WoW Forever dungeons, raids and group sizes

Current access: live since November 4 #

WoW Forever went live in all regions on November 4 at 3pm PST / 23:00 UTC. Blizzard closed the beta on October 23, and name reservations ended November 3. The dated beta instructions and observations below are historical, not a way to join the closed test or proof of launch behavior.

Closed-beta dungeons and historical opening ranges #

October 8 added City of Dalaran to beta testing. The cap was level 30, announced October 1. Before the beta closed October 23, Blizzard made Excavation Site: Wetlands (26–31), Razorfen Downs (25+) and Uldaman (30+) available alongside Ragefire Chasm, Hall of Thanes, Ruins of Lordaeron, Wailing Caverns, Deadmines, Shadowfang Keep, Stockade, Blackfathom Deeps, Gnomeregan, Razorfen Kraul and Scarlet Monastery. Announced availability is not a tested entry requirement.

The September 17 opening list gave Hall of Thanes as 13–18 and Ruins of Lordaeron as 15–20. Those historical content ranges are not minimum-entry or group-readiness guarantees. The public Stress Test ran October 21 before the beta closed October 23; it is not a future sign-up window.

Dungeon XP after the October 8 update #

Dungeon creature kills award approximately 20% more XP than before this beta update. This change applies to creature-kill XP; it does not establish a 20% increase to quest rewards, completion rewards or total XP per hour.

When a party kills lower-level enemies, the XP adjustment now uses each player’s own level, following Classic Era behavior. Previously it used the highest-level party member. If anyone is vastly higher level than the enemy, nobody in the party receives XP; Blizzard does not state a numeric cutoff.

• Compare a dungeon session using the same route, party levels and time spent forming the group. Kingy has no measured dungeon-versus-questing leveling result for this build.
• Use the current quest log and client entry requirements for Dalaran; the notes announce testing access without a level range, entrance route or boss guide.

Is there a dungeon finder? The Group Finder #

Forever has a Group Finder with postings. Blizzard's October 8 beta notes add an in-game voice mode that can be chosen for a Group Finder posting, which prompts party members to join the selected voice chat.

The reviewed notes describe postings, not an automatic queue or a teleport to the entrance. Kingy hasn't used the Group Finder in play, so plan to travel to the dungeon until Blizzard or a tested report says otherwise.

Wowhead reported on October 7 that a listing now needs a Playstyle choice first: Learning, Relaxed, Competitive or Carry Offered. Pick the one that matches the run you want so the right players apply.

Are there dungeon maps? Probably not #

Don't count on an in-game dungeon map. Senior game designer Jay Hartman said on the official WoW: Forever Podcast (episode 3) that Forever probably won't have them: the team wants dungeons to feel like an adventure, and maps push groups onto the shortest route past the nooks and crannies (Wowhead report).

Do meeting stones summon? No summoning stones #

Forever won't have summoning stones. The WoW Forever team told TechRadar (October 9) that quick teleports shrink the world and take away part of what makes Warlocks distinct, so the feature fails two of its design pillars: social experiences and the world as the main character.

Plan for every party member to travel to the dungeon entrance. Kingy hasn't checked the stones in play.

Ruins of Lordaeron beta pilot: scope and entrance #

Blizzard includes Ruins of Lordaeron in the opening beta at levels 15–20. That is an announced content range, not a tested entry requirement. Encounter reporting was rechecked September 25; no Kingy run or client build is attached.

Ruse_Cruize reports the entrance at the eastern side of the Undercity courtyard, coordinates 71.6, 11.4. Confirm the entrance in your build before relying on it.

Reported encounter cues and party responses #

These six rows summarize Ruse_Cruize’s article as reviewed September 25. They do not establish a complete in-build boss inventory. Exact interrupt immunity, dispel eligibility, timings and recovery routes need a recorded run.

Reported items: a three-item sample #

Hyjal associates these three items with The Baron. This is a small reported sample, not observed drops, a complete loot table or a best-in-slot ranking. The listing gives required level 15 and bind-on-pickup for all three. Item IDs, client build and measured drop rates remain unconfirmed.

