WoW Forever guide
The Skyborne: WoW Forever's New Race
Everything on the Skyborne, WoW Forever's new elven race: Windshaper (Horde) and High Order (Alliance) racials, which classes each side can play, Zephras Isle, and the pack you need.
The Skyborne are WoW Forever's one new playable race: elves descended from Highborne exiles who made a pact with the wind spirits of Skywall and settled Zephras Isle, a floating island that is their starting zone. They are neutral at the character screen and pick a faction at creation. The Horde variant is called the Windshaper, the Alliance variant the High Order, and the two differ in one racial and one class. This guide has the racials as shown in the BlizzCon 2026 demo, the class list, and what you need to buy.
Racials by faction
Three of the four racials are shared. The active ability in the second slot is the one that changes with faction.
| Racial | Skyborne (Windshaper) | Skyborne (High Order) |
|---|---|---|
| Walk on Air | Glide downward through the air for 10 seconds. | Glide downward through the air for 10 seconds. |
| Skysight / Read Ley Line | Receive an Elemental Blessing increasing run speed by 10%. | Activate a ley line to gain 100% increased Health and Mana regeneration. |
| Wind Blessed | Passive. 1% increased melee, ranged, and spellcasting Haste. | Passive. 1% increased melee, ranged, and spellcasting Haste. |
| Elemental Insight | Passive. Damage to Elementals increased by 5%. | Passive. Damage to Elementals increased by 5%. |
- Walk on Air is the signature: a ten-second glide, usable to drop off any height safely. It is the first racial in the 1–60 game that changes how you move through the world.
- Skysight (Windshaper) is 10% run speed, the only run-speed racial that is not Night Elf's 2% Quickness. Read Ley Line (High Order) doubles Health and Mana regeneration while you stand on a ley line, which is a rest-and-recover tool for casters.
- Wind Blessed is 1% haste across melee, ranged and casting. Small, but it applies to every class.
- Elemental Insight is 5% damage against Elementals, the same shape as Troll and Dwarf Beast Slaying and relevant in Hyjal and the elemental-heavy new zones.
Classes
Both variants can be a Warrior, Hunter, Rogue or Druid. The fifth class depends on faction: Windshaper Skyborne can be Shamans, High Order Skyborne can be Mages. A Skyborne Druid gets new Druid forms, which Blizzard showed at the reveal. There is no Skyborne Paladin, Priest or Warlock on either side.
| Class | Skyborne (Windshaper) | Skyborne (High Order) |
|---|---|---|
| Warrior | Yes | Yes |
| Paladin | — | — |
| Hunter | Yes | Yes |
| Rogue | Yes | Yes |
| Priest | — | — |
| Shaman | Yes | — |
| Mage | — | Yes |
| Warlock | — | — |
| Druid | Yes | Yes |
Which faction, which class
If you want a Skyborne caster, the choice is made for you: Mage is Alliance-only and Shaman is Horde-only. Wind Blessed's 1% haste is the same on both sides, so the caster question is really Read Ley Line (regeneration between pulls) versus Skysight (permanent run speed). For a Druid, Hunter, Rogue or Warrior the racials are close enough that the faction should follow your friends, not the tooltip; Skysight is the stronger open-world pick and Read Ley Line the stronger dungeon-healer pick.
Zephras Isle
Zephras Isle is both the Skyborne starting zone and one of the four new zones. It is the only fully new 1–10 experience in Forever; the other three new zones, Mount Hyjal, the Riverglades and Shen'dralas, are higher-level. The beta included it in the BlizzCon demo, so it will be the most-played new content before launch.
What you need to buy
The Skyborne are not included in a plain subscription. Any of the three upgrade packs unlocks the race and Zephras Isle: the Skyborne Heroic Pack ($29.99), the Skyborne Epic Pack ($59.99, adds beta and 30 days of game time) or the Warcraft Forever Collection ($79.99). Buying a pack also lets you reserve up to three names between October 27 and November 3. The release date guide has the full timeline.
Every race, side by side
The racials page lists all ten races with every ability written out and a class filter, so you can compare a Windshaper Shaman with an Orc or Troll one, or a High Order Mage with a Human or Gnome. The race and class table covers every combination in one grid.
Frequently asked
- Are the Skyborne Horde or Alliance?
- Either. You choose at character creation. Horde Skyborne are Windshapers, Alliance Skyborne are the High Order, and the choice is permanent for that character.
- What classes can Skyborne be?
- Warrior, Hunter, Rogue and Druid on both sides. Windshaper (Horde) adds Shaman; High Order (Alliance) adds Mage.
- What are the Skyborne racials?
- Walk on Air (a ten-second glide), Wind Blessed (1% haste), Elemental Insight (5% damage to Elementals), plus Skysight (10% run speed) for Windshapers or Read Ley Line (doubled Health and Mana regeneration on a ley line) for the High Order.
- Do I have to pay for the Skyborne?
- Yes. The race and Zephras Isle require the Skyborne Heroic Pack ($29.99) or a higher pack. A plain subscription does not include them.
- Where do Skyborne start?
- Zephras Isle, a floating island that is one of Forever's four new zones and its only new 1–10 area.
- Can a Skyborne be a Paladin or Priest?
- No. Neither faction variant can play Paladin, Priest or Warlock. See every race's class list.