Mount Hyjal in TBC Anniversary: Waves, Bosses and Loot

Hyjal Summit, also known as The Battle for Mount Hyjal, is a Phase 3 raid in The Burning Crusade Classic Anniversary for 25 level-70 characters. Its five mandatory bosses follow a fixed order. Eight waves precede each of the first four; Archimonde waits separately at the World Tree. A successful evening therefore depends on gathering enemies, controlling dangerous targets and recovering mana as well as learning boss abilities.

Checked October 20, 2026. Hyjal is already live. It opened alongside Black Temple on August 27 at 3:00 p.m. PDT / 22:00 UTC. The conditions below are for Anniversary rather than the historical calendar of original TBC or the 2022 Classic season.

Attunement is still required on the verification date. Blizzard has announced its removal for Hyjal and Black Temple with the October 22 Zul'Aman update. That is an upcoming change, not an August launch condition. If reading after the update, check implemented access rules before completing the chain.

Getting inside

The Caverns of Time entrance

Travel to the Caverns of Time in Tanaris. After descending, look for the forested route with elven structures and glaive throwers leading to Hyjal Summit's portal. Do not mistake the other Caverns of Time instances for the raid. Confirm the meeting point before summoning the group.

Hyjal has an individual weekly raid save. Account-wide access does not merge characters' saves or combine Hyjal's raid week with Black Temple's. Check your saved instances before joining a run in progress. Leaving or changing groups does not provide another loot attempt from an already defeated boss.

The Vials of Eternity before October's removal

Completed Anniversary raid attunements are Battle.net account-wide. Check access first if another character has finished the quest. Unfinished steps, personal items and rewards should not be assumed to transfer automatically.

If access is needed, obtain The Vials of Eternity from Soridormi in the Caverns of Time. With the quest active, defeat Lady Vashj in Serpentshrine Cavern and Kael'thas Sunstrider in Tempest Keep, collect Vashj's Vial Remnant and Kael's Vial Remnant, then return to Soridormi. Boss kills alone do not replace looting and turning in the items.

Since August, the old entrance requirements for those two raids have been removed and direct routes to their final bosses are available. These shorten vial collection. Do not repeat historical SSC/TK access chains just because an older guide lists them. Likewise, do not automatically impose the old Revered Keepers of Time requirement on Anniversary quest pickup: the updated attunement reference reports pickup at Honored. Check the NPC's available quest before grinding additional reputation.

Hyjal entry does not require an Illidan kill or Black Temple attunement first. Instead, Rage Winterchill is needed for An Artifact From the Past in Akama's Black Temple chain. If completing that step before the removal, obtain the quest beforehand and loot the required item from the first boss. It is a personal quest objective, not a requirement for the whole raid to start its waves.

Raid flow: two camps and the World Tree

At Jaina's Alliance camp, complete eight waves and Rage Winterchill, then another eight waves and Anetheron. Finish Jaina's transition dialogue after the second boss and move to Thrall's Horde camp. There, defeat eight waves and Kaz'rogal, followed by eight waves and Azgalor. Once the defense and Thrall's dialogue are complete, continue to Tyrande and Archimonde near the World Tree.

That makes 32 waves before the four camp bosses. Archimonde has no fifth eight-wave defense. Unlike Black Temple's middle section, all five encounters follow a fixed order. Start the next event through the relevant commander only when players and assignments are ready.

Four eight-wave sets end with bosses; Archimonde is a separate encounter

Surviving the waves

Starts, pacing and recovery

Assign a collection point, a tank for dangerous large enemies and players watching the camp's rear. Enemies do not all arrive along the main approach. Let tanks secure the pack and bring casters into position before using area damage. Keep camp leaders protected rather than chasing one isolated straggler.

Each set has eight predetermined waves. Follow the event counter and remaining enemies rather than a borrowed historical timer: kill speed and enemy travel determine your actual recovery window. The boss follows wave eight, so recover mana and establish positions before it arrives. Do not promise a long fixed break after every pack.

