Will Old Raids Stay Relevant in WoW: Forever?

Quick facts: how Forever treats older raid tiers

The raids open on December 9, 2026. Blizzard has said several things about how long each tier should matter, and the numbers below come from its raid overview and developer interviews.

• Small power steps: In the Friends Per Second interview, Clay Stone said gear should grow only a little between raid tiers so that it stays useful longer.
• Earlier tiers can still hold BiS: Blizzard told Inven Global that power growth will be kept as low as possible. Best-in-slot items could come from a previous raid tier, and older content should stay relevant as long as possible.
• Not fully flat: In the Joardee interview, the developers said item level will rise a little. Older raids are still meant to be worth farming later.
• Tier 1 is spread across all three raids: To finish the set you need Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia. A 10-player-only group gets a lot of the set but not all of it.
• Same item level in every raid size: Blizzard says raid size does not change how hard an encounter is, so a 10-player drop is not a weaker item.
• Weekly lockouts: Blizzard currently plans a weekly reset for all three launch raids.

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Will Hyjal stay relevant in WoW: Forever?

Blizzard used Hyjal Summit as its own example of a raid worth returning to. In the Joardee interview, the developers said players may go back to Hyjal later for a Legendary Staff for healers.

Hyjal has 13 bosses spread across several paths above and below ground. Because of that layout, Blizzard said groups can go straight to the boss they need, and later patches may add shortcuts like the Naxxramas Translocation Orb. A raid built that way is meant to be farmed long after it stops being current content.

How does item level progression work in WoW: Forever?

Item level goes up a little with each tier but not much. Blizzard says it will keep power growth as low as possible so that older drops can compete with newer ones.

Biome and creature-type effects also keep old items in use. Hundreds of items have bonuses for deserts, mountains, woodlands, dragons or other creature types. An older trinket with the right situational effect can beat a newer generic one on a specific fight. Blizzard has not said yet whether there will be a gear soft reset between tiers. It called that question too early to answer.

How many raid tiers are planned after launch?

Blizzard's roadmap lists two new raids for Spring 2027, one 10-player and one 20-player. Summer 2027 adds a revamped classic raid and another new raid.

In the Crix interview, Blizzard described two large content updates about four months apart. Each one brings a 10-player raid, a 20-player raid and new quests. Blizzard has not said which classic raid gets revamped or when Molten Core opens. It has only said that Molten Core will get new mechanics.

Is farming old raids worth it once a new tier opens?

Usually yes, and the main reason is Tier 1. The set is split across three raids, so any slot you are missing pulls you back into a raid you have already cleared.

Chase items are a second reason. Blizzard said every boss has a lower chance to drop a chase item, with roughly ten across a whole raid. Those items take many weeks to drop for the whole group. The Legacy System adds one more reason: clearing Onyxia, every Hyjal boss and every Barrow Deeps boss each gives an account-wide point.

Do 10-player raids give worse loot than 20 or 40?

No. Blizzard says item level stays the same across raid sizes because a 10-player fight is meant to be just as hard as a 20-player one.

What does change is how much of Tier 1 you can collect. A group that only raids Barrow Deeps gets a large part of the set but cannot finish it. To get all of it you also need Hyjal and Onyxia.

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Frequently asked questions

Will Molten Core be in WoW: Forever?

Blizzard developers have said that Molten Core will come back with new mechanics, so it will not be a simple tank-and-spank. They have not said when it opens. The December 9 raid launch includes only Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair.

When do raids open in WoW: Forever?

The first raids open on December 9, 2026, for level 60 characters. All three launch globally: Barrow Deeps for 10 players, Hyjal Summit for 20 and Onyxia's Lair for 40. Blizzard currently plans a weekly reset for all three.

Do you need all three raids for Tier 1 in WoW: Forever?

Yes. Blizzard split the Tier 1 set across Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair, so you need all three to finish it. A group that only runs 10-player content can collect a lot of the set but not every piece.

Is there a gear reset between raid tiers in WoW: Forever?

Blizzard has not confirmed a gear soft reset. It has said power growth between tiers will be kept as low as possible, that best-in-slot items could come from an earlier tier and that older content should stay relevant as long as possible.

Does Onyxia need an attunement in WoW: Forever?

Yes. Every raid member must carry the Drakefire Amulet, which comes from a faction attunement questline. The chain has elite quests and several high-level dungeon trips, including Blackrock Spire. The amulet only has to be in your bags. You don't need to equip it.

Are raids in WoW: Forever single difficulty?

Yes. Each raid has one difficulty, with no Normal or Heroic versions and no scaling. Blizzard says the target difficulty sits roughly between Season of Mastery raids and baseline Naxxramas, with a few harder encounters and hidden content.