Blizzard published a raid overview for World of Warcraft: Forever on October 20, and the first line settles the longest-running contradiction in our coverage.
On December 9, level 60 players can put their preparation, teamwork, and mastery of their classes to the test in three raids: Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit, and Onyxia's Lair.
All three unlock on December 9. That is the same date the September 12 roadmap gave for new raids, and it is later than the September 23 video that said Onyxia's Lair would be "available at launch". A dated first-party post beats a dated first-party video, so our ledger moves, and we have corrected it with a dated note rather than quietly editing the claim.
The three raids
| Raid | Level | Size | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Barrow Deeps | 60 | 10 | Within Mount Hyjal, with entrances through Mount Hyjal, Winterspring and Blackmaw Hold |
| Hyjal Summit | 60 | 20 | Summit of Mount Hyjal, near the World Tree Nordrassil |
| Onyxia's Lair | 60 | 40 | Dustwallow Marsh |
Barrow Deeps is beneath Kalimdor, in a prison that held Illidan Stormrage for 10,000 years and has now been opened. Ten-player groups face eight bosses as they work through the passages. The three entrance routes matter for logistics rather than flavour: raiders can approach from Hyjal, from Winterspring or from Blackmaw Hold.
Hyjal Summit is the mountain-top raid, 13 bosses, opening with a fight against an ancient guardian. From there, groups choose among multiple paths across the mountain, through ruins above and below ground, which Blizzard frames as the run opening the way to the final encounter.
Onyxia's Lair is the 40-player raid, and it is the one with a gate.
Only Onyxia has an attunement
Every member of the raid must carry the Drakefire Amulet to enter, earned through a faction-specific questline. It does not need to be equipped, only present in the inventory. Blizzard's advice is to start early, bring friends for the elite quests, and expect several trips into high-level dungeons.
The Alliance chain starts in the Burning Steppes with "Dragonkin Menace" from Helendis Riverhorn, which leads into six quests all called "The True Masters", then Marshal Maxwell at Morgan's Vigil, then "Marshal Windsor", "Abandoned Hope", "A Crumpled Up Note" found from enemies in Blackrock Depths, "A Shred of Hope" requiring Golem Lord Argelmach and General Angerforge in Blackrock Depths, "Jail Break!" to get Windsor out, and finally "Drakefire Amulet" in Blackrock Spire, where General Drakkisath hands over the Blood of the Black Dragon Champion. Return to Rexxar for the amulet.
The Horde chain runs through the Badlands instead: "Blood and Thunder" from Warlord Goretooth in Kargath, then "Warlord's Command" across Lower Blackrock Spire, a report to Eitrigg in Orgrimmar and then to Thrall, "For the Horde!", then Rexxar's "The Testament of Rexxar" to Myranda the Hag in the Western Plaguelands, "Oculus Illusions" for Black Dragonspawn Eyes, the Amulet of Draconic Subversion in "Emberstrife", the four "Test of Skulls" quests against Emberstrife in Dustwallow Marsh, and the same conclusion at Drakkisath.
Barrow Deeps and Hyjal Summit have no stated attunement in the post. Their gates are physical, not quest-gated.
Resets and preparation
The post says the raids give players time after launch to reach 60 and form groups, and that all three are currently planned to reset each week, so a group can settle into a fixed schedule. "Currently planned" is doing work in that sentence, and we are reading it exactly as written rather than as a promise.
What this changes in our coverage
Two of our open items are closed by this post.
Onyxia's Lair timing was the one we had been carrying since September, with a September 23 video saying launch and a September 12 recap saying December 9. The October 20 overview is the later and more specific document, and it puts all three raids on December 9. We are recording that as resolved and striking the conflict from our ledger with a dated note.
Blackmaw Hold is named here as one of the Barrow Deeps entrances, which matches the dungeon list Blizzard published the same evening and both match the beta data. The alternative name, Timbermaw Hold, came from a designer asking a question in an interview rather than from a published list, and it is now off the table.
SOURCES: Blizzard's "World of Warcraft: Forever Raid Overview: Locations, Raid Sizes, and Attunement" post dated 20 October 2026, read from the official news page on 21 October 2026. Raid names, levels, sizes, locations, entrance routes, boss counts, the Drakefire Amulet requirement, the full Alliance and Horde attunement quest chains, the December 9 unlock and the weekly reset statement are the post's own. Related: our corrected ledger and the launch timeline.