Zul'Aman is not coming anymore. It is here. The raid went live on the TBC Classic Anniversary realms on October 22, 2026 at 3:00 pm PDT, and it opened with no attunement, so any level 70 can walk in tonight. What changed the conversation is the part most preview guides skipped: the Amani War Bear is a single drop per successful run, not a mount for all ten players.
This page used to track the release date while Blizzard had not set one. Now it answers what you actually need: what the lockout is, how the 45-minute timer works, how long the bear should stay available, and which rumors from the roadmap days turned out to be wrong.
Key Takeaways (TL;DR)
- Release date: October 22, 2026, 3:00 pm PDT (23:00 BST). "Gods of Zul'Aman" (Phase 3.5) is live now on every Anniversary realm. Level cap stays 70.
- Entry: 10 players, six bosses, a 3-day lockout, and no attunement. Blizzard: "No attunement is required to enter the instance."
- Timer: 20 minutes to start, +15 for Nalorakk, +10 for Akil'zon, so 45 minutes maximum. Jan'alai and Halazzi add nothing.
- The bear: rescuing all four hostages opens the final chest, and only one Amani War Bear drops per raid per lockout. Ten players, one mount. Agree on loot rules before the gong.
- Deadline: Blizzard has not stated any Anniversary removal date. The original game retired the bear in patch 3.0.2, the Wrath pre-patch, and no Wrath Anniversary has been announced.
- Arena Season 4 did not launch with Zul'Aman. Season 3 is still running. Sunwell (Phase 4) is still undated.
Short on time or a ten-player roster? Zul'Aman is the catch-up raid, and the timed run is the part most pugs never finish.
- Amani War Bear Timed Run — the hostage run with all four rescues
- Zul'Aman Carry — Zul'jin kill or a full six-boss clear
- TBC Anniversary Power Leveling to 70 — any level to 70, ready for the raid
When did Zul'Aman release on TBC Anniversary?
October 22, 2026, at 3:00 pm PDT. Blizzard set the date in early October, then published The Gods of Zul'Aman Now Live when the patch landed. If you searched "when does ZA come out," the answer is that it has been out for 11 days.
It sits between Black Temple and Sunwell on the Anniversary roadmap, tracked as Phase 3.5. Phase 3 (Black Temple, Battle for Mount Hyjal, Netherwing, Tier 6) opened on August 27, so Zul'Aman arrived eight weeks later. The next step, Phase 4 "Fury of the Sunwell", has only an Autumn 2026 window on Warcraft Wiki and no Blizzard date. We track that in our Sunwell phase breakdown.
Here is what the old preview got wrong or left open, and where each item landed:
| Pre-launch claim | What actually happened |
|---|---|
| Date unconfirmed, "Autumn 2026" | Confirmed and live: October 22, 2026 |
| Arena Season 4 launches with Zul'Aman | Wrong. Season 3 is still running |
| Attunement needed | None for Zul'Aman; Hyjal and Black Temple attunements were also removed |
| Everyone gets the bear on a clean run | Wrong. One bear per raid per lockout |
For the arena side of that table, see why Season 4 didn't launch with Zul'Aman.
What is Zul'Aman, and what are the entry rules?
Zul'Aman is a 10-player, level-70 raid in the Ghostlands, Eastern Kingdoms. Blizzard's own summary reads: "Gather nine of your staunchest allies and brave the dangers at the heart of Zul'Aman." The six bosses are Nalorakk, Akil'zon, Jan'alai, Halazzi, Hex Lord Malacrass and Zul'jin.
The rules that matter:
- Level 70. Blizzard lists no other gate.
- No attunement. No key, no quest chain, no rep requirement to step inside.
- 3-day lockout. That works out to more than two attempts a week on the same character.
What is the Zul'Aman reset timer? Blizzard says only that the raid has a 3-day reset lockout, and it has not published a per-region reset calendar. Your exact expiry is on the Raid Information tab, or type /raidinfo in chat after you save to an ID. That is more reliable than any third-party schedule.
Gear is a separate question. We ranked the drops in our Zul'Aman loot guide, and the same patch added Zul'Aman to the Badge of Justice list, which pairs with the new G'eras stock.
How does the Amani War Bear timed run work?
Blizzard's description is short: "Rescue all the hostages before time runs out, and your raid will earn the rare Amani War Bear battle mount." The numbers below come from the Warcraft Wiki timed-event page and Wowhead's TBC Classic timed-run guide. Blizzard's Anniversary post does not list them, but it does confirm that each lieutenant kill extends the timer.
How it starts. Talk to Harrison Jones at the entrance to begin the gong event. Once the gates open, the clock runs for every group, whether or not you meant to try for the bear.
How the clock works. You get 20 minutes to kill your first animal boss, and any of the four can go first.
| Boss | Time added |
|---|---|
| Nalorakk (bear) | +15 minutes |
| Akil'zon (eagle) | +10 minutes |
| Jan'alai (dragonhawk) | None |
| Halazzi (lynx) | None |
Rewards scale with how many hostages you save, not with which boss you killed: the first chest holds item level 128 armor, the second item level 132 weapons, the third rings, and the fourth, Ashli's Bag, holds the bear. A boss must be dead before the timer hits zero. Engaging in time is not enough.
