Skyborne

Overview

A brand-new playable race that picks Horde or Alliance at character creation and starts on Zephras Isle. They are the only race that can join either the Horde or the Alliance, and their class list changes with that choice.

Factions & Classes

Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, and Druid are open on both sides. Horde-aligned Skyborne add Shaman; Alliance-aligned Skyborne add Mage.

Each side is its own branch of the Skyborne people. On the Horde, you play a Windshaper Skyborne: descended from the first to receive the wind spirits' gift of elemental skysight, and set on bringing the missing spirits back. On the Alliance, you play a High Order Skyborne: descended from the Highborne scholars of Eldre'Thalas, and set on reclaiming the arcane knowledge their people lost so they can stand on their own.

Class	Alliance Skyborne	Horde Skyborne
Warrior	Yes	Yes
Hunter	Yes	Yes
Rogue	Yes	Yes
Druid	Yes	Yes
Shaman	—	Yes
Mage	Yes	—

Racial Abilities

Skyborne share one active and two passives across factions, plus a faction-specific active.

• Walk on AirActiveGlide downward through the air for 10 sec while controlling your direction of travel.
• Read LeylineActive · AllianceIncreases your Health and Mana regeneration by 50% for 15 sec. Used at a Ley Line, it also grants Attuned for 1 hour, raising the bonus to 100%. Attuned persists through death and is removed when you enter a raid. Cannot be used while Innervate is active.
• SkysightActive · HordeIncreases your movement speed by 15% for 15 sec. Used at an elemental convergence, it also grants Charged for 1 hour, raising the bonus to 30%. Charged persists through death and is removed when you enter a raid.
• Elemental InsightPassiveDamage dealt versus Elementals increased by 5%.
• Wind BlessedPassiveIncreases your spellcasting, melee, and ranged Haste by 2%.

Zephras Isle

Every Skyborne starts on Zephras Isle, a dedicated starting experience that covers levels 1–12. Thousands of years ago, Highborne exiles made a pact with the wind spirits and built a civilization inside Skywall, the elemental plane of air. When you arrive, that civilization is in crisis: the spirits that protected the island have vanished, its ancient structures are failing, and the Skyborne are divided over what comes next.

Once you finish the island, you head into the wider world with your chosen faction. Read the Zephras Isle guide, or see all Forever zones for where to go next.

Appearance & Druid Forms

Skyborne come with their own voices, emotes, and a dance of their own. Druids get new forms made just for the race, so a Skyborne Druid looks like it belongs to Zephras Isle in every form. Both body types can also add feathers to their hair in a color of your choice.

Changed your mind later? Visit a barbershop in the cities to restyle your Skyborne for a small fee.

How to Unlock the Skyborne

Base access to WoW Forever is included with an active World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time. The Skyborne race and the Zephras Isle starting experience come with the optional Skyborne Heroic Pack.

• The beta ran from September 17, 2026 to October 23, 2026.
• WoW Forever launches November 4, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PST.

Details: Blizzard's pre-purchase announcement.

Is Skyborne Worth It?

Pick Skyborne if you want a fresh race story with its own starting zone, the only race that can join either faction, or a Druid with forms no other race has.

Skip it if you only care about damage numbers. Wind Blessed now grants 2% Haste, and the edge any race holds in a role is slight, so a classic race can serve you just as well on the same class.