WoW Forever Onyxia: the 40-player lair in Dustwallow Marsh, and the Drakefire Amulet attunement for both factions, step by step

Blizzard's 'Raid Quick Facts' gives three lines for the lair: 'Location: Dustwallow Marsh', 'Level: 60', 'Raid Size: 40 players'. The descriptive paragraph adds the entry rule ('requires each member of the raid to carry the Drakefire Amulet to enter') and the fight's outline ('Onyxia's three-phase encounter turns up the heat with powerful fire attacks that can punish an unprepared raid'). The closing section dates it: 'Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit, and Onyxia's Lair unlock on December 9', with 'all raids currently planned to reset each week'.

That makes Onyxia the only 40-player raid in Forever's first raid release, and the only one of the three with a published attunement. Blizzard frames the choice as one of group size: 'Whether you plan to explore Mount Hyjal with 10 or 20 players or face Onyxia with a full group of 40, choose the raid that fits your group and start getting ready.'

Blizzard's lore line is short: 'Onyxia, a dragon of the Black Dragonflight and the younger sister of Nefarian, guards her brood here while working to manipulate Azeroth's mortal races.' The attunement chains show that manipulation. The Alliance chain runs through a 'Great Masquerade' in Stormwind and ends with Highlord Bolvar Fordragon. The Horde chain runs through Thrall's 'What the Wind Carries' and Rexxar, and both chains follow the Black Dragonflight's hold over the Blackrock clan.

On the encounter itself Blizzard published two sentences, quoted here in full: 'Onyxia's three-phase encounter turns up the heat with powerful fire attacks that can punish an unprepared raid. Players should build their fire resistance before entering, then be ready to reposition and work together as the battle shifts around them.' That is the whole public description. Blizzard has not said what each phase does, which abilities Onyxia uses, how much fire resistance is enough, or whether the fight matches the original 2004 encounter. This page does not fill those gaps from the old game, because Forever reworks a lot of Classic content and Blizzard has not said whether this fight was reworked.

Blizzard's only preparation advice is 'build their fire resistance before entering'. It did not list gear or consumables for that. But three other Blizzard articles about Forever describe resistance effects that now reach a whole raid or campsite, and each is worth knowing before 9 December. Paladins: 'Fire Resistance Aura, Frost Resistance Aura, and Shadow Resistance Aura: These auras now affect all raid members within 30 yards', from the Paladin class deep dive. Shamans: 'Resistance Totems now provide their resistance bonus to the entire raid group', from the Mage and Shaman deep dive. Enchanters: the campfire article lists an Enchanted Lute camp feature that lets 'you and others sitting nearby' gain armour, stats and '0-22 increase to all resistances (level dependent)', 'mutually exclusive with Mark of the Wild'.

None of these comes with a number tied to Onyxia, and Blizzard has not said how much resistance the fight expects. In a 40-player raid, though, a resistance aura that now covers all raid members in range, or a totem that covers the whole raid group, is an easier way to raise everyone's fire resistance than each player collecting their own resistance gear.

The Alliance chain starts in the Burning Steppes and goes through Blackrock Depths several times, then into Stormwind, and ends in Upper Blackrock Spire. These are Blizzard's steps in order, with quest names in quotation marks exactly as Blizzard writes them. One spelling is Blizzard's own inconsistency: step 9 names 'Squire Rower' and step 10 names 'Squire Rowe', both at the Stormwind city gates. Both spellings are copied as published.

The Horde chain covers more of the map. It starts in the Badlands, goes to Orgrimmar, Desolace, the Western Plaguelands and Dustwallow Marsh, and passes through Lower Blackrock Spire before the same final step in Upper Blackrock Spire. Where Blizzard gives a step without a quest name (reporting to Eitrigg and Thrall, and the final return to Rexxar), the list keeps it unnamed. Blizzard writes the ellipsis in 'Ascension...' itself.

Blizzard's own advice is the best summary: 'Start early, bring a few friends for the elite quests, and leave plenty of time for several trips into high-level dungeons.' Reading the two lists shows which dungeons each chain needs. The Alliance chain needs Blackrock Depths for at least four steps (the Marshal Windsor rescue, the note, 'A Shred of Hope' and 'Jail Break!'), then one Upper Blackrock Spire run for General Drakkisath. The Horde chain needs Lower Blackrock Spire twice ('Warlord's Command' and 'For the Horde!') and then the same Upper Blackrock Spire run. Blizzard does not say which quests are elite, how many players each dungeon step needs, or what level you need to start either chain.

Travel is where the two chains differ most. The Alliance chain stays mostly between the Burning Steppes and Stormwind. The Horde chain sends you to Orgrimmar, Desolace (where Rexxar wanders the roads rather than standing in one place), the Western Plaguelands and Dustwallow Marsh, and back to Desolace twice. With the raid opening five weeks after the 4 November launch, players who want to be in the lair in the first reset week need to reach level 60 and finish the chain in that time.

Blizzard's last line on attunement is the one most likely to trip up a raid on the night: 'Before you enter: Make sure the Drakefire Amulet is in your inventory. It does not need to be equipped to enter Onyxia's Lair.' Because the lair 'requires each member of the raid to carry the Drakefire Amulet to enter', one unattuned player cannot be carried in. A 40-player group needs 40 finished chains.

The ruleset article sets the other limit: 'Players can group, run dungeons, and raid with others who have chosen the same ruleset. Cross-ruleset grouping is not supported.' So the 40 players, and the friends who help with the elite quests and the dungeon runs, all have to be on the same ruleset. Blizzard's roadmap in the What's Next recap lists Hardcore after the 9 December raids, so on 9 December that means one of the launch rulesets. Factions also stay separate, which is why there are two chains.

The Legacy system article lists 'Raids: Total of 3 points', made up of three challenges: 'Defeat Onyxia', 'Defeat all 13 Hyjal Summit bosses' and 'Defeat all 8 Barrow Deeps bosses'. Since 'Each challenge completed earns you one Legacy Point', killing Onyxia once is worth one account-wide point, the same as clearing all 13 Hyjal Summit bosses. That makes the lair the quickest of the three raid challenges, once the attunement is done.

Legacy Points are 'Battle.net account-wide and available to all your non-Hardcore characters'. Each character can spend up to 16 at launch in the Professions, Adventure and Resourcefulness trees, and the points also unlock the four rewards on the Legacy track. Blizzard's own count of what one character can earn includes '6 from Dungeons and Raids' (three dungeon challenges and three raid challenges), and the Onyxia point is one of those six. The Resourcefulness tree also has 'The Quick and the Dead', which 'makes party and raid buffs free after resurrecting, speeding up wipe recovery', a perk that suits a 40-player fight described as punishing for an unprepared raid.

Blizzard's roadmap from BlizzCon promised 'a revamped iconic raid' after the December raids, without naming it. Onyxia's Lair is now confirmed for 9 December, but Blizzard has not said whether it is that revamped raid or a separate one, so this page treats them as separate. The open questions are below. This page will add each answer with its date when Blizzard publishes it.