Molten Core
Plan Molten Core for Forever with inherited boss tactics and preparation, pending confirmation of its release and encounter rules.
Researched from public sources, not tested in game. Some details come from Classic and may differ in Forever.
In this guide
At a glance
Forever planning status: Molten Core has no confirmed release or final rules in the WoW: Forever sources checked. Use these inherited Classic encounter plans to organize possible future progression. Raid size, access, resets, tuning and loot still need Forever confirmation before the encounter plan is used live. Confirmed Forever class changes are noted separately; a class having a control spell does not establish that it works on every inherited raid target.
Inherited Classic baseline:
Molten Core is a level 60, 40-player raid beneath Blackrock Depths in Blackrock Mountain, between Searing Gorge and Burning Steppes. Lothos Riftwaker's Attunement to the Core unlocks the direct entrance; without it you must reach the raid portal through BRD. See the separate Molten Core attunement guide.
Its ten encounters are Lucifron, Magmadar, Gehennas, Garr, Baron Geddon, Shazzrah, Sulfuron Harbinger, Golemagg, Majordomo Executus and Ragnaros. The middle bosses allow some route flexibility. Majordomo requires seven boss runes doused, and Ragnaros requires Majordomo's surrender and summoning conversation.
The guide excludes Season of Discovery Heat levels and other seasonal additions. The Classic raid save resets weekly; agree which instance your group is continuing.
Before you go
Bring several tanks or off tanks for add encounters, assigned healers for each tank, Mages or Druids for curses, Priests or Paladins for friendly magic dispels, Warlocks for Banish and Hunters with Tranquilizing Shot. Lucifron drops the tome that teaches Tranquilizing Shot in this baseline, so arrange who learns the first drop before Magmadar.
Pack mana and healing potions, bandages, normal role consumables and Greater Fire Protection Potions. Fire resistance is most useful for specific jobs, especially Ragnaros's tanks; use a tank set near the Classic 315 buffed resistance cap when your raid's strategy needs it. Do not remove most of the raid's damage and healing stats just to hit an arbitrary resistance number on every boss. Arcane protection can help exposed melee on Shazzrah.
Confirmed Forever tank preparation: Warrior Rage from incoming damage ignores absorption, so a necessary Priest shield does not starve that Rage generation. Defiance's threat benefit requires a shield in the current tree. Choose a current Warrior tank build and gear for the assignment rather than importing a dual-wield threat assumption.
Assign seven rune holders before departure. Aqual Quintessence is unique and single-use. Eternal Quintessence is reusable but has a one-hour cooldown, so one owner is not a convenient seven-rune plan. Complete the Duke Hydraxis chain early: see the Hydraxian Waterlords reputation guide.
Forever preparation: The developers confirm continued access to Classic consumables. Check current item tooltips and stacking rules when preparing them. Traditional world-buff use inside raids still needs policy confirmation; do not require a collection circuit or count those effects in your guaranteed raid budget.
Threat buffs: If your roster includes a Paladin, assign Salvation by job: its current Forever effect reduces generated threat by 30%. Mass Salvation affects the target's whole class. Check both tank and backup-tank buffs, then have the Paladin use Revoke to remove Salvation from those tanks before pulling. See the Paladin guide for current utility.
The route and trash
Pull one marked pack at a time and watch patrols. Banish assigned elementals rather than breaking every control with cleave. Firelords create Lava Spawns: kill the spawns before they multiply. Core Hound packs before Magmadar must die close together so surviving members do not revive the dead ones.
Keep raid members away from uncleared edges and lava jumps. After a wipe, check for respawned patrols before sending a resurrection team ahead. Clear a safe bomb position and return path before pulling Baron Geddon into the chosen room.
Lucifron
Assign a tank to Lucifron and separate tanks to his two Flamewaker Protectors. Kill the Protectors first unless your group has explicitly chosen a geared cleave strategy. They can dominate a player: Priests or Paladins remove the magic mind control promptly, and the raid controls that player without killing them.
Mages and Druids remove Lucifron's Curse, which increases ability resource costs. Magic dispellers remove Impending Doom before its delayed damage. Spread dispel assignments across groups so tank healers do not lose every cast to cleanup.
Wipe and recovery: overlapping uncleared curse, Doom and mind control causes healer failure. Check dispel coverage, then reset the add marks and tank assignments before repeating.
Magmadar
Clear the Core Hound packs first, then fight Magmadar alone. Face him away from the raid. Melee use his flanks or rear, while ranged and healers spread at range and move out of Lava Bomb patches. Keep fear protection available for the tank before Panic; nearby melee also need a return plan after fear.