What still needs a dungeon run #

Verified Kingy gameplay coverage is currently zero encounters and zero item drops. The pilot tracks six encounters with reported mechanics and three reported items. The complete in-build inventory is unknown, so there is no completeness percentage.

• Record the client build, date, faction, ruleset, party levels and the entrance-to-exit route. Check any level gate, quest prerequisite and Alliance access separately.
• Capture every encounter’s cast names, cues and party responses. Test interrupts and dispels before naming a priority; record wipe recovery and run-back steps.
• Capture full item tooltips and IDs, the corpse or quest reward screen, eligibility and required levels. One drop cannot establish a drop rate or complete loot pool.
• Record quest pickups, prerequisites, turn-ins and rewards. The existing run record is still blank; no quest chain is marked completed here.

The nine announced dungeon destinations #

This is an announcement list, not an entrance map. October 1 now names Excavation Site: Wetlands; complete faction restrictions, keys, encounters and launch availability have not yet been tested.

The levels are content ranges from Blizzard's September 15 list, which corrected Krol’dok Stronghold to 40–45; they are not entry requirements. Excavation Site moved from 24–29 to 26–31 in the October 1 notes, and Blizzard’s October 20 dungeon overview lists 24–29 again; the other eight ranges match that overview.

Dalaran: a city behind a fallen barrier #

Blizzard opened the City of Dalaran dungeon for beta testing on October 8. Its entrance, minimum entry level, bosses and loot still need build-specific verification.

Dalaran’s magical disruption opens a story about rebuilding after Warcraft III. In the official panel, the city’s mages have raised a barrier to conceal their restoration work, but that protection has failed. Enchantments misfire, arcane constructs behave unpredictably and demonic energy adds to the disorder. Even the city’s mages need adventurers to help with the disruption.

The presentation invites adventurers to investigate and hints at artifacts among the rewards. It also describes a city to explore beyond the dungeon itself. That distinction matters when reading early coverage: a scene in Dalaran does not identify a particular dungeon entrance, quest objective or loot source.

The excerpt introduces the disruption and the invitation to help. For the wider setting, read where Forever begins in Warcraft history.

▶WATCH VIDEO EXCERPT · 19:34–20:43Dalaran’s disrupted restorationLoad YouTube player

Ruins of Lordaeron: reclaiming a home #

The Forsaken’s work in Lordaeron is personal as well as strategic. The panel describes people trying to recover a ruined city that still holds family heirlooms and memories of those who died there. Reclamation means returning to places that mattered before the destruction and facing what now occupies them.

Scourge remain in the ruins, and the presentation introduces reports of a necromancer preparing another attack. These threats sit alongside the quieter work of recovering keepsakes, giving the Forsaken’s invitation both an immediate danger and a connection to the city’s past.

The presenter addresses Horde and Alliance visitors differently, including a suggestion that Alliance characters may need to sneak in. Treat that as announcement context, not proof of a tested entrance or faction lock. Agree on a shared ruleset and faction before planning group content, then check a current route when the dungeon is playable.

▶WATCH VIDEO EXCERPT · 20:52–21:38Reclaiming the Ruins of LordaeronLoad YouTube player

Hall of Thanes: trouble beneath Ironforge #

The Hall of Thanes connects a new dungeon to the history beneath Ironforge. Blizzard’s panel describes a burial place for dwarven rulers, maintained over generations and usually left undisturbed. Its importance comes from the people remembered there and the care given to their resting place.

Intruders have broken into those halls. The presenter suspects the Dark Irons and warns of ghostly sounds in the corridors; the suspicion should remain attributed rather than becoming a confirmed account of every enemy inside. The hook is an intrusion into a place the dwarves consider sacred.

The panel speaks directly to Alliance adventurers while suggesting that Horde visitors would need another way in. That story invitation does not establish a faction lock or a tested entrance. Keep this destination on your group’s exploration list.

Drowned City: ruins returning from the sea #

The panel presents ancient troll ruins off Stranglethorn that have unexpectedly risen from the sea. A place long submerged becomes visible again, giving adventurers a new mystery along a familiar coast. The change in the landscape is the opening question: what has returned, and what is happening inside?

