The Burning Crusade expansion has some of the most iconic raids in World of Warcraft. This, of course, includes The Black Temple where you’ll be fighting Illidan himself. If you’d like to be prepared for that legendary encounter, this guide will lead you to the raids of TBC, help you get in and deal with the challenges inside.

Table of Contents

• Raid Sizes & Phases
• Raid Locations
• Descriptions & Attunement
  • Karazhan
  • Gruul’s Lair
  • Magtheridon’s Lair
  • Outland World Bosses
  • Serpentshrine Cavern
  • The Eye
  • The Battle for Mount Hyjal
  • The Black Temple
  • Zul’Aman
  • Sunwell Plateau

Raid Sizes & Phases The Burning Crusade expansion has five distinct content phases. Each of them has at least one new raid you can tackle. These raids are designed for either 10 or 25 players. And for the standalone World Boss encounters, you can gather up to 40 players.

The initial Phase 1 release of TBC will let us explore Karazhan, Gruul’s Lair, and Magtheridon’s Lair. During it, we’ll also encounter TBC’s two World Bosses – Doom Lord Kazzak and Doomwalker. Phase 2 will then add two more raids – Serpentshrine Cavern and The Eye. Phase 3 will be big for raiding with its two spectacular raids in The Battle for Mount Hyjal and The Black Temple.

Phase 4 will slightly overhaul how raids work in TBC. It will remove the attunement requirements of the earlier phases. It will also make it so the raid bosses start dropping Badge of Justice. In the meantime, World Bosses will change their loot to be bind-on-equip. We’ll also get to venture inside Zul’Aman as a raid. And finally, Phase 5 will mark the finale of TBC. And for its capstone raiding encounter, we’ll be fighting with none other than Kil’jaeden inside Sunwell Plateau.

Below is a convenient table with all the relevant information.

Raid/Boss	Maximum Players	Phase
Karazhan	10	Phase 1
Gruul’s Lair	25	Phase 1
Magtheridon’s Lair	25	Phase 1
Doom Lord Kazzak	40	Phase 1
Doomwalker	40	Phase 1
Serpentshrine Cavern	25	Phase 2
The Eye	25	Phase 2
The Battle for Mount Hyjal	25	Phase 3
The Black Temple	25	Phase 3
Zul’Aman	10	Phase 4
Sunwell Plateau	25	Phase 5

Raid Locations The Burning Crusade raids aren’t limited to the expansion’s new Outland zones. Several of them can be found on Azeroth. This includes Karazhan in Deadwind Pass, The Battle for Mount Hyjal in the Caverns of Time, Zul’Aman in the Ghostlands, and Sunwell Plateau on the Isle of Quel’Danas.

Raid/Boss	Location	Entrance/Location Coordinates
Karazhan	Deadwind Pass	47.0, 75.0
Gruul’s Lair	Blade’s Edge Mountains	69.2, 23.7
Magtheridon’s Lair	Hellfire Citadel – Hellfire Peninsula	47.5, 52.0
Doom Lord Kazzak	Throne of Kil’jaeden – Hellfire Peninsula	63.2, 16.0
Doomwalker	The Black Temple – Shadowmoon Valley	71.4, 44.1
Serpentshrine Cavern	Coilfang Reservoir – Zangarmarsh	50.0, 41.0
The Eye	Tempest Keep – Netherstorm	73.6, 63.7
The Battle for Mount Hyjal	Caverns of Time – Tanaris Desert	35.7, 15.4
The Black Temple	Shadowmoon Valley	71.0, 46.2
Zul’Aman	Ghostlands	76.0, 64.0
Sunwell Plateau	Isle of Quel’Danas	44.3, 45.6

Raid Descriptions & Attunement Info This section will provide quick overviews for the raids and the steps you need to take to get attuned to them. It will also direct you to their dedicated guides where you can explore all that in great detail, while learning how to beat the encounters inside.

Karazhan Karazhan is an iconic raid that finally gives a reason for the Deadwind Pass zone to exist. It’s a lengthy 10-player raid that features 11 bosses. A few of those are some of the most inventive encounters in WoW’s history. This includes a choreographed stage performance and a game of chess. One of the bosses inside – Attumen the Huntsman – can drop the Fiery Warhorse's Reins mount.

In order to get into Karazhan, you’ll need to go through a lengthy attunement process. The goal there is to obtain The Master's Key item. To get it, you’ll need to collect the First Key Fragment in the Shadow Labyrinth dungeon, Second Key Fragment in The Steamvault, Third Key Fragment in The Arcatraz. Then, you’ll want to combine them inside the Black Morass. For more information, you can consult our dedicated Karazhan attunement guide.

