Best classes for raids in WoW Forever

The three raids

Barrow Deeps is a 10-player raid with eight bosses, inside Mount Hyjal, with entrances from Mount Hyjal, Winterspring and Blackmaw Hold. Hyjal Summit is a 20-player raid with 13 bosses near the World Tree, where your raid picks its own route across the mountain. Onyxia's Lair is the 40-player raid in Dustwallow Marsh, a three-phase fight against the black dragon that hits hard with fire.

To enter Onyxia's Lair, every player needs the Drakefire Amulet, earned through a long faction quest chain that goes through Blackrock Depths and Upper Blackrock Spire, so start it early. All raids reset weekly.

Nobody has fought these bosses yet, so this guide looks at what each class brings to a raid. We will update it once the fights are known.

Raid size changes the answer

In a 10-player raid you bring two tanks, two or three healers and five or six damage dealers. Every slot must do more than one job, so hybrids are worth the most: a Paladin, Shaman or Druid can switch roles, bring buffs and cover a missing healer.

In 20 and 40-player raids there is room for specialists. Buffs and debuffs that affect the whole raid or a whole group become as valuable as raw damage, and you want one or two of every class to cover all of them.

In WoW Forever both factions have both hybrids: the Alliance has the Dwarf Shaman and the Horde has the Undead Paladin, so no raid has to miss out on either class.

Tanks

Warrior: the safest main tank. Shield Wall on a much shorter cooldown with our build, Shield Slam for threat, and Sunder Armor, which also raises the whole raid's physical damage. Protection build.

Paladin: now a real raid tank, and the best on packs of adds thanks to Consecration. Templar's Bulwark is a big emergency shield. Protection build.

Druid: a strong off-tank with huge armor that can switch to cat damage when only one tank is needed, and adds Leader of the Pack for the group. Feral build.

Healers

Priest: the backbone of raid healing. Holy brings Prayer of Healing and Prayer of Mending, and a Discipline Priest adds Power Infusion for a raid caster and Divine Aegis shields. Power Word: Fortitude is a raid buff.

Paladin: the best tank healer, with Holy Light and Oath of Light on the main tank, plus Light's Vigil for group damage. Blessings such as Blessing of Kings and Blessing of Might help everyone.

Shaman: Chain Heal and Riptide for groups that stack, Mana Tide Totem for the healers' mana, and totems for its group.

Druid: heals over time that work while moving, Wild Growth for a group, Innervate for a healer who runs dry and Rebirth to bring back a dead player in combat. Mark of the Wild is a raid buff.

Damage dealers and what they bring

Warrior: top physical damage, Battle Shout for its group and Sunder Armor on the boss. Rogue: strong single-target damage and Expose Armor. Hunter: steady damage from range and Trueshot Aura for the raid.

Mage: Arcane Intellect for every caster and healer, and big damage; Frost now has a real raid rotation with Winter's Chill. Warlock: curses such as Curse of the Elements and Curse of Recklessness, Ritual of Summoning and Soulstones; Bane of Havoc copies damage onto a second target.

Shadow Priest: good damage plus Vampiric Embrace and Dark Inspiration for its group. Balance Druid: Moonkin Form adds 3% crit for the raid. Elemental and Enhancement Shaman: damage plus totems such as Strength of Earth Totem and Mana Spring Totem. Retribution Paladin: damage, blessings and an extra off-healer.

Getting ready for Onyxia

Onyxia's Lair punishes raids that are not ready for fire. Build fire resistance gear before you go, and bring a Paladin with Fire Resistance Aura and a Shaman with Fire Resistance Totem, which help a whole group.

The fight has three phases and makes the raid move, so classes that heal and deal damage on the move (Druid heals over time, instant-cast spells, Hunters) have an easier time.

Our pick for each raid

Barrow Deeps (10): a Warrior or Paladin main tank, a Druid off-tank, a Priest plus a Paladin or Shaman healing, and damage dealers who bring something extra: a Mage, a Warlock and a Hunter or Shaman.

Hyjal Summit (20): at least one of every class, so every buff and debuff is covered, with two Priests among the healers.

Onyxia's Lair (40): a full raid with fire resistance; Paladins and Shamans for the resistance auras and totems, and healers who can heal on the move.

The level-60 builds for every specialization, with the reason behind each talent and the best race, are on our class pages.