World of Warcraft: 10 Best Raids from Each Expansion (2025)

Over the past twenty years, World of Warcraft has introduced a multitude of raids. Fifty-five raids, to be exact, with even more bosses between them.

Raid layouts have seen many changes over the years, beginning as a 40-player affair with the likes of Molten Core and later offering flexible raids in 10 and 25-player modes. In modern times, raids can now be completed with anywhere from 10 to 30 players. Today, we take a look back at which raids have been the most iconic in each expansion.

10 Classic WoW: Molten Core

Runner up: Blackwing Lair

Starting out with the base version of the game, it's only right that we begin this list with one of the first raids that really defined World of Warcraft, and had players excited to get back into it during the classic relaunch of 2018. Molten Core was a forty-player raid that featured seven bosses. While you can easily breeze through Molten Core solo in today's version of the game, if it's the cosmetics you're after, nothing beats the original experience of seeing Ragnaros rise from the fire for the first time -- or listening to your raid leader telling players not to stand in the fire.

Blackwing Lair gets an honorable mention here, with memorable bosses like Vaelastrasz the Corrupt (the original "DPS check" fight - and the cause of many, many raid wipes) and Nefarian.

9 The Burning Crusade: Burning Temple

Runner up: The Eye in Tempest Keep

Black Temple is the raid most people probably think about when they think of The Burning Crusade -- in fact, groups still come together quickly to run this raid today during TBC timewalking weeks. Black Temple is a 9-boss raid, culminating with a final battle against Illidan Stormrage. What made this fight so memorable was its multiple phases and how, at 30% health, Maiev Shadowsong would appear to help you finish off the lord of the Outland. Illidan's warglaives are also still highly sought after cosmetic weapons today.

The Eye -- a raid located in Tempest Keep -- gets an honorable mention for its unique boss designs, and just how much planning and coordination was once required to face off against Kael'thas Sunstrider, Lord of the Blood Elves and his council of advisors. (That same boss, by the way, has a chance at dropping the elusive Ashes of Al'ar mount.)

8 Wrath of the Lich King: Ulduar

Runner up: Icecrown Citadel

Many players still refer to Wrath of the Lich King as one of the game's best expansions, and Ulduar, a raid located in the Storm Peaks of Northrend, makes it easy to see why. This raid featured thirteen bosses (fourteen if you count the optional boss). While the boss fights themselves were a lot of fun, what made Ulduar such a standout raid is that it was the first time in the game's history that varying raid difficulties were available. While there was no traditional "normal" or "heroic" mode like there is in today's version of the game, the raid could be completed in 10 or 25-player groups, and each individual boss had its own "hard mode" you could unlock for a more challenging experience.

Icecrown Citadel gets a secondary mention for its memorable boss fights, which included facing off against The Lich King himself. (The Lich King also drops Invincible's Reins, a mount that many people still chase after today.)

7 Cataclysm: Firelands

Runner up: Dragon Soul

The Firelands, in this author's opinion, is the perfect mix of old and new. Entering the raid for the first time, you were greeted by fire everywhere -- even more so than in Molten Core, except now, it became much easier to accidentally stand in fire (and take damage from it, much to your healer's chagrin). Aesthetically, the Firelands raid really felt like the Firelands, with cool character designs like Alysrazor and an updated model for Ragnaros. Walking down the final corridor of the Firelands raid to see the pure massiveness that was the Fire Lord Ragnaros waiting for you made that final fight feel so much more epic. Not to mention, the Firelands raid is still a "hot spot" for mount farmers today, with two mounts -- the Pureblood Firehawk and the Flametalon of Alysrazor -- available as boss drops, as well as a cat form customization for Druids.

Dragon Soul gets a secondary mention. This is a raid that you either love or hate, and if you're in the "hate" camp, you probably shudder at the thought of running the Spine of Deathwing ever again. Despite how frustrating this fight could be, it was incredibly unique, and literally fighting atop Deathwing's back as he soared through the skies was an unforgettable experience.

6 Mists of Pandaria: Siege of Orgrimmar

Runner up: Throne of Thunder

The Siege of Orgrimmar felt like an epic conclusion to Mists of Pandaria -- fitting being as it was also the expansion's final raid. It was a raid split into two stages: the first dealing with the aftermath of the Sha contamination of the Vale of the Eternal Blosssoms; and the second stage bringing the fight to Durotar, where raids would march into the Horde capital city of Orgrimmar to take down warchief Garrosh Hellscream (worth mentioning that Siege of Orgrimmar was also the first raid to use the Flexible Raid system, which allowed groups of anywhere from 10 to 30 players to enter the instance together).

