World of Warcraft: Forever launches with three raid sizes: Barrow Deeps is a 10-player max-level raid, Hyjal Summit is a 20-player raid, and Onyxia's Lair returns as a 40-player raid. Per Blizzard's roadmap all three unlock together on December 9, 2026, roughly five weeks after the November 4 launch. The level cap stays at 60 for good, so every raid in Forever is level-60 content.
Forever raid sizes at a glance
| Raid | Size | Opens | What Blizzard has said |
| Barrow Deeps | 10 players | December 9, 2026 | New max-level raid with three separate entrances, one of them in Mount Hyjal |
| Hyjal Summit | 20 players | December 9, 2026 | New raid hosted in the Mount Hyjal endgame zone |
| Onyxia's Lair | 40 players | December 9, 2026 | The original 40-player raid, back at launch scale |
| Two unnamed raids | 10 and 20 players | Spring 2027 | Announced on the roadmap alongside two new dungeons and a legendary questline |
| Revamped iconic raid + one new raid | Not announced | Summer 2027 | Sizes not published yet |
- Forever is a third WoW experience next to Modern and Classic, built by the Classic team and set in the game's first year; players call it Classic+.
- Launch is November 4, 2026 at 3 p.m. Pacific, included with any active subscription or Game Time.
- No raid is open on day one. The first five weeks are leveling, the nine new dungeons, Mount Hyjal, the Riverglades and professions.
- Boss lists, loot tables, lockout rules and difficulty modes for the Forever raids have not been published. Treat any list you see online as guesswork until Blizzard posts it.
Is there a 25-player raid in WoW: Forever?
Nothing announced so far uses a 25-player format. Every raid Blizzard has named or teased is 10, 20 or 40 players, which lines up with how the original game scaled its raids in year one: small 10-player instances, 20-player mid-tier content, and 40-player showpieces. If a 25-player mode appears later it would be new information, not something in the current roadmap.
Are Molten Core and Blackwing Lair in Forever at launch?
Unknown. Blizzard describes Forever as set after the events of Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom and before Molten Core, but that is a story timeline, not a list of open instances. The only original raid confirmed for the December 9 unlock is Onyxia's Lair at 40 players. Whether Molten Core, Blackwing Lair or any other classic raid is available at launch, or arrives as the Summer 2027 revamped iconic raid, has not been stated.
Why does Barrow Deeps have three entrances?
Blizzard has confirmed the three entrances and placed one in Mount Hyjal, but has not explained how they work. It could mean separate wings, different routes into one instance, or a story reason tied to the barrows under Hyjal. Until the raid is testable, that is all anyone can honestly say. The other two entrance locations have not been named.
How big should my guild be for Forever raiding?
A roster of 40 covers everything at launch. A tighter group of 10 to 12 clears Barrow Deeps and can fill out to 20 with friends or a partner guild for Hyjal Summit. Because the Spring 2027 raids are also 10 and 20-player, a mid-sized guild will have plenty to do without ever fielding 40. Onyxia is the one place where the full 40-player format still matters, and pickup groups for that fight were common in the original game.
If you would rather see the new raids without organising 40 people, PewPewShop offers Forever raid runs with vetted human players from December 9: Barrow Deeps from EUR 35, Hyjal Summit from EUR 45, Onyxia's Lair from EUR 25, or all three as a bundle from EUR 95. A weekly raid subscription starts from EUR 29 for players who want a standing spot every reset.