WoW Forever adds nine new dungeons to the original Classic lineup, from Hall of Thanes at roughly level 13 to the Shaper’s Terrace at level 60. They are new places to earn experience, complete dungeon quests, collect gear and work toward the account-wide Dungeon Legacy Challenges. The nine are additions, not replacements for Deadmines, Scarlet Monastery, Blackrock Depths or other Classic instances.
Start with the dungeon that matches your level and objective. A low-level character may want a full quest run; someone hunting a particular drop may need another clear; a Legacy collector needs specific final-boss credits across multiple instances. These goals are not interchangeable.
Pre-launch status (October 15, 2026): WoW Forever launches on November 4, 2026. The beta currently has a level-30 cap and runs through October 21. Early dungeons, Excavation Site and City of Dalaran have been testable; level-35+ encounters and final loot should not be described as launch-verified. Exact recommended brackets may shift after beta tuning.
Jump to: All nine dungeons | Which one to run | Early dungeon details | Level 35–60 | Loot and rewards | Legacy points | FAQ.
All 9 New WoW Forever Dungeons: Levels and Locations
Blizzard has confirmed all nine names and their broad locations or story premises. The level ranges below are current beta/community planning brackets, not nine independently tested final entry requirements. The early Hall of Thanes and Ruins of Lordaeron brackets were explicitly named in Blizzard’s beta announcement. For the others, check your in-game group listings as testing and launch tuning continue.
| New Dungeon | Planning Level | Location | Main Reason to Visit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hall of Thanes | 13–18 | Old Ironforge, Dun Morogh | Early Alliance quests, Dark Iron story, starter gear |
| Ruins of Lordaeron | 15–20 | Above Undercity, Tirisfal Glades | Forsaken/Scourge quests, multiple bosses and rewards |
| Excavation Site: Wetlands | 24–29 | Above Whelgar’s Excavation, Wetlands | Titan mystery, level-20s group gear, new quest chains |
| City of Dalaran | 28–33 | Dalaran, Alterac Mountains | Arcane storyline, sewer-key access, beta item rewards |
| The Drowned City | 35–40 | Off the coast of Stranglethorn Vale | Underwater ruins, naga and pirate encounters |
| Krol’dok Stronghold | 40–45* | Riverglades | Mid-level group content tied to the new frontier zone |
| Alcaz Prison | 48–53 | Alcaz Island, Dustwallow Marsh | Late-level island expedition and prison storyline |
| Blackmaw Hold | 55–60 | Furbolg Gates, northern Azshara | High-level group preparation and corrupted furbolg mystery |
| Shaper’s Terrace | 58–60 | Un’Goro Crater | Titan-themed level-60 dungeon preparation |
*Krol’dok’s commonly published bracket is 40–45, but some older service listings say 40–55. Treat both as pre-launch guidance rather than a guaranteed entry threshold. Likewise, published recommendations for Ruins of Lordaeron and Excavation Site vary slightly between sources; the character-level requirements in the live dungeon interface take priority.
For Blizzard’s original announcement and the list of new instances, see the official What’s Next recap. The beta notice confirms the first two dungeons and the test window.
Which WoW Forever Dungeon Should You Run First?
You do not need to clear all nine immediately. One good run at the right level can give you a batch of quest rewards and useful equipment. A rushed trip into an instance your party cannot enter, survive or quest in will usually cost more time than it saves.
| Your Goal | Best Decision | Check Before You Go |
|---|---|---|
| Try the first new dungeon on Alliance | Hall of Thanes | Bring its Dun Morogh quest chain and a complete group |
| Play near the Forsaken starting route | Ruins of Lordaeron | Collect faction-specific quests and plan a path through multiple bosses |
| Explore new content near the beta cap | Excavation Site or City of Dalaran | Check party levels, entrance access and available quest chains |
| Want XP while leveling 1–60 | Quest-rich dungeon that fits your outdoor route | Include travel, group formation and quest turn-ins in the calculation |
| Need one specific boss item | Target that boss and dungeon | Confirm the item source, loot rules and the fact that drops are random |
| Want dungeon Legacy Points | Complete missing Spelunker criteria | Check your account’s current completed final-boss list |
The first decision is whether you want a full clear, a leveling route or achievement credit. If you prefer a group arranged for you, LepreStore’s Dungeon Runs service accepts pre-orders for selected instances after launch. It is a clear service, not a guarantee of any particular item, dungeon quest completion or a fixed amount of XP.
Pick a Dungeon Run That Fits Your Goal
A first visit for quests and a repeat clear for a specific drop are different plans. Check your character level, travel route, available quests and the dungeon you want before arranging a run. Launch services are pre-orders, not beta clears.
The Four Early Dungeons: Quests, Bosses and Known Loot
These are the dungeons with the strongest beta evidence so far. Exact routes and rewards may still be tuned, but real encounters and named item records already exist. The details below are intentionally more specific than the later level-35+ previews.
