Blizzard has announced nine new dungeons for World of Warcraft: Forever, spread from level 13 to 60. Use the announced levels to pick a run for your group, then check its quests and entrance in beta. The show-floor preview below is separate from the confirmed dungeon list.
The nine new dungeons
Blizzard's What's Next panel recap names the nine instances, and the official forums carry the original level bands. The October 1 beta notes update Excavation Site: Wetlands to 26-31, superseding the original 24-29 listing. Complete quest and loot guides are not yet available in these sources. Locations and setting notes below come from the recap and current preview coverage. Their proximity to faction capitals is a travel consideration, not a confirmed faction lock.
| Dungeon | Levels | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Hall of Thanes | 13-18 | Beneath Ironforge | On the Alliance side of the world. Panel coverage describes Dark Iron intruders and undead in the halls. |
| Ruins of Lordaeron | 15-20 | Tirisfal Glades, above the Undercity | On the Horde side of the world. The Forsaken push back into the ruined capital against remaining Scourge and a necromancer. |
| Excavation Site: Wetlands | 26-31 | On top of Whelgar's Excavation, Wetlands | Called "a mysterious excavation site above Whelgar's Excavation" in the recap; panel coverage ties it to the Explorer's League. |
| City of Dalaran | 28-33 | Alterac Mountains | The barrier is down and the city is restored but not under control; the Kirin Tor need help. |
| The Drowned City | 35-40 | Coast of Stranglethorn Vale | A sunken troll ruin. The recap points to naga and pirates around it; it was playable on the BlizzCon 2026 show floor. |
| Krol'dok Stronghold | 40-45 | Riverglades | Ogres, with Twilight's Hammer influence described in panel coverage. Blizzard corrected its band from the earlier 40-55 listing. |
| Alcaz Prison | 48-53 | Alcaz Island, off Dustwallow Marsh | A prison where naga have moved in on the Defias inmates. |
| Blackmaw Hold | 55-60 | North Azshara, behind the furbolg gates | A furbolg city, with "unsettling corruption" in its depths according to the recap. |
| Shaper's Terrace | 58-60 | Un'Goro Crater | The recap calls it titan mysteries in Un'Goro. |
The original Classic instances are still part of the game: they remain alongside the nine new ones, and the Deep Dive recap says every dungeon drop was re-examined and hundreds of new drops were added. The new dungeons are additions to the same ladder, not replacements.
Picking a level for your run
Blizzard's table gives each dungeon a lower level and an upper level — the range it "will be for". Use those bands for planning, not as proof of the minimum level to zone in. The announcement does not specify entry requirements, keys or attunements.
When a newer dated beta note changes a range, use that over the older table. Excavation Site: Wetlands is now listed at 26-31; Blizzard previously corrected Krol'dok Stronghold from 40-55 to 40-45.
Filling a level band
- 13-20: The Hall of Thanes and Ruins of Lordaeron. Both sit inside or next to a capital city, making them convenient early runs for the nearby faction.
- 26-33: Excavation Site: Wetlands, then City of Dalaran up in the Alterac Mountains.
- 35-45: The Drowned City in Stranglethorn, then Krol'dok Stronghold in the new Riverglades zone. You can reach Riverglades by the Steamwheedle boat route that the Found Photos recap describes, so plan travel time into your first run there.
- 48-60: Alcaz Prison, Blackmaw Hold and Shaper's Terrace. These are the runs you take into your 50s, with Shaper's Terrace sitting at the cap.
Bring quests and recheck current dungeon XP
The original design emphasized a first run with dungeon quests over repeated monster grinding. Beta tuning has since changed both sides of that comparison. The October 1 update halved the extra dungeon-quest XP above normal quest values, not the entire quest reward.
The October 8 build increased dungeon creature-kill XP by approximately 20% and corrected the party calculation for lower-level enemies. Each player's level now determines that adjustment instead of the highest-level party member's level. The anti-boosting exception remains: if a party member vastly outlevels the enemy, no party member receives XP.
Bring the dungeon quests for their additional rewards, but do not assume repeat runs are categorically poor XP based on launch-week tuning. Blizzard expects these changes to substantially increase dungeon XP for most players; route efficiency still depends on the group, levels and current tuning.
Dungeons also still feed professions: the Deep Dive says advanced Blueprint recipes drop from specific dungeon bosses, on top of the reworked gear.
Expect to explore
Developers said Forever's dungeons are meant to reward exploration rather than a single fastest route. Their approach includes nonlinear spaces, hidden encounters and puzzles that can give groups reasons to revisit areas they missed.
The team also said it does not plan to add dungeon maps. Its reasoning is that maps encourage players to identify and repeat the shortest route, rather than investigate side areas. Bring a group prepared to navigate, communicate and discover routes as you go instead of expecting a complete in-game pathing guide.
Getting five people to the door
- Meeting stones do not summon. They exist at dungeon entrances, but they cannot pull players across the world; they feed a Looking for Group listing instead. Tim Jones and Mike Nuthals described the intent as protecting the downtime before a run.
- Keep a Warlock available. Warlock summons can save late arrivals the trip.
- Plan the walk. Ironforge and the Undercity make the two lowest dungeons convenient. Azshara, Alcaz Island and Un'Goro can take more travel; arrange where to meet before the group is full.
Developers have said some dungeons may be easier for one faction to reach when that better serves the setting and story, rather than providing identical access for both sides. That does not necessarily make an instance faction-exclusive: faction-specific quests and experiences can remain even where both factions can enter. Treat a dungeon's location and travel route as part of planning the run.
Difficulty, preparation and class tools
The team says it wants dungeons to ask players to prepare, understand their class and use their abilities, without making Forever an exclusively hardcore game. Developers also said tuning may continue as players test and run the instances, so difficulty can change after launch.
Enemy immunities and resistance mechanics are intended to fit an enemy's identity and to vary between dungeons. Developers said the goal is not to leave a class unable to participate: groups may need to adapt their approach or use other tools, but classes should retain ways to contribute.
What has actually been played
The Drowned City has been played publicly; beta testing is level-limited:
- BlizzCon show floor: The Drowned City was playable, and the hands-on preview describes a layout that starts linear and opens into a large space, mobs in tight packs with patrols, a water section, and two of its bosses, Zul'Alai and Zin'aka. The preview notes heavy tank damage and an enrage near death on Zul'Alai. Treat that as a show-floor build, not a finished route.
- Beta: the active cap has been level 30 since October 1. That build opened Excavation Site: Wetlands (26-31), Razorfen Downs (25+) and Uldaman (30+), in addition to the earlier instances. City of Dalaran opened October 8. Check the dated development notes and beta testing limits rather than assuming every dungeon below level 30 is available.
What still needs checking in beta
The cited sources do not give us complete quest pickups, entrance requirements, maps or loot tables for the new dungeons. Show-floor boss observations help with a preview, but not with a tested route or loot priority list. Check those details in-game before promising your group a particular reward.
After launch
The roadmap puts the first raid unlock on December 9, with two new dungeons, more quests and a new legendary questline in the spring update. The panel recap also lists "dungeon quests" among the updates it intends to keep adding after launch. Raid formats, tier pieces and the first-tier planning questions are on the raid overview and raid composition guide; the reworked dungeon drops and the new stat rules belong with itemization.
