What you need to enter Onyxia's Lair
Blizzard published the attunement steps in its World of Warcraft: Forever raid overview on October 20, 2026.
This guide follows that article step by step; it is not based on our own play.
Onyxia's Lair is in Dustwallow Marsh and is a level 60 raid for 40 players.
It unlocks on December 9 together with Barrow Deeps and Hyjal Summit, according to the U.S. English article.
The article gives no unlock time, and Blizzard says all of these raids are currently planned to reset each week.
| Detail | Onyxia's Lair |
|---|---|
| Location | Dustwallow Marsh |
| Level | 60 |
| Raid size | 40 players |
| Unlock | December 9 (U.S. article) |
| Entry item | Drakefire Amulet in your inventory |
To enter, each member of the raid must carry the Drakefire Amulet.
The amulet only has to be in your inventory; you do not need to equip it.
Every player earns their own amulet through a questline that differs by faction.
Both chains at a glance: start, dungeons and finish
Blizzard advises starting early, bringing a few friends for the elite quests and leaving time for several trips into high-level dungeons.
The Alliance chain goes through Blackrock Depths and Upper Blackrock Spire.
The Horde chain goes through Lower Blackrock Spire, which you visit twice, and Upper Blackrock Spire.
Both chains finish in Upper Blackrock Spire, where you take the Blood of the Black Dragon Champion from General Drakkisath.
| Item | Alliance | Horde |
|---|---|---|
| Starts with | Helendis Riverhorn, Burning Steppes: Dragonkin Menace | Warlord Goretooth, Kargath (Badlands): Blood and Thunder |
| Dungeons | Blackrock Depths, Upper Blackrock Spire | Lower Blackrock Spire, Upper Blackrock Spire |
| Last quest | Drakefire Amulet | Blood of the Black Dragon Champion, then back to Rexxar |
| Amulet from | The helper Bolvar sends you to find (not named in the article) | Rexxar in Desolace |
Blizzard's Alliance list names 16 quests, counting the six quests called “The True Masters” (our count).
Its Horde list names 14 quests, counting the four Test of Skulls quests (our count).
The article does not say which individual quests are elite.
Alliance: from Dragonkin Menace to the Drakefire Amulet
| Quest | Where | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Dragonkin Menace | Burning Steppes | Pick it up from Helendis Riverhorn |
| The True Masters (six quests) | From Helendis to Marshal Maxwell, Morgan's Vigil | Investigate the Black Dragonflight's influence on the Blackrock clan |
| Marshal Windsor | Blackrock Depths | Find Windsor or proof of his death |
| Abandoned Hope | Morgan's Vigil | Report back to Marshal Maxwell |
| A Crumpled Up Note | Blackrock Depths | Loot the note from enemies and bring it to Windsor's cell |
| A Shred of Hope | Blackrock Depths | Take Windsor's lost information from Golem Lord Argelmach and General Angerforge |
| Jail Break! | Blackrock Depths, then Morgan's Vigil | Help Windsor escape, then return to Maxwell |
| Stormwind Rendezvous | Stormwind city gates | Speak with Squire Rowe to call Windsor |
| The Great Masquerade | Stormwind | Gather allies; Squire Rowe again if Windsor is missing |
| The Dragon's Eye | From Highlord Bolvar Fordragon | Find someone who can help (unnamed in the article) |
| Drakefire Amulet | Upper Blackrock Spire | Take the Blood of the Black Dragon Champion from General Drakkisath |
Order and wording follow Blizzard's U.S. English raid overview.
You pick up “Dragonkin Menace” from Helendis Riverhorn in the Burning Steppes.
Helendis then starts a series of six quests, all named “The True Masters”, about the Black Dragonflight's influence on the Blackrock orc clan.
The chain leads to Marshal Maxwell at Morgan's Vigil in the Burning Steppes.
In “Marshal Windsor”, Maxwell sends you into Blackrock Depths to recover Marshal Windsor or proof of his death.
Windsor sends you back to Maxwell in “Abandoned Hope”.
Enemies in Blackrock Depths drop the item A Crumpled Up Note, which starts the quest of the same name.
Bring the note to Marshal Windsor in his cell in Blackrock Depths.
In “A Shred of Hope”, you recover Windsor's lost information from Golem Lord Argelmach and General Angerforge.
In “Jail Break!”, you help Windsor escape Blackrock Depths, then return to Maxwell at Morgan's Vigil.
Maxwell's “Stormwind Rendezvous” sends you to Squire Rowe at the Stormwind city gates; speak with him to call Marshal Windsor.
Gather allies to complete “The Great Masquerade” in Stormwind, and speak with Squire Rowe at the gates if Windsor is not there.
Highlord Bolvar Fordragon then gives you “The Dragon's Eye” and sends you across Azeroth to find someone who can help.
Blizzard's article does not name that person.
They send you into Upper Blackrock Spire for the quest “Drakefire Amulet”.
