WoW Forever Skyborne Guide: Racials, Classes & Factions
Everything Blizzard has confirmed about the Skyborne: Windshaper and High Order factions, racials, classes, druid forms, Zephras Isle and which pack unlocks them.
The Skyborne are WoW Forever's new playable race: elves who lived hidden in the elemental plane of Skywall and now return to Azeroth. You pick a side at character creation. Windshaper Skyborne join the Horde and can be Shamans, High Order Skyborne join the Alliance and can be Mages, and both can play Druid, Hunter, Rogue and Warrior. The race needs the Skyborne Heroic Pack or a higher upgrade.
Who the Skyborne are
Blizzard calls the Skyborne the shen'dorei, or hidden people. Thousands of years ago a group of Highborne exiles made a pact with the spirits of the wind and built a civilization inside Skywall, the elemental plane of air. Now the spirits that guarded their home of Zephras Isle have vanished, its old structures are failing and the Skyborne cannot agree on what to do next.
That split is the race's hook. The Windshapers descend from the first shen'dorei to receive the wind spirits' gift of skysight and want to bring the spirits back. The High Order descends from the Highborne scholars of Eldre'Thalas and believes the Skyborne leaned on their elemental patrons for too long, so it wants to recover lost arcane knowledge instead. Blizzard's Found Photos panel also names a third group on the island, the Al'Aketh, and says the pylons holding Zephras together are giving way.
Each side joins a different faction, so a Skyborne character is effectively two races in one: one Horde, one Alliance, with shared looks and two shared racials.
Windshaper vs High Order: faction and classes
Skyborne factions compared
| Detail | Windshaper Skyborne | High Order Skyborne |
|---|---|---|
| Faction | Horde | Alliance |
| Classes | Druid, Hunter, Rogue, Shaman, Warrior | Druid, Hunter, Mage, Rogue, Warrior |
| Signature class | Shaman (elemental traditions) | Mage (arcane legacy) |
| Unique racial | Skysight: movement speed | Read Ley Line: health and mana regeneration |
| Shared racials | Walk on Air, Wind Blessed, Elemental Insight | Walk on Air, Wind Blessed, Elemental Insight |
| Starting zone | Zephras Isle (1-12) | Zephras Isle (1-12) |
Skyborne cannot be Paladins, Priests or Warlocks on either side. If you want a Horde Shaman or an Alliance Mage with an elven look, this is the race; if you want a healer outside Druid and Shaman, look elsewhere.
The faction choice is permanent for that character and it decides who you can play with, because Horde and Alliance still cannot group in WoW Forever. Agree on a faction with your friends before you start the Zephras Isle quests.
Skyborne racial abilities
Blizzard's Deep Dive says every race in Forever now has two active and two passive racials, and the Skyborne follow that pattern. Here is what Blizzard showed at the reveal and what the beta development notes changed since.
Skyborne racials: reveal values and beta changes
| Racial | Who gets it | Effect at reveal | Beta change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walk on Air (active) | Both | Glide downward for 10 seconds | Cooldown cut to 90 seconds, was 2 minutes (October 16) |
| Skysight (active) | Windshaper | Elemental Blessing: 10% more run speed | Can now be cast while moving (October 16) |
| Read Ley Line (active) | High Order | Activating a ley line gives 100% more health and mana regeneration | Castable while moving, minimum duration raised to 30 seconds from 20 (October 16) |
| Wind Blessed (passive) | Both | 1% melee, ranged and spellcasting haste | Raised to 3% haste (October 16) |
| Elemental Insight (passive) | Both | 5% more damage against Elementals | No change listed |
Skysight and Read Ley Line are tied to spots in the world. The October 16 notes added more spawn locations for Elemental Convergences and Leylines across most Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor zones, which tells us those are the places that empower the two abilities. Blizzard has not published the exact empowered values, and tooltips seen in the beta did not always match the reveal, so check the in-game text at launch.
What they mean in practice. Wind Blessed at 3% haste is a passive bonus every Skyborne class uses. Walk on Air lets you step off cliffs and glide down safely, which turns ledges into shortcuts while leveling. Skysight is extra travel speed for Horde players, and Read Ley Line cuts drink breaks for High Order casters. Elemental Insight is situational: strong against elementals, nothing against everything else.
Best Skyborne classes to play
Racials are a small slice of power, so pick the class first. With that said, some pairings fit the Skyborne kit well. These are our picks, based on the confirmed racials and our best class to level tier list.
- Windshaper Hunter: Hunter tops our leveling tier list, and Skysight plus Walk on Air add travel speed and safe shortcuts. Read the Hunter leveling guide for the Beast Mastery route.
- Windshaper Shaman: the race's signature class on the Horde side, and Wind Blessed haste helps both melee and spells. Our Shaman leveling guide covers Enhancement.
- High Order Mage: Read Ley Line regeneration fits a class that drinks often, and Mage is the Alliance side's signature class. See the Mage leveling guide.
