World of Warcraft: Forever will open its first three level-60 raids on December 9, 2026, giving players their first major endgame progression targets following the game launch. The lineup includes the new 10-player Barrow Deeps, the 20-player Hyjal Summit, and the returning 40-player Onyxia's Lair. Players can also look forward to new tier sets and an upcoming legendary reward, although Blizzard has not revealed the legendary's identity or acquisition requirements yet. The December raid unlock represents an important milestone for WoW Forever. Until then, players will have to focus on reaching maximum level, developing their professions, exploring the game's nine new dungeons, and preparing characters for the first major raid progression cycle. WoW Forever Raids Open December 9: Hyjal Summit, Barrow Deeps & Onyxia's Lair WoW Forever's First Three Raids Unlock on December 9 Blizzard has confirmed December 9 as the opening date for three level-60 raids. Importantly, the official lineup includes Onyxia's Lair in addition to the two newly developed Mount Hyjal encounters. Raid Location Group Size Level Requirement The Barrow Deeps Mount Hyjal 10 players 60 Hyjal Summit Mount Hyjal 20 players 60 Onyxia's Lair Dustwallow Marsh 40 players 60 The three raids provide different group-size options, which could make the initial endgame more accessible to guilds with varying recruitment capabilities. The Barrow Deeps: A New 10-Player Raid The Barrow Deeps is a new maximum-level raid hidden beneath Mount Hyjal. According to Blizzard, the location once served as the prison where Illidan Stormrage was held for 10,000 years. The raid features eight boss encounters and multiple entrances connected through Mount Hyjal, Winterspring, and Blackmaw Hold. This gives players several possible approaches to reaching the instance. Its 10-player format is particularly interesting for smaller guilds and groups that may struggle to consistently organize larger raids. Rather than requiring a full 40-player roster, guilds can begin exploring new raid content with a considerably smaller team. However, Blizzard has not yet published all encounter mechanics, difficulty details, or the complete loot table. Players should therefore avoid assuming that its smaller group size necessarily means easier progression. WOW Forever The Barrow Deeps Hyjal Summit: A 20-Player Raid at Nordrassil Hyjal Summit takes players to one of Warcraft's most recognizable locations: the summit of Mount Hyjal, near the World Tree Nordrassil. Unlike Barrow Deeps, this raid is designed for 20 players and features 13 bosses. Blizzard describes multiple routes across the mountain, with encounters taking place in areas both above and below ground. The larger roster creates a different organizational challenge compared with Barrow Deeps. Guilds will need to coordinate more players, class compositions, and encounter responsibilities. For players interested in exploring the new content with a medium-sized guild, Hyjal Summit could become one of the central progression destinations during WoW Forever's initial endgame period. WOW Forever Hyjal Summit Onyxia's Lair: The Returning 40-Player Raid Onyxia's Lair completes the December 9 lineup, bringing a familiar 40-player raid back into the endgame. Located in Dustwallow Marsh, the encounter provides a different experience from the two new Mount Hyjal raids. Its larger group requirement also gives established guilds another reason to maintain a substantial roster. For returning Classic players, Onyxia offers a familiar raid destination, while newcomers can experience one of Warcraft's recognizable dragon encounters as part of Forever's evolving progression. Blizzard's official raid overview also provides the attunement requirements for Onyxia's Lair. Players planning to participate should complete the relevant quest chain and obtain the Drakefire Amulet before entering. WOW Forever Onyxia’s Lair What Rewards Can Players Expect from the First Raids? Beyond the new encounters, the December 9 update is important because it introduces another layer of character progression. Blizzard has confirmed that the new raid content will bring: New Tier Sets: Players will have additional equipment progression targets through raid-related rewards. A Legendary Reward: Blizzard has confirmed that a legendary item is planned, but its name, appearance, class restrictions, acquisition method, and release details have not yet been disclosed. New Raid Encounters: Barrow Deeps and Hyjal Summit introduce original raid experiences rather than simply bringing back existing Classic encounters. The legendary reward is particularly worth watching. In traditional World of Warcraft progression, legendary equipment often involves more than defeating a single boss, potentially requiring extended preparation and multiple stages of collection. However, that is historical context, not confirmation of how Forever's legendary will work. Blizzard has not announced its specific quest chain, materials, drop conditions, or whether players will need to complete multiple raids to obtain it. Consequently, players