Last updated: 30 September 2026

WoW: Forever Raids Guide 10, 20 and 40-Player Raids

World of Warcraft: Forever (WoW Forever, the reimagined Classic+) launches on November 4, 2026, but raids do not open on day one. Three raids — The Barrow Deeps (10 players), Hyjal Summit (20) and Onyxia's Lair (40) — unlock on December 9, 2026, five weeks later. Everything below is Blizzard's announced roadmap plus community trackers; none of it can be tested in the beta, so treat details as announced, not confirmed in play.

01The Three First-Tier Raids at a Glance

Every source we checked agrees on the three raids, their sizes and the December 9 date. Boss counts come from two trackers and should be read as reported, not as final rosters:

• The Barrow Deeps — 10 players, reported as 8 bosses. The classicwow.gg summary describes it as the prison Illidan was held in.
• Hyjal Summit — 20 players, reported as 13 bosses, set in Hyjal.
• Onyxia's Lair — 40 players, a single boss (Onyxia) with extra tier pieces on offer.

Unlock is on December 9, 2026. Blizzard has not announced an exact opening time, so don't plan around the hour yet.

02Launch (Nov 4) vs Raid Unlock (Dec 9)

Some early write-ups mention Onyxia or the new raids being available "at launch". The official roadmap the trackers quote puts all three on December 9, and Blizzard Watch's list gives November 4 as the game's launch. Use the December date for guild planning.

Practical consequence: you have roughly five weeks after launch to reach the level cap, finish dungeons and gather gear before the first raid door opens. Our leveling guide and dungeons guide cover that window.

03How Raiding Works in Forever

Developer statements reported by the trackers set some firm rules:

• No flex raiding — each raid is built for a set player count. Blizzard has hinted it may support other group sizes later, but not at launch.
• One difficulty — no heroic or scaling versions of raids. As one developer quote puts it, you can out-gear or out-level a raid.
• No attunement is required for the first new raids.
• No cross-faction grouping — Horde and Alliance cannot raid together.
• No Dungeon Journal — item stats stay hidden until they drop.
• Every tier has a 10- and a 20-player raid, with a 40-player raid sometimes on top, so small guilds are not locked out of tier gear.

04Loot and Tier Sets

Tier pieces reportedly drop from both the 10-player and 20-player raids, with Onyxia adding extra pieces. One tracker reports 18 Tier 1 sets datamined from the beta (six items each, bonuses at 2, 3, 4 and 5 pieces), but says the raid source of each piece is unconfirmed — so we don't list which boss drops what.

Developers also say every boss has a low-chance, very strong chase item, which keeps older raids relevant. Exact loot tables are not published.

05Choosing a Raid for Your Group

Because there is no flex, the size you can reliably field decides your schedule:

• Friends or a small guild (about 10): The Barrow Deeps is the raid designed for you and still feeds tier gear.
• A medium guild (about 20): Hyjal Summit is the largest boss list of the three.
• A large guild or community (40): Onyxia's Lair is one boss, so it works as an event night rather than a progression tier.

Lockout and reset rules have not been published, so we don't state them here.

06What Comes After December

The roadmap quoted by classicwow.gg lists two more raids (a 10- and a 20-player) in spring 2027, then a revamped iconic raid and additional raids in summer 2027. Blizzard says content and timing can change.