The first WoW Forever raids - Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair - open on Wednesday, December 9. That gives every player who reaches level 60 a few weeks to build a WoW Forever pre-raid BiS set: the best gear you can get from dungeons, crafting, reputations, quests and the world before the first raid boss dies.
This guide explains where WoW Forever pre-raid gear comes from, which parts of the old Classic lists still hold and which don't, how much a full pre-raid set is actually worth in our simulations, and a week-by-week plan so you walk into your first raid ready. For the exact best item in every slot for your spec, use our WoW Forever Pre-Raid BiS lists, which are ranked from the game's own item data with each spec's stat weights.
WoW Forever pre-raid BiS: the short version
- Raids open December 9. Barrow Deeps (10 players), Hyjal Summit (20) and Onyxia's Lair (40), all for level 60 characters, according to Blizzard's raid overview of October 20.
- Pre-raid gear comes from five places: the level 55-60 dungeons, crafting, reputation vendors, quest rewards and Bind on Equip world drops you can buy on the auction house.
- The two new endgame dungeons matter: Blackmaw Hold (55-60, Azshara) and Shaper's Terrace (58-60, Un'Goro Crater) join Stratholme, Scholomance, Dire Maul and Blackrock Spire.
- Old Classic lists are not reliable. Forever has new itemization, new stats on many old items and new rules for hit and crit, so check every item in the game before you farm it.
- A full pre-raid set is a big upgrade. In our sims, raid gear is worth 30-75% more damage than the dungeon set - but the dungeon set is what gets you into the raid and through the first bosses.
- Onyxia needs the Drakefire Amulet. Its quest chain runs through Blackrock Depths and Blackrock Spire, so do it alongside your gear runs.
When do WoW Forever raids open?
Blizzard's raid overview, published on October 20, confirms all three raids unlock together on December 9, five weeks after launch. Barrow Deeps is a 10-player raid with eight bosses inside the old prison beneath Mount Hyjal. Hyjal Summit takes 20 players through 13 bosses near the World Tree Nordrassil. Onyxia's Lair, in Dustwallow Marsh, is still a 40-player raid, and every raider needs the Drakefire Amulet in their bags to get in. All three are planned to reset once a week.
Our WoW Forever raids article covers each raid in detail. For pre-raid gearing, what matters is the date: from launch on November 4, a player who reaches 60 in the second or third week has roughly three weeks of dungeons, crafting and reputation before the raids open.
WoW Forever raids open in
December 9, 2026
Where WoW Forever pre-raid gear comes from
Pre-raid BiS in Classic meant memorising which boss in which dungeon dropped which blue. Forever keeps the idea but changes most of the details. Our Pre-Raid BiS lists take Rare and Epic items you can get outside raids - dungeon drops, quests, crafting, vendors and Bind on Equip world drops - and rank them for every spec. Here are the five sources, and what to expect from each.
1. The level 55-60 dungeons
These are the backbone of any pre-raid set. According to Warcraft Tavern's dungeon list, the endgame dungeons in WoW Forever are:
- Blackrock Depths (52-60, Blackrock Mountain) - long, with a lot of bosses, and part of the Alliance Onyxia attunement.
- Dire Maul East (54-60), West (56-60) and North (56-60), in Feralas.
- Lower Blackrock Spire (55-60) - part of the Horde Onyxia attunement.
- Blackmaw Hold (55-60, Azshara) - new in Forever, and one of the entrances to Barrow Deeps.
- Shaper's Terrace (58-60, Un'Goro Crater) - new in Forever.
- Stratholme Main Gate and Service Gate (58-60, Eastern Plaguelands).
- Scholomance (58-60, Western Plaguelands).
- Upper Blackrock Spire (59-60) - the end of both Onyxia attunement chains.
A few things are different from Classic. Each dungeon has one difficulty - no Heroic or Mythic - and Warcraft Tavern reports that you can reset dungeons up to five times per hour. There's no automatic Dungeon Finder either: the Looking For Group tool lists groups, but you still invite players and travel yourself. Our guide to grouping in WoW Forever explains how that works.
Loot was reworked too. Lfcarry's BiS guide, updated on November 4, notes that Blizzard made every dungeon boss's unique item a blue (Rare), and that the stats for many endgame items weren't visible in the launch data. That's the main reason to treat any pre-raid list made before launch as a draft.
2. Crafted gear
Crafting is a bigger part of pre-raid gear in Forever than it was in Classic. Several of the best-known pre-raid pieces are still crafted, and LePrestore's pre-raid roadmap, published on October 28, lists their requirements in the Forever item data:
- Lionheart Helm - plate helm for Warriors and Paladins. Requires level 56, Bind on Equip, Blacksmithing 300 and the Armorsmith plans.