Hall of Thanes (Levels 13–18)
Where: beneath Ironforge’s High Seat, in the newly accessible Old Ironforge halls. The story pits the party against unrest among ancestral dwarven spirits and a Dark Iron incursion. It is the most natural early new dungeon for an Alliance group already questing through Dun Morogh or Loch Modan.
Before entering: pick up Important Heirlooms and The Restless Dead near the entrance, and follow the Dun Morogh chain leading toward Old Ironforge Incursion. Additional tasks, including An Ancient Grudge and The Treaty of Understanding, begin inside. These beta quests are Alliance-oriented; Horde access should not be confused with equal access to the same quest rewards.
Four beta bosses: Faldrim Anvilmar, Magmatus, Plunder and Durgen Dirgehammer. Clear a safe area before pulling patrols, control dangerous trash where possible, and leave room around Plunder for knockbacks. The final encounter can punish sloppy positioning with fear and linked enemies.
Reward examples: Durgen’s Crescent Axe from Durgen Dirgehammer; Ironforge Greathammer and Deepblaze are choices tied to the Old Ironforge Incursion quest. Boss drops and quest rewards are separate sources. See the Hall of Thanes dungeon guide for the full beta walkthrough.
Ruins of Lordaeron (Levels 15–20)
Where: the ruined capital above Undercity in Tirisfal Glades. This Forsaken and Scourge storyline is more sprawling than a straight hallway: groups can reach encounters in different orders, which makes it easy to leave before completing a side objective.
Before entering: Horde players should check Brill, the Undercity Apothecarium and the Sepulcher for tasks such as The Wrath of Rath’mael, Light’s Justice and A Frightened Request. Alliance players have their own subset, including Abominable Creatures and Remember That I Love You. Not every faction shares every turn-in or quest reward.
Six beta bosses: Witherfang, The Baron, Viktor the Vile, The Abandoned, Bjork and Rath’mael. Be careful with tightly packed ghouls and boss patrols. The Baron’s heavy burst and threat disruption can end a run when a tank pulls underprepared; some beta reports also describe inconsistent encounter spawns, so recheck if a boss is missing.
Reward examples: Slain Baron’s Signet is a quest reward associated with eligible Lordaeron objectives, while the loot table includes weapons such as Scepter of the Abandoned and Coldspire Staff. See Ruins of Lordaeron quests and loot for faction-specific sources.
Excavation Site: Wetlands (Levels 24–29)
Where: the elevated excavation above Whelgar’s Excavation in the Wetlands. The new road and excavation camp lead toward a Titan-linked mystery, with marshland enemies and environmental hazards making careless pulls costly.
Before entering: players already questing in Wetlands can bundle nearby chains rather than crossing the continent for a single boss. Alliance travel generally starts from the Menethil Harbor or Loch Modan side; Horde players should plan a longer trip through the northern Eastern Kingdoms. The beta quest pool includes objectives obtained outside the instance and follow-ups discovered within it.
Known beta bosses: Saltspine, Shadetooth and Relic Guardian. A party that can remove diseases or poisons has an easier time in the marsh encounter environment. Use crowd control if raptors or patrols add onto an already active pull; do not assume every pack can be safely cleaved.
Reward example: Ring of Power Regulation is listed as a Relic Guardian drop in the current Forever item database. The precise full loot table and quest-route requirements still warrant a launch check. For entrance and encounter information, see the Excavation Site overview.
City of Dalaran (Levels 28–33)
Where: Dalaran in the Alterac Mountains. This is one of the unusual new Forever dungeons because reaching the city and unlocking its sewer entrance are part of the story rather than a trivial flight to a portal.
Access and key: the chain beginning around Tarren Mill includes Prison Break In, Key to the City, Dalaran Patrols, Blood in the Streets and Heart of Disruption. It leads to the Dalaran Sewer Key. Current beta guidance says a group can enter when a member opens the gate; individual permanent key ownership is therefore not necessarily required for every party member. Horde access and what neutral services remain available inside the city have been debated in beta, so follow the actual client rules rather than assuming an ordinary faction-neutral capital.
Reward examples: current database entries include Violet Sorcerer’s Robes, Drape of Shifting Energy and Guardian’s Dualblade. They are beta-listed items, not guaranteed drops. A Blueprint: Spinning Wheel also appears in published beta loot information, but its actual drop availability is disputed by testers; do not plan a paid item farm around that blueprint until it is confirmed in-game.
The dungeon became available to test in the October beta update. Check the City of Dalaran dungeon overview for the current access chain and encounters.
Five More New Dungeons for Levels 35–60
Blizzard’s announced roster continues beyond the current level-30 beta limit. These five destinations are part of the launch plan, but precise boss-by-boss tactics and complete verified loot tables are not yet available. Use the known location and level bracket for planning; do not treat a model, item record or promotional preview as proof of a farmable launch drop.
