (3 phases)	Dustwallow Marsh	Level 60 + Drakefire Amulet

Source: Blizzard, WoW Forever Raid Overview, Oct 20, 2026.

What has Blizzard actually confirmed about the three raids?

Not much beyond the table, and that matters for how you prepare. Here is everything in Blizzard's raid overview:

• Barrow Deeps is the prison that held Illidan Stormrage for 10,000 years. Ten-player groups "will face eight bosses as they explore the prison's depths."
• Hyjal Summit "features 13 bosses and begins with a battle against an ancient guardian." After that, raid groups "can choose from multiple paths across the mountain", above and below ground, before the final encounters.
• Onyxia's Lair: Blizzard says her "three-phase encounter turns up the heat with powerful fire attacks that can punish an unprepared raid." Blizzard adds that players should "be ready to reposition and work together as the battle shifts."

Blizzard's What's Next recap also says Hyjal Summit and Barrow Deeps bring new tier sets and "a legendary reward" it has not revealed yet. No boss abilities, loot tables or resistance requirements for Barrow Deeps or Hyjal Summit are public. A full Barrow Deeps loot table on any site today does not come from a Blizzard announcement.

The WoW Forever raid prep checklist

Work through this in order. Steps 1 to 3 take the longest, so start them first.

1. Hit level 60 (with gold in your bags)

Every raid is level 60. Since Nov 10, most quests at level 48 and above also reward gold, so you no longer lose gold by turning quests in as you level. Blizzard's note says Forever does not have the old level-60 XP-to-gold conversion and that it did not want players "compelled to save up quests" until they hit the cap. Turn them in as you go.

If you are behind, our leveling vs dungeons comparison shows which route is faster after the XP changes.

2. Start the Onyxia attunement now

The Drakefire Amulet is the slowest item on this list. Blizzard's advice is to "start early, bring a few friends for the elite quests, and leave plenty of time for several trips into high-level dungeons."

• Alliance starts with "Dragonkin Menace" from Helendis Riverhorn in the Burning Steppes. The chain runs through six "The True Masters" quests, several Blackrock Depths runs (Marshal Windsor, Golem Lord Argelmach, General Angerforge), "The Great Masquerade" in Stormwind and ends with General Drakkisath in Upper Blackrock Spire.
• Horde starts with "Blood and Thunder" from Warlord Goretooth in Kargath (Badlands). It goes through Lower Blackrock Spire (Warchief Rend Blackhand), Rexxar in Desolace, the four quests for Emberstrife that each begin with "The Test of Skulls" in Dustwallow Marsh and also ends with General Drakkisath.

Every member of the raid needs their own amulet. Blizzard says each player "will need to earn" it and does not mention an account-wide unlock. Our step-by-step Drakefire Amulet guide has every quest in order for both factions.

3. Build fire resistance for Onyxia

Blizzard's wording is direct: "Players should build their fire resistance before entering." It gives no target number, and a Forever forum thread started the day after the overview questions whether raids will really need it. Our advice: tanks and anyone who expects to stand near the dragon should carry some, and newer raids should carry more. Barrow Deeps and Hyjal Summit have no published resistance requirement, so do not farm resistance sets for them on a guess.

4. Assemble a pre-raid set

Blues from Forever's dungeons and quests are the starting point. Use the WoW Forever leveling and pre-raid BiS gear tool to see which items matter for your spec, and the dungeon loot tables to plan runs. Blizzard's dungeon overview lists the nine new dungeons with their level ranges.

5. Re-check your spec against the Nov 10 changes

Blizzard said in its Nov 2 development notes that, "with the exception of bugs and serious outliers, we don't plan on making big tuning changes between now and the opening of the raids next month." The Nov 10 hotfix made one exception, and Blizzard said why:

"We want to make this adjustment now because it has significant implications for gearing in the upcoming raid. Addressing it before the raid opens will help prevent players from pursuing and winning highly contested items that could become much less valuable after a later change."

— Blizzard, WoW Forever Hotfixes, Nov 10, 2026

What changed for Enhancement Shaman:

Change	Before	After Nov 10
Stormstrike damage	150% weapon damage	100% weapon damage
Stormstrike cooldown	6 sec	8 sec
Mental Dexterity (Intellect to Attack Power)	50/100/150%	33/66/100%
Maelstrom Weapon cast time and Mana reduction	4/8/12/16/20% by rank	20% per application at all ranks
Maelstrom Weapon activations	20 per minute at any rank	6/7/8/9/10 per minute by rank
Weapon imbue + weapon totem	Not at the same time	Both at once (e.g. Windfury Weapon + Windfury Totem)

In plain terms, spell power and Intellect gear lost value for Enhancement. Our read: because the Maelstrom Weapon chance per swing now scales with weapon speed, slow two-handers gained value. If you were saving loot priority for caster items on an Enhancement Shaman, change that list before Dec 9. Our Nov 10 class changes breakdown covers the Hunter pet, Warlock Wrack and Resto Druid changes from the same patch. For the weapons themselves, see the Enhancement Shaman weapons list.