- Devilsaur Gauntlets and Devilsaur Leggings - leather for Rogues, Feral Druids and leather-wearing hybrids. Level 53 and 55, Bind on Equip, Tribal Leatherworking 290. Wearing both gives a set bonus.
- Truefaith Vestments - a Priest-only robe. Level 57, Bind on Pickup, Tailoring 300.
- Robe of the Archmage - a Mage-only robe. Level 57, Bind on Pickup, high-level Tailoring.
- Hide of the Wild - a healer cloak. Level 57, Bind on Equip, Leatherworking 300.
The Bind on Equip pieces can be bought on the auction house, so you don't need the profession yourself. The Bind on Pickup robes are different: you need the profession, which is one reason a Priest or Mage who plans to raid seriously picks Tailoring. Our profession bonuses guide and the class-by-class profession articles explain the trade-offs, and the Professions page lists every recipe.
3. Reputation rewards
Some of the strongest rings, trinkets and weapons in pre-raid lists come from reputation vendors. Frostyboost's BiS list, published on October 31, points to rewards from Theramore (Alliance) and the Darkspear (Horde) at Revered and Exalted, the Watchers at Exalted and Barkskin Burrow at Revered. Its advice is the right one: start the slow reputations early, because rings and trinkets are hard to replace.
Just as important is what not to do. Not every reputation is worth Exalted for every spec. Before you grind one, check that the item it unlocks is actually on your spec's list - our BiS lists and Find Upgrades both score items with your spec's stat weights, so an item that looks good on paper but doesn't suit your spec won't rank.
4. Quest rewards
Forever has more than 1,000 new quests between levels 1 and 60, and many of the rewards are new. A few quest rewards stay useful at 60, especially weapons and the rewards from long dungeon chains. The quickest way to find the ones worth doing is our Quest Upgrades page: enter your class, spec and level and it ranks every quest reward against your current gear. You can also browse the full WoW Forever quest database by zone.
5. World drops and the auction house
Bind on Equip epics and blues from the world are the wildcard. They can drop from any mob in the right level range, so most players get them through the auction house rather than farming. They're often among the best items for a slot, and Forever adds new ones. If you have gold, check the auction house for your slot's best world drop before you spend hours farming a dungeon boss for a smaller upgrade. Our item database shows where every item comes from.
What changed from Classic pre-raid BiS
If you raided in Classic, you probably remember a pre-raid list by heart. Forget most of it. Several sources agree on why:
- New itemization. Many old items have new stats in Forever, and Blizzard reworked dungeon loot. An item that was best-in-slot in 2019 might be mediocre now - or might not exist.
- Hit and crit work differently. Expcarry's pre-raid guide, updated on October 26, points out that hit and critical strike are shared across melee, ranged and spells in Forever, so old caster-hit and melee-hit numbers don't transfer.
- Healing gear also adds spell damage. Frostyboost notes that healing items now add spell damage, which changes how healer and hybrid lists look.
- New dungeons, new drops. Blackmaw Hold and Shaper's Terrace didn't exist in Classic, and their loot is still being catalogued.
- Set bonuses changed. Dungeon set bonuses come in steps (2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 pieces in the sets reported so far), so you don't need eight weak pieces for a bonus - a strong off-set item often beats one more set piece.
That's why our lists aren't copied from Classic. Every item on our Pre-Raid BiS page is read from the WoW Forever game files and scored with the same stat weights our sims use. When Blizzard changes an item, the list changes with the next data update.
How much is pre-raid gear worth? Our sims
We simulate every damage and healing spec at level 60 in two sets of gear: our Pre-Raid (dungeon) list and our Raid list. Each run is 1,000 fights of 60 seconds against a level 63 boss, with each spec's best race. Here's the top 10 for damage in pre-raid gear, from our WoW Forever DPS rankings of November 3:
- 1. Beast Mastery Hunter - 480 DPS (Orc)
- 2. Arcane Mage - 443 DPS (Troll)
- 3. Fury Warrior - 443 DPS (Night Elf)
- 4. Shadow Priest - 434 DPS (Night Elf)
- 5. Enhancement Shaman - 410 DPS (Dwarf)
- 6. Marksmanship Hunter - 405 DPS (Night Elf)
- 7. Assassination Rogue - 403 DPS (Night Elf)
- 8. Frost Mage - 382 DPS (Troll)
- 9. Combat Rogue - 371 DPS (Night Elf)
- 10. Affliction Warlock - 361 DPS (Orc)
Two things stand out. First, the order changes between pre-raid and raid gear. In raid gear, Arcane Mage (640) and Affliction Warlock (626) lead, and Affliction jumps from tenth to second. Warlocks gain the most from raid gear: Affliction goes from 361 to 626 DPS, about 74% more. Fury Warrior, third in pre-raid gear, is ninth in raid gear (555). Specs that scale well with spell power climb the most once the epics arrive.
