WoW Forever Raids on December 9: Barrow Deeps for 10, Hyjal Summit for 20, Onyxia for 40

All three raids unlock on December 9, five weeks after the November 4 launch. All are for level 60 characters, and Blizzard currently plans for each to reset weekly.

Two of the three are new raids built for smaller groups, so a guild doesn't need 40 players to start raiding. Onyxia keeps her original 40-player size.

Hidden beneath Kalimdor, the Barrow Deeps is the prison that held Illidan Stormrage for 10,000 years. Its passages have now been opened, and raiders go down to learn what became of those left behind and how the wardens mean to contain the danger below. A group of 10 faces eight bosses in the prison's depths.

There is more than one way in. Entrances connect through Mount Hyjal, Winterspring and Blackmaw Hold, the level 55–60 furbolg dungeon in Azshara whose deepest reaches, as Blizzard puts it, may lead even farther below Azeroth.

Hyjal Summit sits at the peak of Mount Hyjal near Nordrassil and is the biggest of the three, with 13 bosses for 20 players. It opens with a battle against an ancient guardian. After that, the raid chooses between several paths across the mountain, through ruins above and below ground, before the routes open the way to the final encounters.

Despite the name, this isn't the Caverns of Time raid from The Burning Crusade. It's a new raid on the mountain itself, which WoW Forever adds as a zone of its own.

Onyxia, younger sister of Nefarian, guards her brood in Dustwallow Marsh in a three-phase fight for 40 level 60 players. Her fire attacks punish an unprepared raid, so Blizzard advises building fire resistance before you go in and being ready to reposition as the fight shifts. Every raid member needs the Drakefire Amulet in their bags to enter; it doesn't have to be equipped.

• Alliance: the chain starts with Dragonkin Menace from Helendis Riverhorn in the Burning Steppes, continues through six quests named The True Masters, Marshal Windsor's escape from Blackrock Depths and The Great Masquerade in Stormwind, and ends in Upper Blackrock Spire with the Blood of the Black Dragon Champion from General Drakkisath.
• Horde: the chain starts with Blood and Thunder from Warlord Goretooth in Kargath, the Badlands, sends you through Lower Blackrock Spire twice, to Thrall and to Rexxar in Desolace, then to the drake Emberstrife in Dustwallow Marsh for four quests that begin with The Test of Skulls, and also ends with General Drakkisath's blood in Upper Blackrock Spire.

Both chains include elite quests and several trips into high-level dungeons, so start early and bring friends. Our Drakefire Amulet guide has every step.

• Match the raid to your group. Ten players can aim for the Barrow Deeps; Hyjal Summit needs 20 and Onyxia 40.
• Do the Onyxia attunement while you run the Blackrock dungeons at the end of leveling: both chains pass through Blackrock Depths or Blackrock Spire.
• Collect fire resistance gear before your first Onyxia night.
• Expect new rewards. Blizzard has promised new tier sets and a legendary reward with Forever's raids, which it has yet to reveal in full.
• Read up on the Barrow Deeps and Hyjal Summit, and see WoW Forever Launches November 4: Beta, Name Reservation and Raid Dates for the rest of the schedule.