Wikia

Raid timers (sometimes called "raid lockouts") are the technique implemented by Blizzard to prevent members of large guilds from visiting high-end instances over and over to repeatedly farm bosses in a short period of time.

Players re-entering a time-limited instance will find that they are entering the same place, regardless of whether anyone else is still in the instance; bosses killed in previous visits to the same instance stay killed until the timer resets. The other implication is that the players associated with the instance have a time limit in which to complete their activities before the instance is reset. This time can be extended (from Patch 3.2.0) with the Instance Lock Extension feature.

Bear this in mind if you are revisiting an instance with different raid members, as they might not always be "saved to" (associated with) the same instance as you. If you haven't got an ID for a certain instance, and you join a group with an ID for that instance, you will be saved to their ID as you enter the instance ^[1]

Raid timers (or Raid IDs) are the system used to save you to a raid instance. To see which raids you are currently saved for, you can type

/raidinfo

This will give you a number of IDs, which you can then compare with others to see if you're saved to the same raid.

You may join raids that are saved if you are not saved- however, you cannot save yourself to another raid, even if it is similarly progressed.

Implications

If you are organizing a raid, it's best to enter with one other person on the same Raid ID as you, and then send invites from inside the raid instance. There have been problems experienced with raid timers being swapped, and people entering the wrong instances.

Realm transfer

Apparently raid timer status is transferred with characters who use Paid Character Transfer.

Instance timers

Since Patch 1.9.0, instances are reset according to a fixed calendar. This was decided by Blizzard to be fairest to most and replaces the previous system of resetting raid instances based on the absence from the instance of the raid members.

Unless a raid has been extended, the following is a list of when each raid is reset:

Note: On European servers all times are 4:00AM and are reset on Wednesday instead of Tuesday.

Classic raids

This section concerns content exclusive to World of Warcraft.

Zul'Gurub: Every day at 3:00AM
Molten Core: Every Tuesday at 3:00AM or during weekly maintenance
Blackwing Lair: Every Tuesday at 3:00AM or during weekly maintenance
Onyxia's Lair: Every 5 days at 3:00AM
Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj: Every 3 days at 3:00AM
Temple of Ahn'Qiraj: Every Tuesday at 3:00AM or during weekly maintenance
Naxxamaus: Every Tuesday at 3:00AM or during weekly maintenance

Burning Crusade raids

This section concerns content exclusive to The Burning Crusade.

Karazhan: Every Tuesday at 3:00AM or during weekly maintenance
Gruul’s Lair: Every Tuesday at 3:00AM or during weekly maintenance
Magtheridon: Every Tuesday at 3:00AM or during weekly maintenance
Tempest Keep: The Eye: Every Tuesday at 3:00AM or during weekly maintenance
Coilfang Reservoir: Serpentshrine Cavern: Every Tuesday at 3:00AM or during weekly maintenance
CoT: Battle for Mount Hyjal: Every Tuesday at 3:00AM or during weekly maintenance
Black Temple: Every Tuesday at 3:00Am or during weekly maintenance
Zul'Aman: Every three days at 8:00AM
Sunwell Plateau:: Every Tuesday at 3:00AM or during weekly maintenance

Wrath of the Lich King raids

This section concerns content exclusive to Wrath of the Lich King.

Naxxramas: Every Tuesday at 3:00AM or during weekly maintenance
Obsidian Sanctum: Every Tuesday at 3:00AM or during weekly maintenance
Vault of Archavon: Every Tuesday at 3:00AM or during weekly maintenance
Ulduar: Every Tuesday at 3:00AM or during weekly maintenance
Trial of the Crusader: Every Tuesday at 3:00AM or during weekly maintenance
Onyxia's Lair: Every Tuesday at 3:00AM or during weekly maintenance
Icecrown Citadel: Every Tuesday at 3:00AM or during weekly maintenance

Cataclysm raids

This section concerns content exclusive to Cataclysm.

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Mist of Pandaria raids

This section concerns content exclusive to Mists of Pandaria.

This section concerns content that is not yet released.

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Heroic Dungeons

Heroic dungeons are treated as Daily Raids and are reset every morning at 9:00AM (7:00AM EU), regardless of when bosses were killed.

Patch changes

Patch 3.2.0 (04-Aug-2009): Support for Instance Lock Extension added.
Patch 1.3.0 (07-Mar-2005):
- "Raid lockout" is fixed. If the leader of your raid group is saved in a different instance than you would otherwise go to, you are added to your leader's instance.
- Added /raidinfo command showing remaining time on saved raid instances. Also shows an ID to compare with other players (if you have the same saved ID as them, you will go into the same instance)
- Added a chat window message when you are first saved to an instance.