should wait for the official item announcement before making assumptions about the time or resources required. What Should Players Do before December 9? The period between WoW Forever's November 4 launch and its first raid unlock gives players several weeks to establish their characters and prepare for level-60 content. Rather than treating this period as downtime, players can use it to build a foundation for their first raid experience. Reach Level 60 and Develop Your Professions Reaching level 60 is the primary requirement for entering the three announced raids. Players who have not reached the level cap will need to prioritize questing, dungeon runs, and character progression. Professions are another important consideration. Gathering and crafting can support equipment preparation and provide access to useful materials and consumables. Players managing their WoW Forever gold should also consider how they distribute their resources between profession materials, equipment upgrades, repairs, and other preparation expenses. Planning these purchases ahead of the raid opening can help avoid unnecessary last-minute spending. Explore the Nine New Dungeons WoW Forever launched with nine additional dungeons, providing more group content throughout the leveling journey. These include: New Dungeon Associated Location or Area Hall of Thanes Ironforge Ruins of Lordaeron Undercity Whelgar's Excavation Wetlands City of Dalaran Dalaran Blackmaw Hold Blackmaw Hold The Drowned City Kalimdor Krol'dok Stronghold Un'Goro Alcaz Prison Dustwallow Marsh Shaper's Terrace Un'Goro These dungeons provide additional reasons to organize groups before the first raids become available. They also expand the range of locations players can explore while leveling and progressing their characters. For guilds, the pre-raid period is also a practical opportunity to identify reliable group members, coordinate schedules, and determine whether a 10-, 20-, or 40-player raid environment best suits their roster. What Comes after the December Raid Release? December 9 opening is only the beginning of Blizzard's longer-term plans for WoW Forever. According to the official What's Next panel recap, Blizzard intends to expand the game with additional raids, more dungeons, PvP updates, new world content, and additional quests throughout the level 1–60 journey. Two other announced developments are particularly notable: Hardcore: Blizzard has included Hardcore among its planned future additions, offering another potential way to experience the world. A Revamped Iconic Raid: An existing recognizable raid is also planned to receive a revamped version, although Blizzard has not identified its release date or provided enough details to establish exactly what will change. The important distinction is that these are roadmap commitments, not confirmed December 9 features. Blizzard has not published specific launch dates for these subsequent additions. This means players should not interpret the first raid release as the arrival of the game's complete endgame system. Instead, it establishes the initial progression foundation that future updates are expected to expand. Raid Release Schedule and Confirmed Future Content The following table separates confirmed information from developments that still lack specific release dates. Content Current Status Release Date Barrow Deeps (10-player) Confirmed December 9, 2026 Hyjal Summit (20-player) Confirmed December 9, 2026 Onyxia’s Lair (40-player) Confirmed December 9, 2026 New Tier Sets Confirmed Associated with new raid content Legendary Reward Confirmed, details unrevealed Not specified Additional Raids Planned Not announced Additional Dungeons Planned Not announced PvP Updates Planned Not announced Hardcore Planned Not announced Revamped Iconic Raid Planned Not announced Blizzard has also stated that raids are currently planned to follow weekly reset schedules, giving guilds a recurring opportunity to organize their progression. The official roadmap does not yet provide a detailed release schedule for the later additions. Players should therefore treat December 9 as the first major raid milestone rather than assume that subsequent content will arrive at fixed intervals. What the First Raid Unlock Means for WoW Forever? WoW Forever's first raid release introduces three different group-size options, two new raid environments, and additional equipment progression for level-60 characters. The inclusion of Barrow Deeps and Hyjal Summit gives players new locations and encounters to explore, while Onyxia's Lair provides a familiar 40-player destination for established Classic communities. More importantly, Blizzard's longer-term roadmap suggests that the December opening is intended to establish the foundation for an evolving endgame rather than serve as a one-time content release. For now, players have a clear objective: reach level 60, develop their professions, explore the nine new dungeons, and prepare their guilds for December 9. The remaining question is how Blizzard will develop the legendary reward and what additional raid content will follow.