Losing the defense or wiping on its boss restarts that unfinished boss's set from wave one. Previously defeated bosses remain completed. Wait for the event and commander to recover, regroup, then restart. One player dying does not itself reset the whole event; keep control if the defense can still be saved.

An Anniversary recovery technique uses a Priest's Mind Control on a remaining Shadowy Necromancer to leave combat, drink and resurrect. End the control and kill it when ready. Use this on a suitable wave under a clear call, especially before Kaz'rogal, while watching the event rather than assuming any uncontrolled last enemy creates a safe pause.

Before launch, Blizzard reported fixes for the Horde camp's disappearing first wave and the missing wave-counter interface. Treat those as corrected PTR issues, not normal live mechanics or a route to skip the defense.

Dangerous targets

Necromancers are humanoids, so Shackle Undead is not their assignment. Match control to undead, demons and other creature types instead of expecting one spell to work on every target. Name an interrupt rotation to avoid everyone spending their interrupt on the same cast.

Ranged players engage airborne Gargoyles; moving away with threat can bring them down. Assigned ranged damage kills Frost Wyrms quickly, with their target separated from neighbors. Collect Infernals where their fire auras do not cover every melee player. A sturdy area tank alone does not guarantee a safe pickup of several dangerous enemy types together.

Interrupts, control and separate assignments preserve mana and tank survival

Preparing for your first evening

A practical starting roster is three tanks, six healers and sixteen damage dealers, including strong ranged coverage and area damage. This is progression advice rather than an enforced setup. Some bosses need only one main tank, while waves and summoned enemies need additional assignments. A Paladin is useful for gathering packs; clearly assigned duties matter more than copying an exact specialization count.

Well-built Phase 2 sets with appropriate gems and enchants remain suitable; there is no mandatory gear score. SSC and Tempest Keep still help with vials before attunement removal and with specific upgrades. Compare complete Tier 5 and Tier 6 bonuses instead of replacing equipment solely because its set tier is newer.

Bring food, suitable flasks or compatible elixirs, mana and healing potions, Healthstones, reagents and enough supplies for a long evening. Agree on recovery opportunities. Healers and casters should not empty their mana on a few weak survivors immediately before a boss. Anniversary Bloodlust/Heroism is raid-wide, so plan a shared use rather than an old party rotation.

A full resistance set for every player is not a universal requirement. Fire Resistance can help an assigned Infernal tank. For Azgalor, selected healers may benefit from Shadow Resistance against silence, agreed with the raid leader without sacrificing essential healing and mana. For Archimonde, reliable fear coverage, decursing, Tears of the Goddess and safe movement matter most; resistance cannot repair a fatal fall or standing in fire.

Bosses: Winterchill through Azgalor

Rage Winterchill

The tank collects the boss after the waves and leaves room to move. Healers immediately cover Icebolt targets and dispel Frost Nova roots that trap players in Death & Decay. Damage dealers spread and leave the ground effect without finishing long casts. Reposition without losing healing range. Use personal protection for sudden damage. Trying to heal people through Death & Decay instead of moving is a common failure; wave interrupts do not substitute for handling this mechanic.

Anetheron

The main tank holds the boss; another collects Towering Infernals away from the raid. Inferno targets move to the agreed pickup point. Infernals are taunt-immune, so establish threat through attacks and Misdirection. Ranged damage switches to them while melee avoids their aura. Spread healers: Carrion Swarm reduces affected players' healing done, so unaffected healers cover the tanks. Maintain an assigned healing-reduction effect on the boss. Overlapping healer suppression and an uncontrolled Infernal cause the major failures.

Kaz'rogal

Face the boss away and keep ranged players outside War Stomp. Mark of Kaz'rogal drains mana; reaching zero makes its target explode near others. Healers and casters recover mana early. Anyone unable to avoid detonation moves away from the raid. Marks become more frequent, so prolonged attempts become increasingly dangerous. Starting almost empty after the waves and leaving too late are the common errors. Ordinary magic dispels should not be the raid's answer to the mark.

