The Skyborne are the only new race in WoW Forever: descendants of the Highborne who made a pact with the wind spirits. This guide covers their two factions, every racial with values from the game files, the playable classes, the starting zone and what's in the Skyborne Heroic Pack.
Faction: Horde and Alliance
Starting zone: Zephras Isle (levels 1–12)
Classes: 6 (5 per faction)
Access: Skyborne Heroic Pack
In-game name: Skyborne
Two factions: Windshapers and High Order
At character creation, you pick which side your Skyborne joins: Horde (Windshapers) or Alliance (High Order). Both share three racials, but each has its own active racial and class options. official
Languages and onward travel are taken from the beta data. from game data
Windshapers
The Windshapers are shamanistic spiritual leaders of the Skyborne people on Zephras Isle. They honor the elements and seek to gain a better understanding of the nature of the elemental plane to protect the shen'dorei way of life within Skywall.
High Order
The High Order are the Skyborne descendants of the Highborne magisters of Eldre'Thalas. Having spent the past 10,000 years in the realm of Skywall, members of the High Order seek to reclaim the ancient arcane knowledge of their forebears.
Faction descriptions from the game.
Skyborne Racial Abilities
Walk on Air
Racial · all Skyborne · Cooldown 90 sec
Glide downward through the air for 10 sec while controlling your direction of travel.
Wind Blessed
Racial Passive · all Skyborne
Increases your spellcasting, melee, and ranged Haste by 3%.
Elemental Insight
Racial Passive · all Skyborne
Damage dealt versus Elementals increased by 5%.
Skysight
Racial · Windshapers · Cooldown 2 min
Attempt to draw power from a convergence of elements and receive its blessing, increasing your movement and mounted movement speeds by 10%. Lasts 30 sec if no elemental convergence is nearby, and 15 min if one is found.
Read Leyline
Racial · High Order · Cooldown 2 min
Attempt to tap into the power of a nearby leyline, increasing your Health and Mana regeneration by 100%. Lasts 30 sec if no leyline is nearby, and 15 min if one is found.
Names, values and cooldowns are from the beta client (build 1.60.1) and may still change before launch. from game data
Skyborne are a paid race: you need at least the Skyborne Heroic Pack. official
Includes: the Skyborne race and their starting zone Zephras Isle, early name reservation, the Cerulean Prideclaw mount, cosmetics, housing decor and one Invite-A-Friend code. official
You still have to buy the riding skill for the mount in-game. official
Price: $29.99 / €29.99 (CNY 218 in China). per fan sites
The Skyborne Epic Pack adds beta access, 30 days of game time and more cosmetics. official Price: $59.99. per fan sites
Name reservation runs from Oct 27, 2026 to Nov 3, 2026 for up to three characters and requires an upgrade pack. official
The right combination depends on your playstyle. Our take, based on the racials and the Tier list: our assessment
Mage (High Order): Read Leyline doubles health and mana regen, cutting downtime while leveling.
Shaman (Windshapers): Shaman is exclusive to this faction, and in the lore the Windshapers are the Skyborne's shamanic leaders.
Hunter (Windshapers): Hunter is one of the smoothest solo levelers, and Skysight adds 10% movement speed on top.
Druid: As a healer, you get more out of Read Leyline (High Order); for Feral PvP, Skysight (Windshapers) is the better pick.
Rogue and Warrior: Either faction works. Wind Blessed gives every class 1% haste, and in PvP, Skysight helps you get from fight to fight.
Not sure which class suits you? Take the class quiz.
FAQ
Is Skyborne free in WoW Forever?
No. Skyborne requires an upgrade pack, at minimum the Skyborne Heroic Pack ($29.99 / €29.99).
Which classes can Skyborne play?
Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Druid on both factions, plus Shaman on the Horde side only (Windshapers) and Mage on the Alliance side only (High Order). Paladin, Priest and Warlock aren't available.
Are Skyborne Horde or Alliance?
Both. You pick at character creation: Horde (Windshapers) or Alliance (High Order).
Where do Skyborne start?
In their starting zone Zephras Isle, levels 1–12. After that, the Horde takes a skysailer to Mulgore and the Alliance to Dalaran.
What racials do Skyborne have?
Walk on Air, Wind Blessed and Elemental Insight for all Skyborne, plus Skysight (Windshapers) and Read Leyline (High Order).
Which Skyborne faction is better?
It depends on your class. Shaman is Horde-only (Windshapers) and Mage is Alliance-only (High Order). Skysight helps with travel and PvP, while Read Leyline cuts downtime for casters and healers.
Last updated: Oct 14, 2026. We only use information from official announcements. Anything that so far only appears on fan sites or is contradictory is flagged and may still change.