Second, the gap is large for everyone. The Beast Mastery Hunter gains 30% from pre-raid to raid gear, the Arcane Mage 44%, the Shadow Priest 41%. That's the point of pre-raid gear: it isn't the end goal, it's what makes the first raid bosses killable so that the raid gear starts dropping.
Healers and tanks show the same pattern. Restoration Druid heals for 920 per second in pre-raid gear and 1,501 in raid gear. A Protection Warrior has 16,095 effective health in pre-raid gear and 35,452 in raid gear; the Protection Paladin goes from 12,992 to 32,776. Full numbers for every spec are on the rankings, and every result opens its own spec page with the exact gear used.
WoW Forever pre-raid priorities by role
Every spec's exact list is on our BiS page. But some priorities are the same for a whole role, and they decide what you farm first.
Physical damage (Warriors, Rogues, Hunters, Enhancement, Feral, Retribution)
- Weapon first. For melee and Hunters, the weapon is usually the biggest single upgrade. Find yours on the BiS list and put that dungeon (or that crafted recipe) at the top of your plan.
- Hit up to your cap. Missing is the biggest loss for physical damage. Your class guide lists the stat priority for your spec.
- Crafted pieces. Lionheart Helm for plate, and the Devilsaur pieces for leather, are Bind on Equip - buy them if you don't craft them.
- Hunters: your ranged weapon matters more than your melee weapon, and on our lists the Hunter ranged slot only takes bows, guns and crossbows.
Casters (Mages, Warlocks, Shadow Priests, Balance, Elemental)
- Spell power and hit. These are the two stats that move caster damage most in our sims, with Intellect for mana in longer fights.
- Mana matters more than it looks. In a long fight some casters run out - in our three-minute sims, Shadow Priest falls sharply for that reason. Pre-raid caster gear should not be pure damage.
- Tailoring pays off. The Bind on Pickup robes for Priests and Mages make Tailoring the natural raiding profession for those classes.
- Warlocks: because Warlocks gain the most from raid gear, they're worth gearing - they get stronger fast once epics drop.
Healers (Restoration Druid and Shaman, Holy and Discipline Priest, Holy Paladin)
- Healing power and mana regeneration. Healers need both, and Forever's healing gear now adds spell damage too.
- Hide of the Wild is a Bind on Equip healer cloak from Leatherworking - an easy auction house buy.
- Healers are in demand. A healer gets into dungeon groups quickly, so you can gear faster than a damage dealer. Use that to farm your attunement too.
- In our sims Restoration Druid leads healing in both pre-raid (920 HPS) and raid gear (1,501), but every healer can raid - see the best healer ranking.
Tanks (Protection Warrior and Paladin, Feral Druid)
- Survival first. Armor, Stamina and Defense come before threat for your first raid. A tank who dies loses more damage than one who holds slightly less threat.
- A shield and a threat weapon. Warriors and Paladins often carry two sets - one for survival and one for threat on easier bosses.
- Fire Resistance for Onyxia. Blizzard warns that Onyxia's fire attacks hit hard and advises building Fire Resistance before you go in. Tanks need it most.
- Our WoW Forever classes guide compares the tank classes.
Pre-raid BiS for every class
Here's where to find each class's lists and guides. Every BiS link opens the Pre-Raid list for that class, and you can switch spec and level there:
- Warrior: Warrior pre-raid BiS - Fury guide, Arms guide, Protection guide
- Paladin: Paladin pre-raid BiS - Holy, Protection, Retribution
- Hunter: Hunter pre-raid BiS - Beast Mastery, Marksmanship, Survival
- Rogue: Rogue pre-raid BiS - Assassination, Combat, Subtlety
- Priest: Priest pre-raid BiS - Discipline, Holy, Shadow
- Shaman: Shaman pre-raid BiS - Elemental, Enhancement, Restoration
- Mage: Mage pre-raid BiS - Arcane, Fire, Frost
- Warlock: Warlock pre-raid BiS - Affliction, Demonology, Destruction
- Druid: Druid pre-raid BiS - Balance, Feral, Restoration
A week-by-week plan to December 9
Everyone levels at a different speed, so think of this as a plan that starts the week you reach 60, not on a fixed date.
Week 1 at 60: the easy upgrades
- Replace your leveling gear. Open Find Upgrades, load your character and look for the biggest gains you can get without a group - quest rewards, crafted pieces and the auction house.