The Drowned City (Levels 35–40)
The Drowned City lies off Stranglethorn Vale’s coast. Blizzard links its ruins to naga and pirates, while the BlizzCon demo showed a large, less-linear environment with submerged passages and multiple approaches to encounters. Plan for travel to the Stranglethorn coast and allow time to orient the group instead of assuming a five-minute corridor clear. The demo is evidence of the setting, not a final boss loot catalogue.
Krol’dok Stronghold (Approximately Levels 40–45)
Located in Riverglades, Krol’dok Stronghold is a natural candidate when your outdoor questing route already passes through the new frontier zone. Its advertised bracket overlaps the middle of the 1–60 journey, but published pre-release sources disagree on the upper end of that bracket. Check entry rules in the game before planning a level-50+ farming group. Full boss and reward details are still not reliable enough for a guaranteed-item recommendation.
Alcaz Prison (Levels 48–53)
This instance takes players to Alcaz Island in Dustwallow Marsh. The island approach makes travel and a completed party more important than they would be for a dungeon right beside a capital. It belongs to the upper-level leveling corridor, not the initial beta cap. A named target-item list or exact encounter sequence should wait for verified play.
Blackmaw Hold (Levels 55–60)
Blizzard places Blackmaw Hold beyond the Furbolg Gates in northern Azshara, with corruption at the heart of its story. This is one of the late-game group destinations to consider while approaching level 60. Until the instance is available to test at the intended level, any detailed boss rotation, required key or best-in-slot ranking would be speculative.
Shaper’s Terrace (Levels 58–60)
Un’Goro Crater gains a Titan-related dungeon at the top of the 1–60 range. This is the new instance most clearly positioned for groups preparing their level-60 characters for further progression. Blizzard has announced the setting, not a complete confirmed loot or encounter table. Its exact pre-raid item value needs testing once the full game launches.
WoW Forever Dungeon Rewards: Loot, Quests and What Is Confirmed
Dungeon rewards come from different systems. A boss can drop a piece of gear, a quest can award a different item or a large XP payout, and a finished Legacy objective can grant account-wide progress. One does not guarantee the others. The examples below are drawn from currently visible Forever beta records and early instance testing; only the four early instances have sufficiently specific examples for this table.
| Dungeon | Example | Source | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hall of Thanes | Durgen’s Crescent Axe | Durgen Dirgehammer boss | Observed beta boss loot / database |
| Hall of Thanes | Ironforge Greathammer or Deepblaze | Old Ironforge Incursion quest choice | Beta quest-reward records |
| Ruins of Lordaeron | Slain Baron’s Signet | Eligible Lordaeron quest rewards | Beta quest-reward records |
| Excavation Site: Wetlands | Ring of Power Regulation | Relic Guardian boss | Beta item database |
| City of Dalaran | Violet Sorcerer’s Robes, Drape of Shifting Energy | Listed on early Dalaran dungeon loot tables | Beta data; live drop confirmation pending |
| The remaining five | No responsibly verified item shortlist yet | Release encounters and quests | Announced locations, incomplete loot information |
A useful gear decision is not simply whether a blue item exists in a dungeon. Compare its required level, your current equipment, the expected number of clears and whether a nearby quest grants a similar upgrade. Forever’s pre-raid and class-specific gear priorities should be checked against the final level-60 item data, not against an early beta wishlist.
Dungeon XP and Quests After the October 8 Beta Changes
WoW Forever is deliberately trying to prevent endless dungeon cleave from making outdoor questing irrelevant. After earlier reductions to dungeon kill XP and changes to quest rewards, the October 8 beta update increased XP from dungeon creature kills by approximately 20% and corrected the way group level differences were applied. That is a 20% increase relative to the previous beta kill-XP value, not a 20-point increase in your character’s total XP or a promise that all dungeon leveling is now fastest.
Mixed-level groups benefit from the bug fix because XP is evaluated against each party member’s level rather than using the highest-level member as the penalty benchmark. Very high-level boosting groups still face anti-boosting limits. Blizzard’s goal is to keep efficient dungeons viable while preserving a reason to quest through the world.
| Run Type | Most Useful For | Common Mistake |
|---|---|---|
| First full clear with quests | XP, story, gear, new boss credit | Entering without picking up the outside quest chain |
| Repeat run | Extra chances at an eligible random drop or enjoyable group play | Assuming the quest XP repeats or that the item will drop |
| Dedicated dungeon leveling group | Predictable group time and reliable clears | Ignoring travel, recovery time and lower XP per ordinary creature |
| Legacy completion tour | Missing final-boss credits across many instances | Running one favorite dungeon repeatedly instead of finishing the checklist |
For full leveling routes and XP buffs, consult the WoW Forever Leveling Guide 1–60. The October 8 adjustment is described in the developer’s dungeon discussion.
