With about 20 years of history, World of Warcraft has more than a hundred different instances players can challenge from across its base game and subsequent expansions. Among them, raids stand out as the most epic and difficult encounters. Requiring teams of 10, 25, or even 40 players, the most difficult raids in World of Warcraft require skill, patience, and coordination to conquer.
Each World of Warcraft expansion has had at least three raids, but some have double or even triple that amount. A few of these instances stand out from the others due to unique mechanics, exceptional themes, or iconic bosses. Though instances like Zul’Gurub -- the source of WoW’s infamous Corrupted Blood incident -- made their mark on history, the following raids have gone down as the most iconic ones in their respective expansion packs.
Vanilla World of Warcraft - Ahn’Qiraj
Pre-expansion World of Warcraft had tons of iconic raids, but none so much as Ahn’Qiraj. The massive Old God complex contained two different raids, each with unique encounters. It also established lore of the Old Gods as a major threat in WoW, and built up the more history of the Night Elves and the dragonflights.
Ahn’Qiraj’s most noteworthy feature was the monumental task of unlocking it. The Gates of Ahn’Qiraj world event brought WoW players from both factions across each server to work together to unlock the raid, and awarded one player on each server a unique title in the process. Naxxramas might have let players battle an iconic Warcraft villain, and Onyxia’s Lair set the precedent for later raids, but Ahn’Qiraj was truly an unrepeatable experience.
Burning Crusade - Black Temple
Raids like the Sunwell Plateau and Karazhan from World of Warcraft’s first expansion set the pace for years to come. However, the amazing Black Temple raid wins the award for the most iconic Burning Crusade instance solely because of Illidan Stormrage. He was the centerpiece in the World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade reveal trailer, and confronting him and his Illidari was what drew many fans to the expansion. The Black Temple was so popular that Legion later added more context to the raid when it brought Illidan back and added the Demon Hunter class.
Wrath of the Lich King - Ulduar
Wrath of the Lich King had a lot of great raids, but Ulduar is unmistakably the best. Ulduar pits players against corrupted Titan Keepers from World of Warcraft's history, minions of the Void, and Yogg-Saron himself. Ulduar was not only fun and thematic, but extremely well-designed. That said, Icecrown Citadel deserves an honorable mention. The capstone raid of Wrath of the Lich King, Icecrown Citadel had players fight the most powerful minions of the Scourge, ending with a desperate battle against the Lich King himself. Even so, Ulduar was so iconic that it recently got an epic trailer in Wrath of the Lich King Classic.
Cataclysm - Firelands
Among the Cataclysm raids, the Firelands burned the brightest. The instance set players against Ragnaros the Firelord -- the final boss of Molten Core, the first raid in World of Warcraft -- for the second and final time. In contrast, the expansion-concluding Dragon Soul raid was epic in spectacle, but its execution wasn’t perfect. Blackwing Descent was a remix of Onyxia’s Lair and Blackwing Descent that also proved to be popular, and takes a close second behind the Firelands. Considering Cataclysm introduced a world revamp for World of Warcraft, it is fitting its best raids were remasters of Vanilla instances.
Mists of Pandaria - Throne of Thunder
In the vibrant land of Pandaria, the Throne of Thunder reigns supreme. The epic confrontation against the ancient Mogu king Lei Shen and the Heroic battle against the Titan Keeper Ra-den takes place in an ancient sprawling palace powered by the Thunder King himself, and is steeped in the history of the Pandaren and the Zandalari Trolls of World of Warcraft. While the excellent Siege of Orgrimmar raid that followed focused on characters and plot threads from outside Pandaria, the Throne of Thunder was the perfect raid to capture the spirit of the expansion. With mechanics that turn the battlefield against players, the instance provided a shocking experience for many raiders.
Warlords of Draenor - Blackrock Foundry
Swathes of content getting cut from Warlords of Draenor earned the expansion a poor reputation. It was the first one to have only two major patches, leaving Warlords of Draenor with only three raids. Despite this, Blackrock Foundry was a solid raid. The heavy-duty fortress encapsulated the might of the Iron Horde, and had players face off with the legendary First Horde figure Blackhand. In an expansion otherwise fraught with problems, Blackrock Foundry stood out as an exceptional raiding experience.
Legion - Tomb of Sargeras
In contrast to Warlords of Draenor, all the raids in World of Warcraft: Legion were awesome. The gorgeous siege of Nighthold and the epic, high-stakes assault on Antorus make for tough competition, but the Tomb of Sargeras narrowly wins as the most iconic raid in Legion. Not only did the Tomb of Sargeras take place in a memorable location from Warcraft 3, but it pitted players against some of the strongest members of the Burning Legion, including the avatar of Sargeras and Kil’jaeden himself. The raid was notoriously difficult, and its epic battles could have been worthy of being the final installment raid in any other World of Warcraft expansion.
Battle for Azeroth - Battle of Dazar’alor
Battle for Azeroth was thematically chaotic, flitting between a faction conflict and the Old God threat coming back in World of Warcraft. For that reason, the Battle of Dazar’alor wins due to its unity of purpose and theme. While Ny'alotha was alright, and the Eternal Palace raid in Nazjatar had its merits, Battle of Dazar’alor stood out with its grounded story, iconic bosses like Jaina and King Rastakhan, and an amazing soundtrack. What’s more, the instance had two paths that vary based on faction, making it almost feel like two raids in one.
Shadowlands - Castle Nathria
Some consider Shadowlands to be a highly disappointing expansion, and like Warlords of Draenor, it only had three raid tiers. Even so, there is no question that Castle Nathria is a fantastic raid. While some encounters in the Sepulcher of the First Ones were excellent, Castle Nathria was perfect through to the end. Players fell in love with Sire Denathrius, the final boss of Castle Nathria, during the story of Shadowlands. The raid had some truly unique mechanics across the Gothic castle -- so much so that Hearthstone recently immortalized many of its bosses in the Murder at Castle Nathria card set.
Dragonflight - Vault of the Incarnates
Since Dragonflight only has one raid at present, the Vault of the Incarnates wins by default. Even so, the raid is both challenging and fun, and gave players the chance to face the new antagonist Raszageth. However, future Dragonflight raids could be even better than the Vault of the Incarnates. WoW players got a preview of future bosses in 10.1, likely taking players in a subterranean zone. Players will have to wait and see what other iconic raids they may find in Dragonflight over the next couple of years.
World of Warcraft is available now on PC.