WoW Forever roadmap for raid leaders: what lands when
The WoW Forever roadmap for raid leaders: three raids on 9 December at 10, 20 and 40 players, Hardcore in winter, then 2027, and what to have ready by each.
In this post
WoW Forever launches on 4 November 2026, and the first raids open on 9 December: Barrow Deeps (10 players), Hyjal Summit (20) and Onyxia’s Lair (40). Hardcore follows in winter 2026, and spring and summer 2027 each bring new raids. Bosses and attunements are not announced yet, so plan rosters and raid nights now and the details later.
- 27 Oct: name reservation opens
- 4 Nov: launch, no raids yet
- 9 Dec: Barrow Deeps (10), Hyjal Summit (20), Onyxia’s Lair (40)
- Winter 2026: Hardcore ruleset
- Spring 2027: two new raids, two dungeons, a legendary questline, PvP refresh
- Summer 2027: a revamped iconic raid, a new raid, profession and legacy updates
What is on the WoW Forever roadmap?
Launch on 4 November, the first three raids on 9 December, Hardcore in the winter, then two content updates in spring and summer 2027. Everything here comes from Blizzard’s announcements as collected in Wowhead’s content release roadmap.
| When | What | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Nov 2026 | Launch: four new zones, nine dungeons, the Skyborne, level cap 60 | Dated |
| 9 Dec 2026 | Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit, Onyxia’s Lair | Dated |
| Winter 2026 | Hardcore ruleset | Date not announced yet |
| Spring 2027 | 2 new raids, 2 new dungeons, new quests and area, a legendary questline, PvP season refresh | Season only |
| Summer 2027 | A revamped iconic raid, a new raid, expanded world content, PvP refresh, profession and legacy updates | Season only |
The level cap stays at 60 permanently, so new content adds to the endgame rather than replacing it with a new level range.
When do raids open in WoW Forever?
9 December 2026, globally, five weeks after launch. All three raids open the same day. There are no raids at launch, so the first five weeks are for levelling, dungeons and gearing.
That gap is the raid leader’s planning window. By 9 December your members will be 60 on the characters they chose, and changing a roster then is much harder than now.
Blizzard says the raids open globally on 9 December. The opening hour in each region isn’t in what we’ve read, so don’t book a raid for the evening of the 9th until it is. A sensible plan is to put your first signup sheet on your usual raid night that week, and treat the 9th itself as a bonus if the timing works.
Which raids open on 9 December, and how big are they?
Three raids at three sizes: Barrow Deeps for 10 players, Hyjal Summit for 20, and Onyxia’s Lair for 40. That’s from Wowhead’s raids hub.
| Raid | Size | Opens | Bosses | Attunement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrow Deeps | 10 | 9 Dec | Not announced yet | Not announced yet | 3 entrances around the world, one in Mount Hyjal |
| Hyjal Summit | 20 | 9 Dec | Not announced yet | Not announced yet | |
| Onyxia’s Lair | 40 | 9 Dec | Not announced yet | Not announced yet | Returning. Whether it’s reworked is unconfirmed |
Tier sets are also not announced yet. We’ll update this table when Blizzard dates or details any of it.
What do three raid sizes mean for a guild?
A guild can run a 10, a 20 and a 40 from the same roster, so decide now which of them you’re raiding and with whom. With three sizes on one day, a guild of 25 active raiders can’t fill Onyxia’s Lair, but could run Hyjal Summit and a Barrow Deeps group, and a guild of 50 might run all three.
Questions to settle before December:
- Which raids are “the guild raid”? Most guilds will pick one size as the main night.
- Do smaller raids run as teams? Two Barrow Deeps groups on different nights are two teams with their own rosters.
- Does a 40 need a partner guild? If you can’t fill 40 alone, decide whether to merge, pug or skip Onyxia for now.
Lockout rules for the three raids are not announced yet, so don’t plan on running the same raid with two characters until they are.
In GuildPro you can set up raid teams, each with its own standing raid nights, and build a standing roster per team at 10, 20 or 40 players in the Roster Builder. On raid night the comp builder pulls that roster into groups. A character can be on only one team’s roster, which stops the same person being counted twice. Set up raid teams and raid nights.
When does Hardcore come, and does it affect raiding?
Hardcore is on the roadmap for winter 2026, as its own ruleset, with no date announced yet. It’s a closed ecosystem: Hardcore characters can’t group with characters on other rulesets, and they don’t share collections or Legacy Points.
For a raid leader that means a Hardcore group is a separate roster, not an alt team. If some of your raiders plan to move, ask before they do, so you aren’t short of healers on 9 December. Our rulesets guide explains the split in full.
What do spring and summer 2027 add?
Spring 2027 brings 2 new raids, and summer 2027 brings a revamped iconic raid and another new raid. Neither has a date, names or sizes yet.
- Spring 2027: 2 new raids, 2 new dungeons, new quests and an area, a new legendary questline, and a PvP season refresh.
- Summer 2027: a revamped iconic raid, a new raid, expanded world content, a PvP refresh, and profession and legacy updates.
For guild planning, the useful point is that raiding grows at level 60 rather than restarting. Gear and attendance habits from December carry forward. Wowhead’s Forever overview will carry the details as Blizzard announces them.
What does a guild need ready by each date?
Ruleset and roster before launch, raid nights and teams before December, and a second roster plan before Hardcore. Here it is in order.
| By | Have this ready |
|---|---|
| 27 Oct (name reservation) | Ruleset and faction agreed. Members know what they’re reserving, with 3 slots in total. |
| 4 Nov (launch) | A roster call answered: every member’s main and alts by class and spec. Discord channels and roles in place. Addons installed. Raid nights published. |
| Launch to 9 Dec | Levelling and dungeon nights on your raid nights, so the habit is set. Find gaps in tanks and healers and recruit for them. Run the new dungeons for gear. |
| 9 Dec (first raids) | Decide which raid sizes you run, set up a team for each, and build a standing roster and bench. Signup sheets posted ahead of the first night. A loot rule written down. |
| Winter (Hardcore) | Know who is moving to Hardcore and whether the guild runs a Hardcore group. |
| Spring 2027 | Attendance records from December onward, so you know who has been there when new raids open. |
For a per-raid checklist closer to the date, see our raid prep guide for 9 December. Everything that comes before launch is in the WoW Forever guild checklist, and when your roster is set, the comp builder turns it into raid groups.
FAQ
When do raids open in WoW Forever?
9 December 2026, globally, per Blizzard's roadmap. Barrow Deeps (10 players), Hyjal Summit (20 players) and Onyxia's Lair (40 players) open together.
What are the WoW Forever raid sizes?
Barrow Deeps is 10-player, Hyjal Summit is 20-player and Onyxia's Lair is 40-player. Bosses, tier sets and attunements are not announced yet.
Is Onyxia's Lair reworked in WoW Forever?
Not confirmed. Onyxia's Lair is listed as returning for 9 December, but whether it is reworked has not been announced.
What comes after the first raids?
Hardcore in winter 2026, then in spring 2027 two new raids, two new dungeons and a PvP season refresh, and in summer 2027 a revamped iconic raid and another new raid. See the guild checklist for what to settle first.