Plan your build in the WoW Forever talent calculator. Dual Specialization unlocks at level 40, and Blizzard told TechRadar that once the game is live the respec price "will climb quickly and only decrease once per week", so settle your raid spec before raid week. Our dual spec and respec cost page tracks what players are paying.

6. Pick professions with the raids in mind

Two Nov 10 changes point at raid week:

• Swiftstrike Shot and Swiftfeather Arrow (Engineering ammo) are no longer Bind-on-Pickup. Blizzard says they "are not available until raids unlock", but flagged the change now "because it may influence profession choice." Our read: Engineers should be able to sell or trade them to Hunters.
• Some crafted bind-on-pickup armor from Leatherworking, Tailoring and Blacksmithing now sells to vendors for less. Craft it to wear, not to vendor.

Our best professions guide and the profession leveling calculator help if you are still choosing.

7. Lock in your group: one ruleset, one faction

There is no automated matchmaking for raids. Forever has no Dungeon Finder and no Raid Finder, so you need a guild or a pre-made group. Blizzard's new players' guide also says characters "can group, join guilds, run dungeons, and raid only with players on the same Ruleset and faction." A friend on the PvP ruleset cannot join your Normal ruleset raid.

Sizes decide the roster:

• 10 for Barrow Deeps. Small enough for a group of friends.
• 20 for Hyjal Summit. Needs a small guild or two groups joined together.
• 40 for Onyxia's Lair. Needs a full guild, and every one of the 40 needs the amulet.

Our advice is to recruit a few spare players for each size. With weekly lockouts, missing one raid night costs a full week. Our guild guide covers charters and guild banks, and the rulesets guide explains who can play with whom.

8. Know your class's raid value

Our analysis of the final beta patch found that it turned a number of group buffs into raid-wide buffs, which changes which classes a raid needs. Read what raid-wide buffs did to class value before you build a 10-player roster, since a small group fits fewer buffs. Skyborne players should also know that Attuned and Charged persist through death but "are removed upon entering a raid", according to Blizzard's Oct 27 racial notes.

9. Stock gold for raid week

Repairs, respecs, consumables and the Engineering ammo all cost gold in the same week. Our gold farming guide lists the fastest methods since the Nov 10 quest-gold change, and WoW Forever gold price today tracks the real-money rate.

Which raid should you do first?

It depends on your group size, not on difficulty. Blizzard has not ranked the raids by difficulty, and the three open on the same day. A 10-player group of friends should aim at Barrow Deeps. A small guild has Hyjal Summit, which has the most bosses (13) and branching paths. A large guild with attuned members can add Onyxia. Our advice: since all three are currently planned to reset weekly, a large guild can plan to run more than one of them each week. For a fuller overview of what each raid is, see WoW Forever raids, dungeons and pre-raid gear.

Short on time before Dec 9? timesaver.gg's pro team runs WoW Forever services on US and EU rulesets:

- WoW Forever Raid Carry: Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair from Dec 9

- WoW Forever Pre-Raid Gear: a dungeon blue set for your spec before raid week

- WoW Forever Onyxia's Lair Attunement: the Drakefire Amulet chain for your faction

- WoW Forever Dungeon Boost: level-60 dungeon runs, including Blackrock Depths and Lower Blackrock Spire

- WoW Forever Power Leveling to 60: any range up to 60, played by hand

- WoW Forever Gold, US and EU: for repairs, respecs and consumables

- All WoW Forever services

Blizzard's Terms of Use forbid buying gold or paying someone to play your account, and no seller can rule out Blizzard action. Read our honest take on gold buying and ban risk first. See how WoW Forever delivery works for piloted and self-play options.

What changed on Nov 12?

This page is new on Nov 12, 2026. It adds the Nov 10 hotfix changes that affect raid gearing (Enhancement Shaman, Engineering ammo, crafted armor vendor prices, quest gold from level 48) to the facts from Blizzard's Oct 20 raid overview. We will update it when Blizzard publishes the unlock time, boss details or loot.

FAQ

When do WoW Forever raids come out? On December 9, 2026. Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair all unlock that day. Blizzard has not published the exact hour yet.

Do WoW Forever raids need an attunement? Only Onyxia's Lair. Every raider must carry the Drakefire Amulet, which comes from a faction-specific quest chain: Alliance goes through Blackrock Depths and Upper Blackrock Spire, Horde through Lower and Upper Blackrock Spire. It does not need to be equipped. Blizzard lists no attunement for Barrow Deeps or Hyjal Summit.

How much fire resistance do you need for Onyxia in WoW Forever? Blizzard has not given a number. It only says players "should build their fire resistance before entering" because of her fire attacks. Tanks and newer raids benefit most.

Is there a Raid Finder in WoW Forever? No. Forever has no Dungeon Finder or Raid Finder, so you need a guild or a pre-made group on the same ruleset and faction.

How often do WoW Forever raids reset? Blizzard says all three raids are currently planned to reset each week.

What raid gear changes happened before the raids opened? The Nov 10 hotfix cut Enhancement Shaman's Stormstrike to 100% weapon damage and reduced how much Intellect converts to Attack Power, making spell power gear less useful for Enhancement. Blizzard said it acted early so players would not win contested raid items that lose value later.