Hunters alternate Tranquilizing Shot on Frenzy and call a miss so the backup fires. Healers anticipate the tank burst if Frenzy remains active. Assign the first Lucifron tome before reaching this fight if the raid has no trained Hunter yet. Only Hunters who have actually learned the shot can join that rotation. A first clear may have just one newly trained Hunter, so assign tank protection and extra healing for a missed shot instead of naming an untrained backup.
Wipe and recovery: a feared tank turning the boss or an unremoved Frenzy is usually more important than raw damage. Reposition, restore fear coverage and confirm the shot rotation.
Gehennas
Tank Gehennas and his two Flamewaker guards separately, away from the raid's standing area. Kill the guards first. Mages and Druids remove Gehennas' Curse, especially from tanks: it reduces healing received by 75%. Every player moves out of Rain of Fire immediately.
Healers should not try to heal through both the curse and standing in fire. Damage dealers preserve the dispellers' time by handling their own movement.
Wipe and recovery: if healing seems ineffective, check the curse first. Reassign a dedicated tank decurser rather than merely adding another healer.
Garr
Mark all eight Firesworn. Assign each to a Warlock's Banish or a tank, with a healer for every active tank. Choose the kill plan before pulling: controlling the adds while killing Garr first is straightforward when the raid has enough Banish coverage. Killing adds first makes Garr stronger as they die, so do not mix the plans accidentally.
Keep active Firesworn positioned safely within the encounter rather than dragging them arbitrarily far from Garr. They explode on death: clear melee away and finish them in a controlled sequence. Garr removes buffs, so watch essential tank protection and control timers.
Wipe and recovery: broken Banishes and simultaneous explosions turn manageable adds into a raid loss. Re-mark surviving assignments on every new attempt.
Baron Geddon
Use the cleared room and mark an empty area for Living Bomb. A targeted player leaves the group immediately, stays clear until the explosion and returns only afterward. A low ceiling at the bomb point reduces fall damage from the launch. Do not stand near another bomb target or run through the healer cluster.
Melee leave during Inferno; tanks and healers follow the raid's positioning call rather than crowding the boss. Priests and Paladins remove Ignite Mana from mana users. At very low health he begins Armageddon: finish him promptly and keep unnecessary players outside its nearby blast area.
Wipe and recovery: a bomb in the raid is the main preventable failure. Clear the escape lane and confirm the target can recognize the debuff before another pull.
Shazzrah
Spread ranged and healers around a clear tank area. His Blink moves him to a player and resets threat; stop damage when he jumps, let the assigned tank recover him and move away from his Arcane Explosion radius.
Mages and Druids remove Shazzrah's Curse, while Priests or Shamans remove his Deaden Magic buff. Healers watch the newly exposed group after a Blink. Melee can step out rather than require unsustainable healing through every Arcane Explosion.
Wipe and recovery: chasing the boss through the raid or continuing maximum damage during the recovery causes loose-boss deaths. Set a clear regroup position before restarting.
Sulfuron Harbinger
Assign one tank to Sulfuron and tanks or controlled positions for his four Flamewaker Priests. Separate the priests enough that their Dark Mending heals cannot freely rescue every target. Move the marked kill target away and focus it while assigned interrupters stop Dark Mending.
Remove Immolate and Shadow Word: Pain from affected players. Dispel or purge the enemy's offensive buffs where appropriate. Once all priests are dead, finish Sulfuron. Keep the interrupt rotation active until the final priest dies.
Wipe and recovery: repeated enemy heals undo damage and exhaust the raid. Fix interrupt ownership and priest spacing before increasing damage demands.
Golemagg the Incinerator
Tank Golemagg separately from his two Core Ragers. Assign an off tank and healer to each rager, keeping them away from the boss's strengthening aura. Do not spend raid damage trying to kill them first: they heal back up while their master lives.
Melee and the active tank watch Magma Splash, a stacking fire-damage and armor-reduction effect gained while attacking Golemagg. Use the agreed tank swap or let an affected melee player step out to clear stacks. A waiting off tank should not build unnecessary stacks before their turn. Healers prepare for the stronger damage and Earthquake near the final 10%.
Wipe and recovery: an add left beside Golemagg, an unattended rager tank or excessive Splash stacks can kill a tank independently. Check all three assignments rather than assuming one universal stack threshold fixes every group.