Trolls and naga are reported in the city, and a pirate ship has crashed into it. Blizzard’s written recap also highlights naga and pirates. The ruins bring those groups together in a newly exposed place off a familiar coastline.

The September 12 presentation offered a show-floor demonstration of this dungeon. That invitation was specific to the event and does not establish public beta access. The full journey’s dungeon roster and the content enabled in a test build are separate checks. The beta is now closed; use launch-specific availability before making a plan to play this destination.

Blackmaw Hold: corruption beneath the hold #

Blackmaw Hold appears in Blizzard’s written list of the nine announced dungeon destinations, with the official context “corruption beneath the hold”. The panel also lists Krol’dok Stronghold separately as a Riverglades outdoor dungeon involving ogres; the two are distinct destinations in this edition and should not be merged in a group plan.

Blackmaw Hold also appears in the Master Spelunker achievement image from Wowhead’s preview article. The achievement list groups it with upper-level destinations such as Scholomance and Blackrock Depths; the image does not supply a level recommendation, entrance route or faction rule.

Treat the hold as a name on the announcement list until the beta or launch build supplies its entrance, minimum level and encounters. A corruption-themed name does not establish enemy types, bosses or rewards.

Returning dungeons in the demo achievement lists #

Wowhead published three readable achievement screenshots from the preview. They mix familiar and new destinations; they are not a complete launch roster or a recommended leveling order. The image labels below preserve the reported grouping without inventing minimum levels.

Rath’mael appears in the screenshot but is not named in the nine-dungeon prose recap. The preview does not establish its location or entrance. Nor does an absent dungeon name prove that content has been removed. Keep those questions open until Blizzard or a playable build supplies the full roster.

Raids and the December opening #

The roadmap schedules new raids for December 9, 2026. No opening hour, attunement procedure, full encounter list or difficulty structure is established here. New tier sets and a legendary reward are announced; the source does not reveal the full reward details.

Use the group sizes to organize interested players now. Save detailed rosters, required consumables and gear thresholds for tested encounter requirements.

Darkspear Islands PvP #

Blizzard’s October 7 preview describes Darkspear Islands as a 15-versus-15 battleground for levels 30–60 off Dustwallow Marsh. Capture four control points and deliver the central flag to a controlled base; the first team to 2,000 points wins.

Blizzard lists capital-city battlemasters and the Barrens portals at Merchant Coast (Horde) or Northwatch (Alliance) as queue options. Reputation rewards come from Darkspear Raiders or Theramore Expeditionary Force, with an Exalted questline for a faction tabard. Exact item stats and independently tested match tactics remain unknown.

What your group can settle now #

Do not carry over attunement routes, dungeon keys or loot tables from other WoW versions without a Forever-specific check.

1. Separate interest in 10-, 20- and 40-player raid groups. Recheck encounter and roster rules before assigning fixed roles.
2. Agree on the same ruleset, faction and start date. Blizzard’s Deep Dive rules out cross-ruleset and cross-faction grouping.
3. Record December 9 as the announced raid milestone, without inventing an opening hour.
4. Before setting an equipment requirement, check a current Forever guide with item sources and encounter evidence.

Prepare for deliberate dungeon pulls #

These are preparation steps based on Blizzard’s combat design, not a tested boss strategy. Pull sizes, spell immunities and encounter assignments still need dungeon-specific evidence.

1. Agree on a first target and any crowd-control target before pulling. Blizzard explicitly retains tools such as Polymorph, Banish, Fear and Root.
2. Let the tank establish control and watch threat before using area damage. The Deep Dive describes crowd control as useful when a pack is too large to control safely.
3. Confirm who can interrupt and which abilities they have. Paladins still lack an interrupt; a Protection Paladin’s taunt depends on Seal of Fury.
4. Discuss equipment and appearance rules before loot drops. Eligible looters receive bind-on-pickup Uncommon and Rare dungeon appearances when the item is looted; that does not give everyone the equipment.

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