Take the Blood of the Black Dragon Champion from General Drakkisath, then receive the Drakefire Amulet.
Horde: from Blood and Thunder to Rexxar's amulet
| Quest | Where | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Blood and Thunder | Kargath, Badlands | Pick it up from Warlord Goretooth |
| Warlord's Command | Lower Blackrock Spire | Follows directly from the first quest |
| No quest name given | Orgrimmar | Report to Eitrigg, then speak with Thrall |
| For the Horde! | Lower Blackrock Spire | Bring Thrall the head of Warchief Rend Blackhand |
| What the Wind Carries | Thrall | Hear what Thrall has discovered |
| The Champion of the Horde | Desolace | Find Rexxar on the roads |
| The Testament of Rexxar | Western Plaguelands | Deliver Rexxar's testament to Myranda the Hag |
| Oculus Illusions | From Myranda | Obtain Black Dragonspawn Eyes |
| Emberstrife | Dustwallow Marsh | Use the Amulet of Draconic Subversion to find Emberstrife |
| The Test of Skulls (four quests) | From Emberstrife | Bring the skulls of Scryer, Somnus, Chronalis and Axtroz |
| Ascension... | Emberstrife, then Desolace | Take the Dull Drakefire Amulet to Rexxar |
| Blood of the Black Dragon Champion | Upper Blackrock Spire | Take the blood from General Drakkisath |
| Back to Rexxar | Desolace | Receive the Drakefire Amulet |
Order and wording follow Blizzard's U.S. English raid overview.
You begin in the Badlands with “Blood and Thunder” from Warlord Goretooth in Kargath.
It leads directly to “Warlord's Command”, which takes you through Lower Blackrock Spire.
Goretooth then sends you to report to Eitrigg in Orgrimmar, and from there to Thrall; the article names no quest for this step.
In “For the Horde!”, you return to Lower Blackrock Spire to claim the head of Warchief Rend Blackhand for Thrall.
Thrall shares what he has learned in “What the Wind Carries”.
“The Champion of the Horde” sends you to find Rexxar on the roads of Desolace.
In “The Testament of Rexxar”, you deliver his testament to Myranda the Hag in the Western Plaguelands.
Myranda then gives you “Oculus Illusions”, which asks for Black Dragonspawn Eyes.
In “Emberstrife”, you use your Amulet of Draconic Subversion to seek out the ancient drake Emberstrife in Dustwallow Marsh.
Emberstrife tests you with four quests that each begin with “The Test of Skulls”.
You bring him the skulls of Scryer, Somnus, Chronalis and Axtroz.
In “Ascension...”, Emberstrife gives you the Dull Drakefire Amulet, which you take back to Rexxar in Desolace.
Rexxar sends you to Upper Blackrock Spire in “Blood of the Black Dragon Champion” to take the blood from General Drakkisath.
Return to Rexxar to receive the Drakefire Amulet.
Before the raid opens: plan the runs and the fight
Blizzard's advice for attunement is to start early, bring friends for the elite quests and plan several high-level dungeon trips.
Onyxia's encounter has three phases with powerful fire attacks that can punish an unprepared raid.
Blizzard recommends building fire resistance before entering and being ready to reposition as the fight shifts.
Attunement checklist
- Pick your faction's chainAlliance starts in the Burning Steppes, Horde in Kargath
- Find a groupBring friends for the elite quests
- Plan the dungeon tripsBlackrock Depths or Lower Blackrock Spire, then Upper Blackrock Spire
- Prepare for fireBuild fire resistance before the raid
- Check your bagsThe Drakefire Amulet must be in your inventory
The only entry condition Blizzard names is the Drakefire Amulet; it does not list fire resistance as a requirement to enter.
In our October 21 data, an r/classicwow thread asking whether Forever's Onyxia requires fire resistance had 5 comments.
Blizzard's article does not give level requirements for the individual quests.
It names no reward other than the Drakefire Amulet and gives no estimate of how long either chain takes.
Name check: Squire Rowe and other spellings
Blizzard's English article calls the Stormwind NPC “Squire Rower” in one step and “Squire Rowe” in the next.
Forever's game data, as listed in Wowhead's Forever database on October 21, has only Squire Rowe, so this guide uses that name.
The article writes “For the Horde!”, while the game data capitalises it as “For The Horde!”.
| Blizzard's article | Game data (Wowhead) | Used here |
|---|---|---|
| Squire Rower, Squire Rowe | Squire Rowe | Squire Rowe |
| For the Horde! | For The Horde! | For the Horde! |
| Blood and Thunder | Not listed | Blood and Thunder |
Game data: Wowhead's WoW Forever database, checked on October 21, 2026.
The last Alliance quest and the item it gives share the same name, Drakefire Amulet.
Every other quest, NPC and item name here matches that data, except “Blood and Thunder”, which the database did not list on October 21.