Gruul’s Lair Gruul’s Lair is a smaller raid in Outland’s Blade’s Edge Mountains zone. It’s intended for 25-player raid groups and features 2 boss encounters. You don’t need to be attuned to it to enter. And in fact, players as low as level 65 can get inside Gruul’s Lair.

Magtheridon’s Lair Magtheridon’s Lair is similar to Gruul’s Lair. This smaller introductory raid intended for 25-player groups is located within the Hellfire Peninsula. It only has a single boss and doesn’t require attunement to enter, letting level 65+ characters in.

World Bosses While not technically a part of an actual raid, TBC’s World Bosses will still require a raid group. In fact, groups of up to 40 players can fight these bosses roaming Outland. TBC only has 2 World Bosses – Doom Lord Kazzak and Doomwalker. You’ll be able to fight them once the expansion goes live. And starting with Phase 4, their loot will become bind-on-equip, making it easier to get some decent gear for your alts.

Serpentshrine Cavern Serpentshrine Cavern becomes available during TBC’s Phase 2. It’s a 25-player raid in Zangarmarsh that features 6 bosses. The final boss there is Lady Vashj, a notable Warcraft III character and a trusted ally of Illidan.

If you want to get inside SSC, you’ll need to go through an attunement process. It’s technically not very long, but it will require you to venture inside two of TBC’s Phase 1 raids. You’ll need to visit Gruul’s Lair to get the Earthen Signet. And then, you’ll need to go to Karazhan to obtain the Blazing Signet. You can learn more about this in our dedicated Serpentshrine Cavern attunement guide.

The Eye The Eye is another Phase 2 TBC raid. Just like SSC, it pits you against one of Illidan’s closest allies – Kael’thas Sunstrider. Defeating him will be a major setback for TBC’s antagonists. And for you, it will be a chance to earn the highly-coveted Ashes of Al'ar flying mount that flies at a 310% speed. The raid houses 4 bosses and is intended for 25-player groups.

To even reach this raid inside the Netherstorm’s Tempest Keep, you’ll need a flying mount. You’ll also need to go through a lengthy attunement process. This includes completing a series of quests and Heroic dungeons, and then venturing into Magtheridon’s Lair to get your hands on The Tempest Key. Check out our dedicated The Eye attunement guide for details.

The Battle for Mount Hyjal The Battle for Mount Hyjal, also known as Hyjal Summit, is an exciting Phase 3 TBC raid. It’s intended for 25-player groups and features 5 bosses. Located inside the Caverns of Time in Tanaris, this raid is essentially a reenactment of the final mission of the Reign of Chaos Warcraft III campaign. The final boss there is Archimonde himself.

Before you’re allowed to revisit this iconic Warcraft event, you’ll need to get attuned to the raid. The process is fairly straightforward. You’ll first need to reach Revered reputation with the Keepers of Time faction. Then, you’ll need to obtain Vashj's Vial Remnant from Lady Vashj inside the SSC raid, and Kael's Vial Remnant from Kael’thas Sunstrider inside The Eye. You’ll find more details in our dedicated Battle for Mount Hyjal attunement guide.

The Black Temple The Black Temple is for many people the main reason to play the TBC expansion. Located in Shadowmoon Valley, this lengthy 25-player raid with 9 bosses inside becomes available during Phase 3 of TBC. The final boss there, Illidan Stormrage, drops the legendary Warglaive of Azzinoth (main hand) and Warglaive of Azzinoth (off hand) weapons. If your character can wield one-handed swords, there’s a good chance you’ll want these.

To enter The Black Temple, first you’ll need to be prepared. One of the ways to do it, is getting attuned to the raid. It’s a drawn-out process that requires you to complete numerous quests, align yourself with either the Aldor or Scryer faction, and defeat several bosses from earlier raids. You will eventually receive a Medallion of Karabor and be allowed inside. Check out our dedicated The Black Temple attunement guide for the specifics.

Zul’Aman Zul’Aman is a pretty unique raid. It’s unlocked during Phase 4 of TBC. It’s intended for 10-player raid groups and has a 3-day lockout instead of the usual full week. Located within the Ghostlands, Zul’Aman features 6 bosses. Groups that manage to beat them all within a specific time limit will be awarded with the Amani War Bear ground mount.

Zul’Aman doesn’t require attunement. And in fact, once it goes live in Phase 4, all the previous TBC raids also drop their attunement requirements.

Sunwell Plateau Sunwell Plateau is the final TBC raid unlocked with its Phase 5. Located on the Isle of Quel’Danas, it’s a 25-player raid with 8 bosses inside and no attunement requirements. In order to once again repel the Burning Legion from Azeroth, you’ll get to defeat Kil’jaeden there. When you do, you’ll get a chance to obtain a legendary bow – Thori'dal, the Stars' Fury.