- Run the level 55-58 dungeons - Blackrock Depths, Dire Maul East and Lower Blackrock Spire - while your gear is still catching up.
- Start your attunement. The Onyxia chain sends you into Blackrock Depths (Alliance) or Lower Blackrock Spire (Horde) early, so pick up the quests before your first run.
- Train your professions to 300 if you plan to craft your own Bind on Pickup pieces.
Week 2 at 60: the key items
- Farm your weapon. Find the dungeon or recipe on your BiS list and do that first.
- Add Stratholme, Scholomance and Shaper's Terrace once your group can handle 58-60 content.
- Work on reputation for any ring, trinket or weapon on your list that comes from a faction.
- Buy the Bind on Equip crafted pieces you need from the auction house.
Week 3 at 60: finish the attunement and prepare
- Upper Blackrock Spire. Both Onyxia chains end there, with General Drakkisath. It's the hardest of the level 60 dungeons, so organise it with your guild.
- Fill the last slots with whatever your group has been getting - don't farm a small upgrade for hours.
- Fire Resistance gear for Onyxia, especially tanks and melee.
- Stock consumables. Potions, elixirs and food matter more in your first raid than one extra blue, and Alchemy and Cooking are worth levelling for them.
Common pre-raid mistakes
- Copying a Classic list. The items, stats and rules changed. Check each item in the game, or use a list built from Forever data.
- Farming one item for days. If an item isn't dropping, take the second-best option and move on. The difference is usually small.
- Ignoring the attunement. Forty players need the Drakefire Amulet for Onyxia. The last few people without it decide when your guild can go.
- Stacking one stat. Hit past your cap, or spell power without mana, can lose damage. Our stat weights account for caps.
- Wearing set pieces for the sake of it. With stepped set bonuses, a strong non-set item often beats one more set piece.
- Forgetting enchants. Enchants are cheaper than most upgrades and work on every piece of gear you'll wear until raid gear replaces it.
How our pre-raid BiS lists work
Our WoW Forever BiS lists are built from the game's own data, not from old guides. For every spec and every slot, we score every item you could equip with that spec's stat weights - the same weights Find Upgrades uses - counting hit only up to the cap. The Pre-Raid list takes Rare and Epic items from dungeons, quests, crafting, vendors and Bind on Equip world drops; the Raid list takes every Epic.
Class rules are built in: armor type, weapon skills, shields, dual wielding, and role. Casters don't get Strength items, physical specs don't get spell power items, and items more than 20 levels below the list's level are left out. Each slot shows the best item and up to three alternatives, with where each one comes from - so if the best one isn't dropping, you know what to get instead. Lists exist for levels 30, 40, 50 and 60, so you can use them while leveling too.
WoW Forever pre-raid BiS FAQ
- When do WoW Forever raids open? December 9, 2026. Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair unlock at the same time, according to Blizzard's raid overview.
- Do I need full pre-raid BiS to raid? No. Expcarry's guide puts it simply: a perfect BiS set isn't needed to enter. A good set gets you through the first bosses; the raid gear does the rest.
- What's the best pre-raid dungeon? It depends on your spec - check where your list's items drop. For most players, Stratholme, Scholomance, Upper Blackrock Spire and the new Shaper's Terrace are the main farm.
- Are Classic pre-raid lists still valid? Only partly. Many items have new stats, loot was reworked and hit and crit work differently in Forever.
- What do I need for Onyxia? The Drakefire Amulet for every raider, and Fire Resistance - see our WoW Forever raids guide for the full attunement steps.
- Can I wear crafted tier on December 9? Not really. The crafted tier recipes need Malleable Essence of Nature, which comes from disenchanting raid items.
- Which profession is best for raiding? Tailoring for Priests and Mages (Bind on Pickup robes), and Blacksmithing or Leatherworking for plate and leather wearers. See our best profession for every class.
Sources
- World of Warcraft: Forever Raid Overview - Locations, Raid Sizes, and Attunement (Blizzard, October 20, 2026)
- WoW Forever Dungeons (Warcraft Tavern, checked November 7, 2026)
- WoW Forever BiS Lists: Pre-Raid Gear and Tier Sets for Every Spec (Lfcarry, updated November 4, 2026)
- WoW Forever BiS List (Frostyboost, October 31, 2026)
- WoW Forever Level 60 Pre-Raid Gearing Roadmap (LePrestore, October 28, 2026)
- WoW Forever BiS List: Pre-Raid Gear for Every Spec (Expcarry, updated October 26, 2026)
- WoW Forever DPS, healing and tank rankings (Forever Upgrades sims, November 3, 2026)