Throne of Thunder gets an honorary mention for its unique boss fights, from the Council of Elders (a single-phase encounter in which you had to defeat four Trolls, each with a different ability) to Ji-Kun (a fight in which you had to deal with eggs hatching all around the boss). A final confrontation versus Lei Shen rounded out the instance. Throne of Thunder made a comeback recently in 2024's Mists of Pandaria remix, a limited-time event that brought players back to the 12-boss citadel.

5 Warlords of Draenor: Blackrock Foundry

Runner up: Hellfire Citadel

Warlords of Draenor was an expansion with only three raids, but despite that, each one was a stand-out in its own right. The top raid for this author is Blackrock Foundry, a 10-boss instance in Gorgrond. Each boss in this encounter felt purposeful in the face-off against the Iron Horde as you infiltrated the Foundry (one fight literally involves destroying the Iron Horde's heat furnace). Other memorable boss fights included Flamebender Ka'graz in The Black Forge, The Iron Maidens in the Iron Assembly, and finally, facing off against the raid's final encounter, Warlord Blackhand himself.

The runner-up mention here is Hellfire Citadel, a thirteen-boss instance. This was the final raid of the Warlords of Draenor expansion, heading into Legion, and it showed the beginnings of corruption by Gul'dan and the Burning Legion, serving as a solid transition between expansions.

4 Legion: Nighthold

Runner up: Antorus, the Burning Throne

The Nighthold is a beautifully-designed ten-boss instance in which raid groups infiltrated the city of Suramar. You had to face off against bosses that included Trilliax, a malfunctioning nightborne construct, Star Augur Etraeus, a nightborne astromancer in his sky-high observatory, and Grand Magistrix Elisande, who was notorious for continuously warping time throughout the fight. The final boss was of course, none other than Gul'dan, the mastermind behind the Legion invasion (the only downside to this raid might be just how massive it is. It was easy to get turned around or lost after wipes, or if you were separated from your group).

The runner-up mention here is Antorus, the Burning Throne. The instance, which also served as the final raid of the Legion expansion, featured eleven bosses. Memorable fights included the Felhounds of Sargeras, Aggramar and the raid's final boss, Argus the Unmaker.

3 Battle for Azeroth: Battle of Dazar'alor

Runner up: Ny'alotha, The Waking City

Battle for Azeroth might not be everyone's favorite expansion, but it had some beautifully-designed raids. Dazar'alor gets top mention here. What made this raid so unique was that it had two separate versions for each faction -- Alliance raids were tasked with assaulting Dazar'alor while Horde raids had to defend it. The raid had three phases, with each faction facing off against different bosses in the first phase. In the second and third phases, both factions faced the same bosses, beginning with Opulence and ending with Lady Jaina Proudmoore. Proudmoore still has a chance to drop the Glacial Tidestorm mount on Mythic difficulty mode today.

The runner-up here is Ny'alotha, The Waking City, the final raid of the expansion. The scenery is what set it apart, fighting your way through an apocalyptic, chaotic world against the likes of Maut, Vexiona and N'Zoth the Corruptor. Using your corrupted gear pieces in this raid made it feel even better.

2 Shadowlands: Castle Nathria

Runner up: Sepulcher of the First Ones

Castle Nathria was a nonlinear, ten-boss raid set inside of a literal castle, and the layout of it made it feel like you were actually exploring and infiltrating this dangerous castle and killing its members and servants. The boss fights were also incredibly fun, like the Council of Blood, which required you to find your dance partner in one phase and to perform a dance correctly in another, and the final face-off against Sire Denathrius, which felt like a real conclusion.

Runner-up mention here is Sepulcher of the First Ones, the final instance in the Shadowlands expansion. It featured eleven bosses with memorable fights to tie up the expansion, including Anduinn Wrynn and The Jailer.

1 Dragonflight: Amirdrassil, the Dream's Hope

Runner up: Aberrus the Shadowed Crucible

Maybe it's because this author is a Druid player, but Amirdrassil, the Dream's Hope felt like a beautifully-designed raid from start to finish. The mission was relatively straightforward: defend the heart of Amirdrassil from Fyrakk and his molten allies, but the boss fights were memorable. Facing off against Tindral Sageswift involved the expansion's new dragonriding feature, where you would mount up and chase after him through the skies, landing on multiple different platforms. The final boss, Fyrakk the Blazing, involved defending waves of treants and night elves from being overcome by the flames. (And Fyrakk still has a chance to drop the Reins of Anu'relos, Flame's Guidance on Mythic difficulty mode.)

Aberrus the Shadowed Crucible, a nine-boss encounter located inside of Zaralek Cavern, gets secondary mention here. Memorable boss fights included Kazzara, the Hellforged; Echo of Neltharion; and Scalecommander Sarkareth.