Getting ready for Hyjal Summit and Barrow Deeps

Steps

1. 1

   Stop looking for an attunement chain — there isn't one

   This is the single most useful thing to know, and it cuts against twenty years of habit: the launch raids need no attunement.

   If you were planning to spend launch week grinding a key chain so you would be ready, you do not need to. Spend it levelling.

   ~2 min

   • Finally, the new raids at launch will not require attunement to enter, similar to the original entry-level raids.

     But Why Tho?: WoW Classic devs on World of Warcraft: Forever
2. 2

   Build for 20, and separately for 10 — there is no flex

   Two fixed sizes, and a group of 19 does not scale down. If you are organising, that is a recruiting target rather than a nice-to-have: twenty people, on the night.

   Hyjal Summit is the 20-player raid; Barrow Deeps is the 10.

   ~30 minNeeds a group

   • We're starting with 10- and 20-man, and no plans for flex at the moment. At the beginning, your group is gonna need 20 people to go in and defeat the new raid.

     But Why Tho?: WoW Classic devs on World of Warcraft: Forever
3. 3

   Do not plan for launch night — the raids come about a month later

   The nine dungeons are there on 4 November. The raids are not.

   "One month after launch" puts them in early December. A date of 9 December is widely repeated; treat the month as the sourced fact and the exact day as a rumour until Blizzard names it.

   ~2 min

   • Nine new dungeons launch at release, with two brand-new raids arriving one month after launch.

     But Why Tho?: WoW Classic devs on World of Warcraft: Forever
4. 4

   Know what is still unpublished, so you can ignore anyone who claims it

   Three things are genuinely not public, and confident-sounding guides about them are making it up:

   • Where the entrances are. Searching for Hyjal Summit mostly surfaces the old Burning Crusade "Battle for Mount Hyjal", which is a different instance. Barrow Deeps has one partial mention of an entrance in Hyjal and nothing more.
   • The boss lists. The only rosters circulating are inferred from datamined Legacy Challenge names, not published encounter lists.
   • Lockouts and difficulty tiers. Unannounced.

   Whatever endgame comes after these two, the developers declined to discuss.

   ~3 min

   • I actually don't think we should answer that one today. That one we'll leave for players to find out a little bit more about.

     But Why Tho?: WoW Classic devs on World of Warcraft: Forever
5. 5

   The real preparation is reaching 60 and gearing from dungeons

   With no attunement to chase, the whole of raid preparation is the ordinary thing: reach the cap, and gear up in five-player content.

   Blackrock Spire, Stratholme, Scholomance and Dire Maul all list bands ending at 60, which makes them the obvious run-up — if the classic roster returns as reported.

   ~90 minNeeds a group

   • World of Warcraft Forever brings forth all Classic dungeons, alongside 9 new and exciting ones filled with monstrosities and loot to explore.

     Warcraft Tavern: WoW Forever dungeons guide