Warrior · Protection pre-raid gear
Defense and stamina first; threat comes from hit and weapon speed. The shield and trinkets matter more than any armor slot.
These are the Classic-era community consensus pieces for each slot from dungeons, quests, reputation and crafting. World of Warcraft: Forever changed more than 290 items in the Oct 15 beta build and added nine new dungeons whose loot is not yet published, so treat this as the shopping list to start from, not the final word. We will swap in Forever-specific pieces as soon as they are documented after the Nov 4 launch.
Slot by slot
| Slot | Item | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Lionheart Helm (threat) or Golem Skull Helm (mitigation) | Blacksmithing / Blackrock Depths |
| Neck | Medallion of Grand Marshal Morris | Quest: Scholomance (Alliance) / equivalent Horde reward |
| Shoulders | Drakesfire Epaulets | Quest: Finkle Einhorn, At Your Service! (UBRS) |
| Back | Stoneskin Gargoyle Cape | Stratholme (Stonespine) |
| Chest | Savage Gladiator Chain | Blackrock Depths |
| Hands | Stonegrip Gauntlets | BoE world drop |
| Waist | Brigam Girdle | Upper Blackrock Spire |
| Feet | Battlechaser's Greaves | Blackrock Depths |
| Trinket | Force of Will | Blackrock Depths |
| Trinket | Mark of Tyranny | Quest: General Drakkisath's Demise (UBRS) |
| Shield | Draconian Deflector | Upper Blackrock Spire (General Drakkisath) |
| Shield (Engineers) | Force Reactive Disk | Engineering |
| Weapon | Ironfoe or Mirah's Song | Blackrock Depths / Blackrock Spire |
When raids open (Dec 9)
Raids open December 9, 2026: The Barrow Deeps (10-player, new), Hyjal Summit (20-player, new) and Onyxia's Lair (40-player). Blizzard has not published loot for the two new raids. Onyxia's Classic loot is listed below as a guide; Molten Core is not part of the launch raid set.
| Onyxia's Lair (Classic loot) | Source |
|---|---|
| Tier 2 helms (one per class) | Onyxia |
| Head of Onyxia quest: Dragonslayer's Signet (ring), Onyxia Tooth Pendant (neck), Onyxia Blood Talisman (trinket) | Turn-in in Stormwind or Orgrimmar |
| Deathbringer (one-hand axe) | Onyxia |
| Vis'kag the Bloodletter (one-hand sword) | Onyxia |
| Eskhandar's Collar (neck) | Onyxia |
| Shard of the Scale (healing trinket) | Onyxia |
| Ancient Cornerstone Grimoire (off-hand) | Onyxia |
| Sapphiron Drape (cloak) | Onyxia |
| Mature Black Dragon Sinew (Hunter epic quest) | Onyxia |
Other specs
Warrior Fury / Arms (DPS)Paladin HolyPaladin ProtectionPaladin RetributionHunter Marksmanship / Beast MasteryRogue Combat / AssassinationPriest Holy / DisciplinePriest ShadowShaman RestorationShaman ElementalShaman EnhancementMage Frost / Fire / ArcaneWarlock Affliction / DestructionDruid Feral (cat)Druid Feral (bear)Druid RestorationDruid Balance
Item names and sources are the Classic 1.12 versions; see the caveat above. Data from talentsforever.com (CC BY 4.0), read from the WoW Forever beta client, build 1.60.1.70425. Updated 2026-10-25. World of Warcraft is a trademark of Blizzard Entertainment; this is a fan site.