WoW Forever Hyjal Summit Raid Guide

What Blizzard Says About the Raid

Plays from YouTube

Blizzard plans 20-player encounters for Hyjal Summit and ties new tier sets and a legendary reward to its two new raids. These are plans, not a report that the raid is playable. The What's Next Panel Recap says Hyjal Summit "will bring 20-player raid encounters to one of Warcraft's most important locations." It pairs the two new raids with new tier sets and "a legendary reward," but doesn't say which raid holds which reward.Blizzard: World of Warcraft: Forever What's Next Panel Recap, checked Sep 27, 2026.

The panel replay gives the story hook. At 28:20 the presenter recalls that Malfurion Stormrage gave up the power that sustained night elf immortality to defeat Archimonde, and suggests some night elves "disagreed with his decision." Now, the presenter says, "someone or something" is draining power from the land around the summit.Planned, first-party, in the future tenseBlizzard: World of Warcraft: Forever - What's Next Panel | BlizzCon 2026, checked Sep 27, 2026.

Share Image: BlizzCon slide titled New Raids, Hyjal Summit: a ruined elven stone tower, pines and a stone arch against a pink sky

The same segment describes the setting: snowy peaks, a river cutting through ancient elven ruins, and ghosts of the Third War. It ends with "plenty of power to be had," then "Legendary power" (29:16).Blizzard: World of Warcraft: Forever - What's Next Panel | BlizzCon 2026, checked Sep 27, 2026. That places a legendary tease in the Hyjal segment. Blizzard hasn't named the item or confirmed that it drops here.Planned, first-party, in the future tense

As she says "Legendary power," the stage slide changes to a New Raids card titled "Legendary Quest" (29:20).Blizzard: What's Next panel replay, 29:16 to 29:24, stage slide, checked Oct 5, 2026. Blizzard presents the legendary as a quest under its raid banner and doesn't tie it to Hyjal Summit or Barrow Deeps.Planned, first-party, in the future tense

Share Image: BlizzCon slide titled New Raids, Legendary Quest: a curved roof under purple twisted trees, with the presenter at the bottom

The 13 Bosses

Hyjal Summit has 13 planned bosses, the largest count of the three December 9 entries, but Blizzard hasn't published a roster or order. The total comes from Blizzard's September 23 Legacy article.

Blizzard Watch reports 13 names from the Legacy Challenges menu in the BlizzCon demo, and Warcraft Tavern lists the same setReported, press or datamine, not confirmed:

This is Blizzard Watch's menu order, not a kill order. Demo text can change before December 9. The two spelling conflicts stay open until Blizzard publishes the list. The cited demo reports provide names and menu order, but no encounter mechanics.

Lore Context: The Battle for Mount Hyjal

This section is Warcraft III and Burning Crusade history, not Forever design. Plan for a new raid. At the end of the Third War, Archimonde marched the Burning Legion up Mount Hyjal toward the World Tree, Nordrassil. Orcs, humans, and night elves held the mountain until Malfurion used the wisps of Hyjal to destroy him. The blast damaged Nordrassil and cost the night elves their immortality (Warcraft Wiki: Hyjal Summit).

Burning Crusade players know a different raid. Battle for Mount Hyjal was a 25-player Caverns of Time raid that replayed the battle:

• Five bosses, ending with Archimonde.
• Wave defense of Alliance, Horde, and night elf bases.
• Tier 6 tokens from its bosses.
• The Vials of Eternity attunement, removed in patch 2.4.

None of that carries over by default. Forever's Hyjal Summit is a different size, has 13 reported bosses with no Legion names among them, and tells a story set after Archimonde's defeat. Plan for a new raid.

Raid Rules That Shape a 20-Player Team

Plan for a same-faction team of 20, one difficulty and no gold-bid runs. The September 17 Developer Q&A replay gives these rulesPlanned, first-party, in the future tense:

• No flex sizing at the start (1:23:55).
• Every tier pairs a 10-player and 20-player raid (1:24:28).
• No cross-faction raiding (1:25:40).
• No GDKP gold-bid runs (1:16:11).
• One difficulty; armor color variants are "offset pieces" (1:27:08).Blizzard: World of Warcraft Developer Q&A replay, checked Sep 27, 2026.

In the But Why Tho? interview, Ana Resendez says tuning won't adapt to your level: "it's always gonna stay the same." The article adds that out-leveling and outgearing are the way content gets easier.Reported, press or datamine, not confirmed

Building a 20-Player Roster

Recruit 23 to 24 players, plan three tanks and carry five healers until tuning is known. This is planning advice from WoW Forever Guides, not Blizzard guidance. Twenty is small enough that every class slot matters and large enough that one guild usually can't fill it from a casual core.

• Recruit 23 to 24. Bench spots absorb absences.
• Plan three tanks as a hedge; mechanics are unknown.
• Carry five healers until tuning is known.
• Cover every buff your faction can bring.
• Write loot rules early. GDKP is not allowed.

The three-tank plan is a hedge, not a reading of boss names. The cited sources describe no encounter mechanics.

Many guilds will also run Barrow Deeps each week. Two 10-player groups from the same roster can clear it while the full 20 progresses here, if lockout rules allow. Blizzard hasn't published lockouts, so confirm before you plan split runs.

For gear, follow the planned stat changes in the itemization guide: combined hit and critical chance, less weapon skill per item, and caster weapons with spell damage and healing. Blizzard's Deep Dive recap says dungeon drops were re-examined and world-drop epics improved, so the dungeon guide is where pre-raid gear starts.