Azgalor

Keep the boss's frontal attacks away from others and assign another tank to Lesser Doomguards. Doom targets reach the agreed spot before dying; ordinary dispels cannot remove it. Where available, apply a Warlock's Soulstone beforehand. Kill the spawned enemy, then return to Azgalor. Healers top players before Howl of Azgalor; the tank prepares protection for the silence window. Leave Rain of Fire immediately. Fire damage during silence and uncollected Doomguards rapidly deplete the roster.

Archimonde: individual survival comes first

Before engaging

Everyone obtains Tears of the Goddess from Tyrande Whisperwind and puts the item on an accessible key. Confirm its use before pulling. Assign Mages and Druids to remove Grip of the Legion and agree fear coverage. Grip is a curse; a Priest's ordinary magic dispel does not replace decursing.

Fire, fear and falling

The tank remains in melee and controls Fear with planned Fear Ward, Berserker Rage and Tremor Totem support. Account for the totem's party coverage and range. Ordinary magic dispels do not answer this Fear. Others spread without losing healing and decurse coverage.

Give Doomfire a wide margin before fear. Its lingering damage cannot be removed through ordinary dispelling. Air Burst targets move away from neighbors; launched players use Tears shortly before landing. Too early can let the short effect expire; too late cannot prevent the impact. A healer cannot rescue someone already killed by the fall.

Why a death matters

Healers maintain the tank, recover injured players and move safely themselves. Damage dealers stop attacking to avoid fire, decurse or prepare a safe landing. Death grants a Soul Charge that can trigger further losses; the first death is not literally an automatic wipe. Losing melee contact also exposes players to Finger of Death.

Reach the final event at 10% and remain with the raid under Protection of Elune while the wisps finish the encounter. Do not abandon survival mechanics for the last few percent beforehand.

Boss assignments depend on threat control, healing coverage and individual survival

Loot and the Scale of the Sands

Hyjal's two Tier 6 slots

Azgalor drops Tier 6 glove tokens; Archimonde drops helm tokens. Shoulders, legs and chest belong to Black Temple. Sunwell's later belts, boots and bracers are not Hyjal drops. Exchange tokens with Tydormu near the entrance and choose your role's variant.

Forgotten Protector serves Warriors, Hunters and Shamans; Forgotten Vanquisher serves Rogues, Mages and Druids; Forgotten Conqueror serves Paladins, Priests and Warlocks. Blizzard confirmed additional Anniversary tokens at launch. That does not guarantee a particular class group or a complete set in one evening.

Other useful goals

Archimonde offers Bristleblitz Striker, Tempest of Chaos, Apostle of Argus and Cataclysm's Edge; Kaz'rogal offers Hammer of Atonement. Wave enemies can drop Hammer of Judgement, Claw of Molten Fury and Fist of Molten Fury. Allocate by actual specialization benefit and the group's rules. Random loot does not promise an item after a fixed number of weeks.

Hyjal enemies and bosses build Scale of the Sands reputation. Choose a role-appropriate ring through Soridormi and upgrade it as reputation increases. Do not pick a random branch assuming it can be freely changed after every boss. Indormi offers Jewelcrafting designs with reputation requirements; some designs also come from bosses. Check the profession and exact source before shopping.

The raid contains raw epic gem deposits for an assigned player with Mining 375. The profession is needed by the miner rather than everyone. Agree on gem and recipe distribution beforehand. Reputation runs through waves are a separate group objective, not extra weekly kills of bosses already saved.

Frequently asked questions

Must every character repeat attunement?

Completed Anniversary attunement is Battle.net account-wide. Personal quests and rewards may still require separate steps. Once the announced October removal takes effect, the chain will no longer be an entrance condition.

Does a wipe restart the whole raid?

It restarts the wave set for the current unfinished boss. Earlier defeated bosses remain completed. Archimonde has no separate wave set.

Can I get Tears after the first failed attempt?

Get and keybind the item before the first pull. Air Burst can select eligible raiders, and someone else's healing cannot undo lethal fall damage.

Is Hyjal useful without a Tier 6 goal?

Yes, for specific weapons, a ring and reputation, recipes or wave drops. Choose your goal in advance and budget for camp defenses rather than only five boss fights.