Hyjal Summit

Quick answer: Hyjal Summit is WoW Forever's 20-player raid. It opens on 9 December 2026 for level 60 players, has 13 bosses, and sits at the top of Mount Hyjal near the World Tree Nordrassil. It starts with a fight against an ancient guardian, then your raid chooses its own route across the mountain before the paths meet for the final bosses. It's a brand-new raid, not the Burning Crusade Hyjal. Bring 2-3 tanks, 4-5 healers and 12-14 damage dealers.

Hyjal Summit at a glance

• Players: 20
• Bosses: 13
• Level: 60
• Opens: 9 December 2026, together with the Barrow Deeps and Onyxia's Lair
• Location: the summit of Mount Hyjal, near Nordrassil
• Attunement: none announced
• Resets: weekly, according to Blizzard's current plan
• Best for: guilds with a steady group of 20 who want a long raid with plenty of loot

Is this the Burning Crusade Hyjal raid?

No. Blizzard calls it Hyjal Summit, but it's a new raid built for WoW Forever. Mount Hyjal was never open in the original game. There's no sign of Archimonde, Rage Winterchill or the other bosses from the Burning Crusade's Battle for Mount Hyjal, and none of the boss names in the game files match them.

Where is Hyjal Summit?

At the top of Mount Hyjal, near the World Tree Nordrassil. Fan sites report the way up runs through Darkwhisper Gorge in Winterspring, but Blizzard hasn't published the exact entrance. We'll add directions once the raid opens.

How Hyjal Summit works: choose your route

This is the biggest difference from older raids. According to Blizzard:

1. Every run starts with an ancient guardian. You fight it first.
2. Then your raid picks a route. Paths split across the mountain, through ruins above ground and below it.
3. The paths meet again for the final encounters.

So two guilds can clear Hyjal in a different order, and your raid leader gets to choose which bosses to fight first. With 13 bosses, expect a long raid night, or split the clear across two nights of the weekly reset.

Hyjal Summit bosses

Blizzard confirms 13 bosses but hasn't published their names. These names come from data in the BlizzCon demo. Treat them as unconfirmed: names can still change, and because of the route choice the order below isn't fixed.

1. Bandalar
2. Ancient of Decay
3. Time-Lost Battalion
4. Sylvestris Dusksong
5. Old Gloomlurker
6. Gharalis the Abyssal
7. Kathris the Haunted
8. Anara Chillwind
9. Elder Minderel
10. Tracker Stillwind
11. Council of Thorns
12. Nythus the Dreambound
13. The Wild King (reported as the final boss)

Some lists spell two names differently ("Elder Minderei", "Nythus the Dreadbound"). Blizzard's official names will replace these on opening night.

What the names suggest (our guess, not confirmed): Ancient of Decay and Council of Thorns point to corrupted nature magic, so bring nature resistance and poison and disease cleanses. Time-Lost Battalion sounds like an add-heavy fight where crowd control and area damage matter. Council of Thorns is likely a multi-boss fight that needs extra tanks.

Hyjal Summit boss strategies

None yet that we can honestly give you. Nobody outside Blizzard has fought these bosses. We'll publish a guide for each boss after the raid opens, with abilities, positions and the best route order.

For a 20-player raid, these general rules apply from the first pull:

• Split into groups. Give each healer a group or a tank to watch, so nobody gets missed.
• Have a third tank ready. Council fights and add waves often need one.
• Assign crowd control. Mages, Warlocks, Hunters, Rogues and Druids all bring some.
• Bring every dispel type. Magic (Priest, Paladin), poison (Druid, Shaman, Paladin), disease (Priest, Paladin, Shaman) and curses (Mage, Druid).
• Plan the route before the night starts, and agree on a stopping point if you won't clear all 13.

Hyjal Summit loot

Blizzard hasn't published loot tables, and new items hide their stats until someone loots them. Beta files suggest Hyjal, like the Barrow Deeps, drops Malleable Essence of Nature for crafted level 60 armor. With 13 bosses it should be the biggest source of raid loot at launch. We'll add the loot list once players have seen it.

Best group setup for Hyjal Summit

For 20 players, start with:

• 2-3 tanks: Warriors, Paladins or Druids
• 4-5 healers: mix the classes so you have every dispel type
• 12-14 damage dealers: roughly half melee and half ranged

Spread your buff classes across groups. A Shaman in each melee group and a Priest or Paladin in each caster group help the most.

Best raid builds

Our recommended raid spec for each role, from the class guides. Blizzard says it doesn't plan big class tuning changes before the raids open, so these builds should hold up on 9 December. Click one to open it in the talent calculator.

Tanks

Protection Warrior Protection Paladin Bear Druid

Healers

Holy Priest Discipline Priest Holy Paladin Restoration Shaman Restoration Druid

Melee damage

Fury Warrior Assassination Rogue Survival Hunter

Ranged damage

Fire Mage Arcane Mage Destruction Warlock Marksmanship Hunter Elemental Shaman Balance Druid

Most-voted player raid builds

See every raid build →

How to prepare for Hyjal Summit

• Reach level 60 and pick your raid spec. Our class guides cover every class.
• Gear up in Blackmaw Hold, Shaper's Terrace and the other level 60 dungeons.
• Plan for a long night: a full stack of potions, food buffs, reagents and repair gold.
• Set up raid macros for mouseover heals, focus interrupts and target marking. See our Raiding macros.
• Skyborne players: your Charged and Attuned buffs are removed when you enter a raid.

Frequently asked questions

How many players is Hyjal Summit?

Hyjal Summit is a 20-player raid for level 60 characters.

How many bosses are in Hyjal Summit?

Blizzard confirms 13 bosses. Names found in the game files include Bandalar, Ancient of Decay, Council of Thorns and The Wild King, but Blizzard hasn't confirmed the list.

Is WoW Forever's Hyjal Summit the same as the Burning Crusade raid?

No. It's a new raid made for WoW Forever, at the top of Mount Hyjal near Nordrassil, with new bosses and a route your raid chooses.

Do you need an attunement for Hyjal Summit?

Blizzard hasn't announced one. Its raid overview only describes an attunement for Onyxia's Lair.

Can you choose the boss order in Hyjal Summit?

Partly. Every run starts with an ancient guardian. After that your raid picks its route across the mountain, and the paths meet again for the final bosses.

When does Hyjal Summit open?

On 9 December 2026, together with the Barrow Deeps and Onyxia's Lair. All three are planned to reset weekly.