Calendar

Plan around two dates: Forever launches November 4, 2026, and new raids unlock December 9, 2026, both planned.

Swipe sideways to see all columns.

The panel recap gives the first two rows, and the roadmap card gives the spring row. The raid overview compares all three December 9 entries, and the Mount Hyjal zone guide covers the questing zone around the raid. The Legacy guide explains the account-wide challenge that counts all 13 kills.

Share Image: WoW Forever 2026 to 2027 roadmap graphic with Beta, launch, raid unlock, Hardcore launch and later major updates from autumn to summer

Why do raid counts differ?

Two Blizzard sources give different raid counts, and no source says how Blizzard counted Onyxia's Lair, so keep the two claims side by side. The Opening Ceremony recap says WoW Forever will have two new raids. The December 9 card lists three entries: Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit, and Onyxia's Lair. At the Q&A, a developer called Onyxia's Lair the launch 40-player raid (1:26:09).

The Beta Client's Boss List

Wowhead lists a beta client achievement that names the Hyjal Summit bosses and awards 1 Legacy Point. Its Forever database entry is now spelled "Conqueror of the Wilds" (Wowhead printed "Conquerer" on September 28, 2026). Its description reads "Defeat the following encounters in Hyjal Summit," and its reward is "Earn 1 Legacy Point." Conqueror of the Wilds achievementReported, press or datamine, not confirmed

It Settles the Two Spelling Conflicts

The criteria list spells the disputed pair "Elder Minderel" and "Nythus the Dreambound," though the spellings stay reported until Blizzard prints them. It holds the same 13 names as the table above, and against its spellings, Warcraft Tavern's "Minderei" and Blizzard Watch's "Dreadmbound" look like transcription slips. The list is client data, not a Blizzard post.

It Lists the Bosses in a Different Order

Neither list shows the raid's path: Wowhead's order differs from Blizzard Watch's menu order, and achievement criteria aren't a kill order either. Wowhead's page runs Bandalar, Time-Lost Battalion, Old Gloomlurker, Kathris the Haunted, Elder Minderel, Council of Thorns, The Wild King, Ancient of Decay, Sylvestris Dusksong, Gharalis the Abyssal, Anara Chillwind, Tracker Stillwind, then Nythus the Dreambound.

The Client's Own Order Matches the Demo Menu

The client's own order matches Blizzard Watch's menu order, but an index isn't a confirmed kill order. In the installed beta client (build 1.60.1.70205), each criterion has an order index. Sorted by that index, the 13 names match Blizzard Watch's menu order exactly, from Bandalar to The Wild King. The same build spells the title "Conqueror of the Wilds."Reported, press or datamine, not confirmedSource: Wowhead: Conqueror of the Wilds; installed beta build 1.60.1.70205, Achievement 62034, CriteriaTree 230811; checked Oct 5, 2026.

A Kill Statistic for the Wild King

By this site's read of the client, The Wild King is the likely last boss. The client also has a statistic, "The Wild King kills (Hyjal Summit)," and it is the only Hyjal Summit kill statistic in this build.

How the Legacy Point Works for This Raid

Blizzard plans one Legacy Point for a full 13-boss clear, shared across your non-Hardcore characters. Blizzard's Legacy System article lists three raid challenges worth one point each: "Defeat Onyxia," "Defeat all 13 Hyjal Summit bosses," and "Defeat all 8 Barrow Deeps bosses."Blizzard: Get to Know the World of Warcraft: Forever Legacy System, checked Sep 27, 2026. Legacy System guidePlanned, first-party, in the future tense

Share Image: WoW Forever Legacy Challenges window showing 30 of 65 Legacy Points and six collapsed challenge categories

The article says Legacy Points are "Battle.net account-wide and available to all your non-Hardcore characters."Blizzard: Get to Know the World of Warcraft: Forever Legacy System, checked Sep 27, 2026. You need the full 13-boss clear for the point, not a partial one. Once you earn it, alts don't need to repeat it for Legacy purposes. The same article says each character can spend at most 16 points at launch.

Thirteen Bosses Against Barrow Deeps' Eight

Hyjal Summit is the bigger clear in both players and encounters: the same list gives Barrow Deeps 8 bosses. Blizzard hasn't published lockout rules, loot tables or drop rates for either raid. Our Barrow Deeps guide covers the 10-player raid.

The Zone Around the Raid

Mount Hyjal is planned as a questing zone around the raid, but Blizzard hasn't published the raid entrance. The panel recap says Mount Hyjal "invites you to explore the aftermath of Archimonde's defeat, journey through Darkwhisper Gorge, and help shape the future of a recovering land."Blizzard: World of Warcraft: Forever What's Next Panel Recap, checked Sep 27, 2026. What's Next Panel RecapPlanned, first-party, in the future tense

Share Image: Mount Hyjal ridge under a purple sky, with ruined stone towers and a giant tree silhouetted in the distance

Darkwhisper Gorge is a named area of the zone, but no source says it leads to the raid. Blizzard hasn't published the raid entrance either. Our Mount Hyjal questing guide tracks what the beta shows of the zone, and the Legacy perks and challenges guide covers what the point can buy. If you're leveling toward 60, RestedXP says its Forever guides will include a Discovery feature that prioritizes new Forever quests, plus a Legacy Guide for Legacy achievements.