What are the Skyborne in WoW Forever?

The Skyborne are the new race in WoW Forever. They descend from Highborne who made a pact with wind spirits thousands of years ago and built a civilization of their own in the Skywall. They come as the Windshaper Skyborne for the Horde and the High Order Skyborne for the Alliance.

Which classes can the Skyborne play?

Windshaper Skyborne (Horde) can be Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Shaman and Druid. High Order Skyborne (Alliance) can be Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Mage and Druid. So Shaman and Mage are each limited to one faction.

What are the Skyborne racial abilities?

Both factions get Walk on Air (glide for 10 seconds), Wind Blessed (1% more Haste) and Elemental Insight (5% more damage to Elementals). Windshapers also get Skysight for 10% more run speed, the High Order gets Read Ley Line for 100% more Health and Mana regeneration.

Where do the Skyborne start in WoW Forever?

On Zephras Isle, the starting zone for levels 1 to 12. The air spirits there have vanished, ancient buildings are crumbling and the Skyborne communities disagree on what to do next.

Which class suits the Skyborne best?

In our view, the Mage is a strong pick for the High Order, because Read Ley Line greatly boosts Mana regeneration. For Windshapers, Hunters, Rogues and Shamans benefit from 10% more run speed through Skysight. The differences are small, so pick mainly by playstyle.

Skyborne in WoW Forever: Classes, Racials & Lore

The Skyborne are the only new race in WoW Forever. Blizzard introduced them on 22 September 2026 in the article "WoW: Forever Meet the New Skyborne". They are playable on both sides, but as two different groups with their own story, their own racial ability and different classes.

Who are the Skyborne?

The Skyborne descend from exiled Highborne. Thousands of years ago they made a pact with wind spirits and built a civilization of their own in the Skywall, an elemental plane.

But that world is crumbling: on Zephras Isle the air spirits have vanished, ancient buildings are falling apart and the communities live in isolation. The Skyborne disagree on the way out of the crisis, and that is exactly what splits the race into two camps.

Windshaper or High Order?

A Skyborne in front of a house on Zephras, with the Alliance and Horde crests below — One race, two factions: the Skyborne are available to the Alliance and the Horde.

	Windshaper Skyborne	High Order Skyborne
Faction	Horde	Alliance
Origin	the first shen'dorei high elves, granted the gift of elemental Skysight by the wind spirits	descendants of the Highborne scholars of Eldre'Thalas
Goal	solve the mystery of their vanished elemental mentors	recover lost arcane knowledge so the shen'dorei can survive on their own
Classes	Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Shaman, Druid	Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Mage, Druid

In short: the Windshapers rely on the elements, the High Order on arcane knowledge. The classes reflect that: only Windshapers can be Shamans, only the High Order can be Mages.

A Skyborne woman with her class icons, Shaman for the Horde only, Mage for the Alliance only — Skyborne classes: Shaman for the Horde only, Mage for the Alliance only.

Racial abilities

Both groups share three abilities, the fourth sets them apart:

Ability	Effect	Windshaper	High Order
Walk on Air	glide downward through the air for 10 seconds	yes	yes
Wind Blessed (passive)	1% increased melee, ranged and spellcasting Haste	yes	yes
Elemental Insight (passive)	5% more damage to Elementals	yes	yes
Skysight	an Elemental Blessing, 10% increased run speed	yes	–
Read Ley Line	activate a ley line for 100% increased Health and Mana regeneration	–	yes

Walk on Air is the most striking ability: jump off a cliff and you sail gently down. In a classic Azeroth without flying mounts, that is a real comfort while exploring.

Which class suits the Skyborne?

The racials are fairly small, so pick mainly by how a class feels. Still, a few combinations fit especially well in our view:

Mage (High Order): Read Ley Line doubles Mana regeneration, which means fewer breaks to drink while leveling. It fits the lore too: the High Order seeks arcane knowledge.
Shaman (Windshaper): Windshapers are a people of the elements, and the Shaman is their natural class. Skysight helps when running between quest areas.
Hunter and Rogue (both sides): the extra Haste from Wind Blessed helps everyone, and Windshapers add more run speed, handy for Hunters kiting enemies.
Druid (both sides): according to Blizzard, the Skyborne get their own Druid forms. If you want to play a Druid and see something other than Night Elf or Tauren, this is your pick.

Can't decide? Let the candidates fight in the Forever tournament or take the Forever quiz.

Starting zone: Zephras Isle

A lake with a wooden pier in front of cliffs and towers in the mist on Zephras Isle — Zephras Isle, the Skyborne starting zone.

Skyborne begin their adventure on Zephras Isle and play levels 1 to 12 there. The story revolves around the vanished air spirits and the dispute over how the race should survive.

Appearance and customization

There are two body types with many options for face, skin, hairstyles, hair colors, eyes, eyebrows, beards, feathers and tattoos. Body type 2 can also wear earrings and jewelry. According to Blizzard, the combinations run into the thousands. On top come their own voices, emotes and a race-specific dance. Later you can change your look at the barber in the cities for gold.

Status: all details come from Blizzard's introduction on 22 September 2026 and reflect the beta. Changes are possible until launch on 4 November 2026, and we will review this page afterward.

All races and classes in WoW Forever are covered in WoW Forever races and classes, and the Forever random class generator rolls a race and class for you.