Forever adds group adventures to places that have long been part of Azeroth's geography. Nine new dungeons are announced, but the opening beta begins with Hall of Thanes and the Ruins of Lordaeron. The raid roadmap then brings 10-, 20-, and 40-player groups into the December 9 unlock.

Nine new dungeons at a glance

The announcement establishes the roster and selected settings. It does not publish a full boss guide, loot table, or level bracket for every instance.

DungeonWhat Blizzard has announced
Hall of ThanesAn adventure beneath Ironforge.
Ruins of LordaeronA Forsaken effort to reclaim the ruined capital.
Excavation site above Whelgar's ExcavationA mysterious new excavation; the recap uses a description rather than a separate formal dungeon title.
City of DalaranAn investigation into magical trouble in the city.
Blackmaw HoldCorruption stirring in the depths.
The Drowned CityA setting involving naga and pirates.
Krol'dok StrongholdNamed in the new dungeon roster; the recap does not expand its encounter details.
Alcaz PrisonNamed in the new dungeon roster; the recap does not expand its encounter details.
Shaper's TerraceTitan mysteries in Un'Goro.

Sources[1] Blizzard Entertainment

Inspect 16 claim records
Forever · new dungeon count

Claim · newDungeonCount9 announced new dungeons

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Hall of Thanes · name

Claim · nameHall of Thanes

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Ruins of Lordaeron · name

Claim · nameRuins of Lordaeron

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Excavation site above Whelgar’s Excavation · name

Claim · nameExcavation site above Whelgar’s Excavation

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
City of Dalaran · name

Claim · nameCity of Dalaran

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Blackmaw Hold · name

Claim · nameBlackmaw Hold

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
The Drowned City · name

Claim · nameThe Drowned City

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Krol’dok Stronghold · name

Claim · nameKrol’dok Stronghold

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Alcaz Prison · name

Claim · nameAlcaz Prison

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Shaper’s Terrace · name

Claim · nameShaper’s Terrace

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Hall of Thanes · setting

Claim · settingThe dungeon is beneath Ironforge.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Ruins of Lordaeron · premise

Claim · premisePlayers help the Forsaken reclaim the Ruins of Lordaeron.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
City of Dalaran · premise

Claim · premisePlayers investigate magical trouble in Dalaran.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Blackmaw Hold · premise

Claim · premiseCorruption is stirring in the depths of Blackmaw Hold.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
The Drowned City · premise

Claim · premiseThe announced setting involves naga and pirates around the Drowned City.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Shaper’s Terrace · setting

Claim · settingThe dungeon's announced theme involves titan mysteries in Un'Goro.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Titan stonework and golden crystals sit beneath dense jungle at Shaper's Terrace.
Shaper’s Terrace in the official dungeon gallery, identified by its named slide in Blizzard’s What’s Next panel.Official screenshot© Blizzard Entertainment

The first beta dungeons

The opening beta caps characters at level 20. Blizzard plans to raise that cap to 30 and open further dungeons later in testing, but has not given every additional instance an opening date.

DungeonOpening test level range
Hall of ThanesLevels 13–18
Ruins of LordaeronLevels 15–20

Sources[3] Blizzard Entertainment

Inspect 4 claim records
Forever · beta opening scope

Claim · betaOpeningScopeSkyborne and Zephras Isle, Hall of Thanes (levels 13–18), Ruins of Lordaeron (levels 15–20), Zone content through level 20

BetaConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · current beta level cap

Claim · currentBetaLevelCap20 levels

BetaConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · planned later beta level cap

Claim · plannedLaterBetaLevelCap30 levels

BetaConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Planned for a later testing phase; no date is stated.

Forever · beta later content

Claim · betaLaterContentA later level cap of 30, Additional zones and dungeons, A new battleground

BetaConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Planned later testing scope; no individual opening dates are stated.

Two new raid sizes

Both appear in the December 9 roadmap entry. That same entry also lists the 40-player Onyxia's Lair. Blizzard has teased new tier sets and a legendary reward, without revealing a complete item list. The September 17 Q&A also says raids begin without flexible group sizing. Dungeons and raids have one difficulty.

New raidAnnounced group sizeScope
Barrow Deeps10 playersMaximum-level raid challenge.
Hyjal Summit20 playersNew encounters in the Mount Hyjal setting.

Sources[1] Blizzard Entertainment[4] Blizzard Entertainment / World of Warcraft

Inspect 8 claim records
Barrow Deeps · players

Claim · players10 players

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Barrow Deeps · level

Claim · levelMaximum-level challenge.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Hyjal Summit · players

Claim · players20 players

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · raid rewards

Claim · raidRewardsNew tier sets and a legendary reward have been teased; the legendary item’s details are not revealed.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · raid unlock lineup

Claim · raidUnlockLineupDecember 9: Barrow Deeps, 10 players, December 9: Hyjal Summit, 20 players, December 9: Onyxia's Lair, 40 players

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Read directly from the official infographic; it includes an existing raid alongside the new raids.