- Skyborne Druid (either side): new Skyborne druid forms, and Blizzard's Hunter and Druid deep dive confirms Walk on Air works while shapeshifted.
- Skyborne Rogue or Warrior: the passive haste is useful, but nothing in the kit is built for melee the way Human, Orc or Dwarf weapon racials once were.
Zephras Isle and the Skyborne starting experience
Every Skyborne starts on Zephras Isle, a level 1-12 zone that mixes classic Warcraft style with architecture inspired by Skywall. Its quests deal with the missing air spirits and the failing island. Beta fixes name places such as Nightclaw Cavern and the Overlook Standing Stones in the Shen'dar Highlands, and quests such as Catching Wind (a High Order quest that was redesigned), Wounds of Betrayal and The Anchors of Zephras.
After the island you are sent to your faction's world. The beta notes mention a Skyborne quest called Exploring the Horde that has you speak with Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, Shenthul in Orgrimmar training Windshaper Skyborne and a quest called Power Over Poison that teaches High Order Skyborne Cure Poison. These come from the level 1-30 beta and can change.
From level 12 you level like any other character. Our WoW Forever leveling guide has the zone route for both factions, and the first new dungeons, Hall of Thanes (13-18) and Ruins of Lordaeron (15-20), come right after the island.
Druid forms, customization and cosmetics
Skyborne Druids get forms made for the race. Blizzard has shown them in screenshots but has not named them, and an October 8 known issue said texture updates for the Skyborne bear and travel forms were in, with cat form still being updated.
- Body Type 1: 10 faces, 9 skin colors, 21 hairstyles, 11 hair colors, 3 ear lengths, 9 eye colors, 4 eyebrow styles, 13 facial hair options, feather colors and face and body tattoos.
- Body Type 2: 10 faces, 9 skin colors, 25 hairstyles, 10 hair colors, 9 eye colors, 3 ear lengths, 4 eyebrow styles, 6 earring styles with silver or gold jewelry, feathers and tattoos.
- Body tattoos: two styles, Zephyr and Wayfinder, each in two colors.
- Extras: a unique Skyborne /dance, new voices and emotes. You can change your look later at a barber shop for gold.
As with every race, you choose High Definition or Standard Definition models per character, and you can switch later in Options or at a barbershop.
How to unlock the Skyborne
WoW Forever itself is included with a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time. The Skyborne are not: Blizzard's starter guide says you need the Skyborne Heroic Pack or a higher digital upgrade.
Editions that include the Skyborne
| Edition | What you get |
|---|---|
| Skyborne Heroic Pack | Skyborne race and Zephras Isle, Early Name Reservation, the Cerulean Prideclaw ground mount (you still buy riding skill in game), cosmetics, housing decor and one Invite-A-Friend code |
| Skyborne Epic Pack | Everything in Heroic, plus beta access from September 17, 30 days of Game Time from November 4, extra cosmetics, pets, tabards and three Invite-A-Friend codes in total |
| Warcraft Forever Collection (limited time) | Everything in Epic, plus Warcraft III: Reforged with the Forsaken Kingdom campaign and Forsaken and Human figurine housing decor |
| Collector's Edition | Physical edition from the Blizzard Gear Store while supplies last |
Prices vary by region and sale, so check the Battle.net shop. The Cerulean Prideclaw only becomes usable once you train riding, which our riding and mounts guide covers.
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WoW Forever Skyborne FAQ
Is the Skyborne race free in WoW Forever?
No. WoW Forever is included with a subscription or Game Time, but the Skyborne race needs the Skyborne Heroic Pack or a higher upgrade such as the Epic Pack or the Warcraft Forever Collection.
Are Skyborne Horde or Alliance?
Both. You choose at character creation: Windshaper Skyborne are Horde and High Order Skyborne are Alliance. The choice is fixed for that character.
What classes can Skyborne play?
Windshapers can be Druid, Hunter, Rogue, Shaman or Warrior. The High Order can be Druid, Hunter, Mage, Rogue or Warrior. Neither side can be a Paladin, Priest or Warlock.
What are the Skyborne racials?
Both sides get Walk on Air (a 10 second glide), Wind Blessed (3% haste in the latest beta notes) and Elemental Insight (5% more damage to Elementals). Windshapers add Skysight for speed and the High Order adds Read Ley Line for regeneration.
Where do Skyborne start?
On Zephras Isle, a new starting zone for levels 1 to 12. After that they travel to the Horde or Alliance lands and level through the normal zones.
Can Skyborne be Druids?
Yes, on both factions, and they get Skyborne druid forms. Walk on Air also works while shapeshifted.
Related guides
Compare every race in the best class to level tier list, plan your route with the WoW Forever leveling guide and check the launch guide for dates and editions. Skyborne Druids should read the Druid leveling guide, and the Legacy challenges guide explains the account-wide points every new character earns. Want a head start? See WoW Forever powerleveling.