Luminary and Mercenaries have both been added to Path of Exile's core content, so many players are likely to use them for their Path of Exile 3.30 Covens of Umbra league starts. However, the high-end setups for Luminary's Lightbearer and Mercenary Bots may receive substantial nerfs. If they remain untouched, these builds could dominate the meta next league. Even if they are nerfed, however, they may still retain considerable strength. Since powerful endgame Mercenary setups often rely on specific support gems or skill combinations, they can be difficult to get running during the campaign. So, let's take a closer look at which Mercenaries perform best when starting PoE 3.30 with minimal gear. Path of Exile 3.30 Best Mercenaries for League Start | Top Picks for Early Progression Testing Method A player tested various Mercenaries in Act 4 using a basic Lightbearer setup. The main evaluation criteria were how quickly they could kill Voll, Emperor of Purity, and their overall clear performance. The test setup prioritized capped resistances and life, with Evasion, Armour, and Strength-based gear prepared to help fill resistance gaps. The only jewellery modification was a basic benchcraft for increased elemental damage with attacks. Attack-based Mercenaries used white weapons, while spell-based Mercenaries used white weapons and jewellery with Cast Speed. This test did not cover league starts with traded gear. Instead, it aimed to approximate the minimum gear requirements of SSF. Flame Link was tested only at its base level with ordinary flat added damage, without considering Light Radius. Key Findings About Mercenaries The tests revealed significant differences in performance between Mercenaries. Some performed poorly regardless of their skills, while others could go from top-tier to mediocre depending on their skill combinations. Combatant is highly dependent on the combination of Static Strike and Frost Blades, which delivers strong single-target damage and clear speed. However, combinations such as Helix and Wild Strike, Helix and Frost Blades, Helix and Static Strike, or Wild Strike and Static Strike are considerably less effective. Fallen Reverend offers excellent consistency. It always comes with Absolution and prioritizes using this skill. Even with very few support gems, it can carry a character into yellow maps with relative ease. Blade Ambusher has a relatively fixed skill setup, although its buff skills can vary. For example, Smoke Mine can interfere with its AI. Its single-target performance is fairly consistent, but its clear speed is somewhat weaker. Kineticist excels at clearing but struggles with single-target damage. Its endgame potential can be further improved through mechanics such as Returning Projectiles and increased Spell Damage. Reanimator performed poorly across multiple tested variations. Recommended Mercenaries Path of Exile 3.30 Recommended Mercenaries If you want to save time, you can simply choose from the following Mercenaries. These are not necessarily endgame choices, so you can easily trade for them using some PoE currency. Fallen Reverend Extremely consistent. It always comes with Absolution and prioritizes using it. Even without additional support gems, it can comfortably carry your character into yellow maps. Blade Ambusher One of the most consistent Mercenaries for single-target damage, although its clear speed is somewhat weaker. Its skill setup is relatively fixed, but its buff skills, such as Smoke Mine, can vary randomly and potentially interfere with its AI. Combatant Its performance depends heavily on its skill combination. Only when equipped with Frost Blades and Static Strike does it become one of the best Mercenaries for both single-target damage and clear speed. Other combinations tend to deliver mediocre results. Manyshot Performs well when equipped with Vaal Ice Shot. Warpriest Offers moderate clear speed but has respectable single-target damage during low-gear league starts. Cruel Mistress Has extremely high base damage. Its primary skill is Soulrend of Reaping, which can carry a character through Pinnacle Bosses thanks to its base damage alone, even without dedicated support from the character. This Mercenary only becomes available after Act 6. Flamehand Flamehand's performance is highly dependent on its skills. It performs well in Act 4 when equipped with Vaal Flameblast and Flameblast. Kineticist Offers the best clear speed among the tested Mercenaries, but its single-target damage is only moderate during the early campaign. It needs powerful skill combinations, such as Greater Kinetic Blast with Cluster Traps, to perform at its best. In the endgame, mechanics such as Returning Projectiles and increased Spell Damage provide an exceptionally high scaling ceiling. How to Farm Mercenaries? If you don't want to trade, you can also farm Mercenaries yourself. However, repeatedly resetting Act 4, Act 6, and Act 8 is not recommended during the campaign. A more efficient approach is to obtain your first Mercenary in the earliest area where their spawns can be reliably reset Sceptre of God. This area has a guaranteed spawn mechanic and is easy to reset, with Mercenaries frequently appearing near the entrance. After entering the area, check around the entrance and both sides of the minimap for Mercenary icons. There is approximately a 50% or higher chance that a Mercenary will spawn near the entrance. If no Mercenary appears, don't bother clearing the entire area, as it may have spawned much farther away. Instead, leave the area, and create a new instance and reset the spawn. Finding one of the recommended Mercenaries usually doesn't take long. Overall, Mercenaries offer excellent scaling potential and provide a reliable option for league starts. Once you enter the endgame, you can prioritize Atlas passives that increase Mercenary spawn chances and provide them with additional support gems during the early stages of mapping. As you progress through white, yellow, and red maps, continue upgrading your Mercenaries while using the currency you find to craft better gear and improve your equipment. Their performance will naturally improve as you progress through the Atlas and acquire better equipment.