Dungeon Legacy Challenges: Novice, Experienced and Master Spelunker
Blizzard includes three dungeon Legacy Points in the launch system: one point each for defeating the specified final bosses across the level-15–25, 26–45 and 46–60 dungeon groups. You cannot earn multiple points from repeating a completed group on another character. The point is account-wide, and it does not depend on a random gear drop.
| Legacy Challenge | Broad Tier | New Forever Dungeons Among Its Criteria | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novice Spelunker | 15–25 | Hall of Thanes (alternative to Ragefire Chasm), Ruins of Lordaeron, Excavation Site: Wetlands | 1 Legacy Point |
| Experienced Spelunker | 26–45 | City of Dalaran, The Drowned City, Krol’dok Stronghold | 1 Legacy Point |
| Master Spelunker | 46–60 | Alcaz Prison, Blackmaw Hold, Shaper’s Terrace | 1 Legacy Point |
Use the actual challenge criteria, not the dungeon’s level alone: in the current product/achievement breakdown, Novice includes Hall of Thanes or Ragefire Chasm, Wailing Caverns, Shadowfang Keep, Ruins of Lordaeron, The Deadmines and Excavation Site: Wetlands. Experienced includes City of Dalaran, The Drowned City and Krol’dok Stronghold alongside Classic instances. Master includes Alcaz Prison, Blackmaw Hold and Shaper’s Terrace alongside the level-60 classics. Always confirm the active checklist before organizing the tour.
If you are collecting all Legacy rewards, dungeon points are a small but useful contribution to the larger 65-point system. Use our Legacy System Guide for the complete account progression and perks; this dungeon hub stays focused on the runs themselves.
Need Spelunker Credit or Pre-Raid Gear?
A one-time Legacy challenge, an individual dungeon clear and a full equipment set have different completion conditions. Check unfinished achievements and item requirements before choosing a service.
Dungeon Preparation Checklist Before Your First Run
- Check your level and destination. Use the current group listing for entry guidance rather than a pre-launch range copied from an old table.
- Collect quests before the journey. Some start in towns or with faction NPCs; others begin inside the dungeon or after a prerequisite quest. Use the dungeon quest reference to avoid leaving easy XP behind.
- Form a complete group and agree on the route. Confirm tanking, healing, crowd control and whether the goal is a full clear or specific Legacy criteria.
- Plan travel. Azeroth has no flying mounts and Blizzard has not added automatic summoning stones; an instance inside an opposing capital or on an island requires extra coordination.
- Agree on loot rules. If farming a specific item, know whether your party uses normal rolls or an agreed priority, and remember the item still has to drop.
- Check quest completion and achievement credit. Final-boss Legacy credit and a quest turn-in are different checks; inspect both before leaving the instance.
WoW Forever Dungeons FAQ
How Many New Dungeons Are in WoW Forever?
Nine new dungeons have been officially announced for the November 4, 2026 launch. They supplement the 20 Classic dungeon complexes. Wings and sides within one complex should not be counted as separate new dungeons.
What Is the First New WoW Forever Dungeon?
Hall of Thanes is listed for levels 13–18 beneath Ironforge. Ruins of Lordaeron follows at roughly levels 15–20 above Undercity. Faction travel and dungeon quests make each more natural for its nearby faction.
Can Horde Enter Hall of Thanes and Alliance Enter Ruins of Lordaeron?
The instances are located in opposing faction capitals, and beta players have reported challenging travel and incomplete access convenience. Do not assume every entrance, quest giver or shortcut is automatically faction-neutral. Confirm your route in the current client and expect that opposing-faction quest rewards may not be available.
Do Dungeons Give Good XP in WoW Forever?
Quest-heavy first clears can be valuable. Dungeon creature XP was raised by about 20% relative to the previous beta rate on October 8, but that does not prove repeat grinding is the fastest route. A stable group, short travel and available quests matter more than a generic XP/hour claim.
Are All Nine Dungeon Bosses and Loot Tables Known?
No. Early beta testing provides specific encounters and items for Hall of Thanes, Ruins of Lordaeron, Excavation Site and City of Dalaran. The five later dungeons still lack full confirmed release loot and boss strategies as of this review.
Does a Dungeon Boost Guarantee a Specific Drop?
No. LepreStore’s dungeon runs cover the purchased number of clears. Loot Priority can change who receives an eligible item if it drops, but it does not create a guaranteed drop. Dungeon quests are separate from the standard Dungeon Runs product.
Can You Earn Legacy Points Just by Repeating One Dungeon?
No. Novice, Experienced and Master Spelunker each require their own checklist of final bosses across multiple instances. Each completed group grants one account-wide point once.
