WoW Forever zones, dungeons and raids: Riverglades, Mount Hyjal, nine dungeons and two raids

World of Warcraft: Forever adds four new zones (Zephras Isle, the Riverglades, Mount Hyjal and Shen'dralas), expands the Wetlands and Desolace, and brings nine new dungeons, two raids (the Barrow Deeps and Hyjal Summit) and a new battleground, the Darkspear Islands. Here is what Blizzard has said about each, and which levels are known so far.

New zones

Zephras Isle

According to the What's Next panel recap (12 September 2026), Zephras Isle is an elemental, skybound starting experience for levels 1 to 12, with architecture inspired by Skywall. It's where the Skyborne begin, and both the race and the zone require the Skyborne Heroic Pack or higher (see editions and prices). Blizzard's beta development notes mention places inside it such as the Shen'dar Highlands, the Overlook Standing Stones and Nightclaw Cavern.

Riverglades

The same recap describes the Riverglades as a rugged frontier of rivers, grasslands, trade routes, struggling communities and old grudges, covering much of the mid-30s to mid-40s. The Found Photos recap (13 September) adds that it is roughly the size of Stranglethorn Vale. Its port, Powderfuse Port, connects to the Burning Steppes, Redridge Mountains, Swamp of Sorrows and Badlands, and you reach it by the Steamwheedle Cartel's sea route from Tanaris.

The two articles give different quest counts: more than 150 new quests in the first, nearly 200 in the second. Both figures are Blizzard's; the final number hasn't been confirmed.

A note on the name: Blizzard's press fact sheet calls the zone "Riverlands", but every public Blizzard page and article says Riverglades, so that's the name used here.

Mount Hyjal

Mount Hyjal lets you explore the aftermath of Archimonde's defeat and journey through Darkwhisper Gorge.

Shen'dralas

Blizzard calls Shen'dralas a long-hidden mystery between Mulgore and Desolace. You reach it from south of Desolace, through the Valley of Bones. Unlike the other three, it has no section of its own on the official Forever page.

Expanded zones and sea routes

The Found Photos recap also lists two existing zones that grow: the Wetlands and Desolace. New sea routes connect Stormwind Harbor with Auberdine, and Menethil, Southshore and Auberdine with each other, on top of the Tanaris route to the Riverglades.

The nine new dungeons

The full list comes from the What's Next recap. The first two level ranges are from the beta article of 17 September; the excavation's name and levels and the Dalaran test come from Blizzard's beta development notes on the official forum.

Raids

Blizzard plans the Barrow Deeps as a maximum-level 10-player challenge and Hyjal Summit as 20-player encounters. The boss counts come from the Legacy System challenges, which ask you to defeat all 13 Hyjal Summit bosses and all 8 Barrow Deeps bosses. Blizzard also says new raids unlock on 9 December, without saying which ones, and mentions new tier sets and a legendary reward without details. Dates are on the calendar.

Darkspear Islands battleground

Announced on 7 October 2026, the Darkspear Islands lie off the shores of Dustwallow Marsh. It's a 15v15 battleground for levels 30 to 60: two teams fight over four control points plus a central flag, and the first to reach 2,000 points wins.

The two sides are the Darkspear Raiders, based on the Merchant Coast in the Barrens, and the Theramore Expeditionary Force, based at Northwatch. Both offer reputation with rewards, and a tabard at Exalted. Battlegrounds can mix players from different rulesets, except Hardcore (see the rulesets guide).

What we don't know yet

• The levels of six of the nine dungeons, and the boss count of every dungeon.
• The levels of Mount Hyjal and Shen'dralas.
• Which raids unlock on 9 December.
• The final number of quests in the Riverglades.
• The name of the revamped iconic raid Blizzard lists among later updates.

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