Forever · first raids unlock

Claim · firstRaidsUnlockDecember 9, 2026

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · qa raid groups

Claim · qaRaidGroupsRaids start without flexible sizing; cross-faction play is not planned.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Direct developer statement reviewed against the official recording's English auto-caption export; this is announced design, not client validation.

Forever · qa instance difficulty

Claim · qaInstanceDifficultyEach dungeon and raid has one difficulty, without a Heroic variant.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Direct developer statement reviewed against the official recording's English auto-caption export; this is announced design, not client validation.

A stone terrace and ancient arches stand beneath a forest canopy in Blizzard's Forever raid preview gallery.
A forested terrace from Blizzard’s raid preview gallery. The gallery accompanies the Hyjal Summit and Barrow Deeps introduction without individually naming its two images.Official screenshot© Blizzard Entertainment

How dungeon tactics and gear are changing

Blizzard's combat goal remains deliberate group play. Crowd control, threat management, target focus, and careful use of area damage still matter; enemies are intended to present situations where a tank cannot safely hold every creature at once.

Dungeon loot has been reviewed across the game, with hundreds of new drops, changes to less useful rewards, and improved set bonuses. Unique dungeon boss items are blue quality. Expanded quest rewards and caster weapons with spell damage and healing should also give more roles useful rewards while leveling.

Professions connect back to these adventures through advanced campsite Blueprints dropped by specific dungeon bosses. Those recipes provide another reason to revisit an instance beyond the next equipment upgrade.

Appearance collection uses separate rules for dungeon and raid loot. Eligible looters receive the appearance of a bind-on-pickup Uncommon or Rare dungeon item when it is looted; an epic raid appearance is awarded to the character to whom that item binds.

Sources[2] Blizzard Entertainment

Inspect 7 claim records
Forever · combat pacing

Claim · combatPacingClassic-style deliberate and tactical combat remains a design goal.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · dungeon tactics

Claim · dungeonTacticscrowd control, threat, target focus, careful area damage

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Itemization · loot updates

Claim · lootUpdatesdungeon drops re-examined, hundreds of new drops, blue-quality unique dungeon boss items, updated set bonuses, expanded quest rewards, improved world-drop epics, hundreds of new rare-creature drops

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: No specific item database implied.

Itemization · new stat concepts

Claim · newStatConceptsreduced parry chance, reduced dodge chance, caster weapons with spell damage and healing, effects tied to environments or creature types

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Concepts and examples, not a complete affix list.

Camping · learning sources

Claim · learningSourcesIntroductory camping NPCs and profession trainers teach early objects; certain dungeon bosses drop advanced Blueprint recipes.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Transmogrification · dungeon appearance loot

Claim · dungeonAppearanceLootWhen a bind-on-pickup Uncommon or Rare dungeon item is looted, all eligible looters receive its appearance.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Transmogrification · raid appearance loot

Claim · raidAppearanceLootAn epic raid item's appearance is granted on acquisition to the player to whom it binds.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

What follows on the 2026–2027 roadmap

The official graphic uses seasonal windows rather than numbered phases. The later instances and revamped raid are unnamed, and Blizzard says content and timing can change.

Roadmap windowAnnounced group and world content
December 9Barrow Deeps: 10 players; Hyjal Summit: 20 players; Onyxia's Lair: 40 players.
WinterHardcore launch, without an exact date.
SpringTwo new raids, shown as 10-player and 20-player; two new dungeons; new quests and a playable area; a new legendary questline; a PvP season refresh.
SummerA revamped iconic raid and a new raid; expanded world content; two new dungeons; a PvP season refresh; professions and Legacy updates.

Sources[1] Blizzard Entertainment

Inspect 4 claim records
Forever · raid unlock lineup

Claim · raidUnlockLineupDecember 9: Barrow Deeps, 10 players, December 9: Hyjal Summit, 20 players, December 9: Onyxia's Lair, 40 players

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Read directly from the official infographic; it includes an existing raid alongside the new raids.

Forever · roadmap winter hardcore

Claim · roadmapWinterHardcoreThe 2026–2027 roadmap places the Hardcore launch in winter without an exact date.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · roadmap spring scope

Claim · roadmapSpringScopeTwo new raids: 10-player and 20-player, Two new dungeons, New quests and playable area, New legendary questline, PvP season refresh

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Season labels are retained from the 2026–2027 graphic; content and timing may change.

Forever · roadmap summer scope

Claim · roadmapSummerScopeA revamped iconic raid, A new raid, Expanded world content, Two new dungeons, PvP season refresh, Professions and Legacy updates

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: The iconic raid and other future instances are not named in the graphic.