Majordomo Executus
Douse the runes after Magmadar, Gehennas, Garr, Geddon, Shazzrah, Sulfuron and Golemagg. Lucifron has no rune. Confirm all seven in the current save before looking for Majordomo.
He starts with four Flamewaker Elites and four Flamewaker Healers. Tank Majordomo and the Elites separately, and assign Mages to Polymorph the marked Healers. Focus the declared order. When four adds have died, the remaining healers become immune to Polymorph, so their tanks must be ready before crossing that threshold.
Watch the adds' reflection shields. Pause the affected damage type or switch targets as called; throwing spells blindly into the magic shield can kill casters or reflect control. Keep a tank ready for a loose healer when sheep breaks. Majordomo's teleport can move his tank into danger, so preserve a pickup plan.
Wipe and recovery: breaking all controls without replacement tanks is the common collapse. When all eight adds die, Majordomo surrenders. Loot his cache, then meet him in Ragnaros's chamber. Do not start the summon conversation until everyone is positioned and ready.
Ragnaros
Surface phase
Put the main tank in melee with an off tank already high on threat and ready. Keep someone in melee range: otherwise Ragnaros uses punishing Magma Blasts. Melee damage dealers use the assigned safe side, while ranged and mana users spread so knockbacks and fire effects do not hit a large cluster.
Watch Wrath of Ragnaros. Melee step out before it, then return after the knockback; the off tank must be ready if the active tank is knocked away and loses threat. Do not let all tanks move out together. Fire resistance and protection potions reduce damage but do not replace that handover.
Submerge phase
After roughly three minutes, he submerges and eight Sons of Flame appear. Tanks collect them, Warlocks Banish assigned sons and the raid uses stuns or roots to keep them away from mana users. Kill them promptly. Their nearby mana burn makes hiding the whole healer group beside uncontrolled adds a poor recovery plan.
Ragnaros returns when the sons are dealt with or the submerge timer ends. Reposition before he rises and ensure a tank is immediately in melee. Do not assume every raid will kill him before the first submerge.
Wipe and recovery: a missing melee tank after knockback or resurfacing causes Magma Blast deaths. After a wipe, regroup in the chamber and check the summon/reset state before another player speaks to Majordomo.
Loot highlights
Molten Core provides most Tier 1 armor. Garr drops helms, Magmadar legs and Golemagg chests; Tier 1 belts and bracers also come from trash as bind-on-equip drops. Ragnaros drops Tier 2 legs, not Tier 1. Majordomo's cache can supply the Ancient Petrified Leaf for Hunters and Eye of Divinity for Priests, with further class quests still required.
Thunderfury planning
Assign both different Bindings of the Windseeker to the intended recipient: Garr and Baron Geddon supply opposite halves. Either first half is enough to visit Highlord Demitrian in northwestern Silithus. Obtain and examine his Vessel of Rebirth, finish Examine the Vessel, then accept Thunderaan the Windseeker before the recipient's next Ragnaros kill. Its Essence of the Firelord requires the quest; a previous kill does not retroactively supply it.
Complete the bill with both Bindings, the Essence and 10 Elementium Bars. Those bars require 10 Elementium Ore, 100 Arcanite Bars, 10 Fiery Cores and 30 Elemental Flux in total. Arrange a qualified miner or purchase finished bars; BWL's Master Elemental Shaper Krixix teaches the special smelt through a Priest's Mind Control. See Mining for that access requirement.
Bring a raid group to Demitrian before handing in: the turn-in summons Thunderaan. Defeat him, loot the Dormant Wind Kissed Blade and complete Rise, Thunderfury! with Demitrian. Neither a single Binding nor an ordinary Ragnaros kill finishes the weapon.
Sulfuras planning
Allocate Ragnaros's rare, bind-on-pickup Eye of Sulfuras to the intended wielder. That character combines it with a crafted Sulfuron Hammer. The hammer's craft uses 8 Sulfuron Ingots, 20 Dark Iron Bars, 50 Arcanite Bars, 25 Essence of Fire, 10 Blood of the Mountain, 10 Lava Cores and 10 Fiery Cores.
A 300-skill Blacksmith can learn the tradeable plans from Lokhtos's separate contract quest; there is no Exalted or weapon-specialization requirement. Obtaining those plans personally spends one additional Sulfuron Ingot, making nine Ingots for the recipe plus craft. See the Thorium Brotherhood guide for the level-60 contract steps. The crafted hammer binds when equipped, so hand it to the Eye's recipient before anyone equips it. These rare components are not guaranteed on a clear.