The route everyone uses. Eagle, Bear, Dragonhawk, Lynx. That banks both time extensions early and shows you how the run is really going. Wowhead's typical splits, trash included, are 5–7 minutes for Akil'zon, 12–13 for Nalorakk, 9–11 for Jan'alai and 12–15 for Halazzi. Add those up and you get 38 to 46 minutes against a 45-minute ceiling. That is why one wipe usually ends the attempt.
What Wowhead says a group needs. Full Tier 5 at minimum, Tier 6 not required, roughly 2 tanks, 2–3 healers and 5–6 DPS, each DPS pulling at least 1,600. Most groups also leave hostages and chests until the event is over, because loot rolls cost time.
Does every player get a bear?
No, and this is the most expensive misunderstanding in the raid. Wowhead states the final chest always drops the mount, but "there is only one per raid, meaning only one lucky member of the ten will be getting it that lockout." Some guides still say each participant receives one. The Blizzard post says "your raid will earn" the mount and does not say ten copies drop.
Three practical consequences:
- Set loot rules before the gong. Priority list, open roll, or rotation across lockouts. All are fine. Deciding at the chest is not.
- A guild needs ten clean runs to mount ten people. The 3-day lockout helps, but that is still a month of successful attempts.
- A pug bear is a 1-in-10 roll at best unless the group has agreed otherwise up front.
How long can you still get the Amani War Bear?
Blizzard has given no Anniversary end date. Here is what is confirmed and what is inference.
Confirmed: in the original game the bear became unobtainable in patch 3.0.2 on October 14, 2008, the Wrath of the Lich King pre-patch. Blizzard explained the change at the time: "The Zul'Aman bear mount is supposed to be an item of very high prestige."
Inference: if Anniversary follows the same pattern, the bear outlasts Sunwell and leaves only when a Wrath transition arrives. But no Wrath Anniversary has been announced, as we covered in will TBC Anniversary go to WotLK. So the real clock is not a patch. It is your realm's raid population.
World of Warcraft: Forever launches November 4, as a separate branch. Blizzard has not said it affects Anniversary characters or realms. But ten geared players on one schedule is the hardest thing in this raid to replace, and that gets harder if your guild's calendar moves. If you want the bear, the best lockouts are the ones while your current roster still shows up.
Is a Zul'Aman carry worth it, or should you run it yourself?
For a normal clear, run it yourself if you have a guild or a decent pug. The raid gives you more than two lockouts a week, and it was built as catch-up content.
For the timed run, the honest split is:
- You have a stable T5+ raid team: do it yourselves, and expect several attempts. Wowhead says most groups will not get it on the first try.
- You are a returning player, an alt, or your guild dropped off: the problem is not skill, it is finding nine people who hit the splits. That is where a dedicated run makes sense.
- You are in a pug: read the loot rules first. Winning the race and losing the roll is the common outcome.
If you are coming back after a break, the same October 22 patch makes the catch-up cheaper. Heroic keys now need only Honored, a change Blizzard also recorded in its October 27 hotfix list, and Black Temple and Hyjal no longer need attunement. Our full patch list and heroic key plan cover both.
Want the bear without building the roster? Skip the group hunt and go straight to the run.
- Amani War Bear Timed Run — all four hostages against the clock
- Zul'Aman Carry — full clear for the gear and badges
- All WoW TBC Anniversary services
What should you do this week?
- Fresh or returning 70: get into a normal clear first and learn the trash. Timed runs punish first-time pulls.
- Geared raider: time a practice clear against the splits above before you call it a bear attempt.
- Raid leader: post loot rules and a route in your signup, and pick who talks to Harrison Jones only when the whole raid is buffed.
- Everyone: check Blizzard's Classic news for Sunwell and Arena Season 4 dates. Neither has one as of November 2, 2026.
FAQ
When did Zul'Aman release on TBC Anniversary? October 22, 2026 at 3:00 pm PDT (23:00 BST). "Gods of Zul'Aman", or Phase 3.5, is live now on the Anniversary realms.
Is Zul'Aman out on TBC Anniversary? Yes. It has been open since October 22, 2026. It needs level 70 and a 10-player group, and it has no attunement.
How often does Zul'Aman reset? It has a 3-day lockout, per Blizzard. Check your exact expiry with /raidinfo or on the Raid Information tab, because Blizzard has not published a regional reset calendar.
How do you get the Amani War Bear? Talk to Harrison Jones to start the event, then kill all four animal bosses before the timer ends. You get 20 minutes, plus 15 for Nalorakk and 10 for Akil'zon. Rescuing all four hostages unlocks Ashli's Bag, which holds the bear.
Does everyone in the raid get the Amani War Bear? No. One bear drops per raid per lockout, so one of the ten players gets it. Agree on loot rules before the run starts.
When will the Amani War Bear be removed? Blizzard has not announced an Anniversary removal date. In the original game it went away in patch 3.0.2, the Wrath pre-patch, but no Wrath Anniversary has been announced.
Did Arena Season 4 start with Zul'Aman? No. Blizzard's Zul'Aman post has no arena section, and Season 3 is still live. There is no announced Season 4 date as of November 2, 2026.
