The short answer
The Skyborne are the new playable race in World of Warcraft: Forever.
They are an elven people, also called the shen'dorei or hidden people.
You choose Horde or Alliance when you create the character.
Horde Skyborne are Windshapers and can become Shaman.
Alliance Skyborne belong to the High Order and can become Mages.
Both sides can also play Warrior, Hunter, Rogue and Druid.
The race and its Zephras Isle start need the Skyborne Heroic Pack or a higher edition.
A subscription alone does not unlock them.
Standard Definition (SD) Skyborne models are planned for early 2027.
No exact date has been announced.
Classes by faction
| Class | Horde (Windshaper) | Alliance (High Order) |
|---|---|---|
| Warrior | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hunter | ✓ | ✓ |
| Rogue | ✓ | ✓ |
| Druid | ✓ | ✓ |
| Shaman | ✓ | — |
| Mage | — | ✓ |
| Paladin, Priest, Warlock | — | — |
✓ available, — not available. Official Blizzard race and class tables.
Blizzard's What's Next panel recap explains the faction split.
Horde-aligned Skyborne embrace elemental traditions and gain the Shaman class.
Alliance-aligned Skyborne pursue their ancestors' arcane legacy and gain the Mage class.
Warrior, Hunter, Rogue and Druid are open to both.
Druids get new Skyborne druid forms made for the race.
The race also gets new racials, customizations, voices and dances.
On October 7 Blizzard said it is revisiting the HD versions of those druid forms.
SD versions are due in early 2027; see the visual updates section below.
Paladin, Priest and Warlock are not in Blizzard's Skyborne class list.
So a Skyborne cannot be any of those three.
That makes five classes per faction, or ten Skyborne combinations in total.
What unlocks the race
| How you play | Skyborne | Beta access included |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription or game time only | — | — |
| Skyborne Heroic Pack | ✓ | — |
| Epic Pack | ✓ | ✓ |
| Warcraft Forever Collection | ✓ | ✓ |
✓ included, — not included. Based on the footnotes of Blizzard’s official Forever page; benefits apply only to the WoW account the product was bought for. The Beta column is for reference only: Blizzard closed the Beta on October 23.
The official Forever page sets the rule in its footnotes.
The Skyborne race and the Zephras Isle questline need the Heroic Pack or a higher edition.
The Epic Pack and the Warcraft Forever Collection include all of the Heroic Pack.
As of 2026-10-28, Blizzard has not announced any in-game way to unlock the Skyborne.
The pack is the only route named on the U.S., German and Korean official pages.
The same footnote says the benefit applies only to the WoW account it was bought for.
Have several WoW accounts on one Battle.net login?
Buy the pack for the account you will play on.
Beta access came with the Epic Pack and the Collection, not the Heroic Pack.
Blizzard closed the Beta on October 23, 2026.
The first Beta week had listed Skyborne and Zephras Isle as new content.
Zephras Isle, the starting zone
The Skyborne start on Zephras Isle, an elemental skybound zone for levels 1 to 12.
Blizzard says it mixes classic Warcraft aesthetics with Skywall-inspired architecture.
The Found Photos panel recap sets the scene.
The Skyborne story begins with rebels who fled Eldre'Thalas after the War of the Ancients.
They found refuge in Skywall.
When players arrive, the Skyborne's elemental benefactors have vanished.
The pylons holding Zephras together are failing, and parts of the island are falling.
The Windshapers, the High Order and the Al'Aketh compete for control of the island.
Blizzard calls Zephras Isle a surprising but self-contained experience.
Racial traits: one ability differs
Each race in Forever has two active and two passive racial abilities.
The Deep Dive panel recap says they are tuned to similar offensive power.
On October 26 Blizzard said its final pass before launch puts racial identity first.
So some races will be slightly better than others at certain combat roles.
Blizzard's race and class article lists the same three traits for both Skyborne groups.
| Trait | Horde (Windshaper) | Alliance (High Order) |
|---|---|---|
| Walk on Airactive | Glide downward for 10 sec; 90 sec cooldown | Glide downward for 10 sec; 90 sec cooldown |
| Faction abilityactive | Skysight: +15% movement speed for 15 sec | Read Leyline: +50% health and mana regeneration for 15 sec; not while Innervate is active |
| 1-hour effectnew | Charged (Skysight at an elemental convergence): Skysight gives 30% | Attuned (Read Leyline at a Ley Line): Read Leyline gives 100% |
| Wind Blessedpassive | +2% haste (3% in the October 15 build) | +2% haste (3% in the October 15 build) |
| Elemental Insightpassive | +5% damage to Elementals | +5% damage to Elementals |
Blizzard's race and class article of September 22, 2026, updated with the October 15 and October 26 development notes. Attuned and Charged persist through death and end when you enter a raid.
Two sets of Beta development notes have changed the Skyborne traits since then.
The October 15 build notes came while the Beta was still running.
The October 26 notes came three days after the Beta closed on October 23.
Walk on Air lets you glide downward through the air for 10 seconds.
The October 15 build cut its cooldown to 90 seconds, down from 2 minutes.
Wind Blessed now gives 2% melee, ranged and spellcasting haste.
The October 15 build had raised it to 3%; the October 26 notes cut it to 2%.
The race and class article still showed 1% when we checked on October 28.
Horde and Alliance Skyborne both get Walk on Air and Wind Blessed.
Elemental Insight increases damage to Elementals by 5%.
Only one active ability depends on the faction.
Horde Windshapers get Skysight: now 15% increased movement speed for 15 seconds.
Skysight gave 10% before the October 26 notes.
Using Skysight at an elemental convergence also grants "Charged" for 1 hour.
While Charged, Skysight gives 30% movement speed instead.
Alliance High Order Skyborne get Read Leyline.
The race and class article spells it "Read Ley Line".
It now increases health and mana regeneration by 50% for 15 seconds, down from 100%.
The October 15 build had set a 30-second minimum; the October 26 notes give 15 seconds.
You cannot use Read Leyline while Innervate is active.
Innervate replaces it as the more powerful effect.
Using Read Leyline at a Ley Line also grants "Attuned" for 1 hour.
While Attuned, Read Leyline's regeneration bonus rises to 100%.
Attuned and Charged both persist through death.
Both are removed when you enter a raid.
Blizzard repeated those two rules in a follow-up post on October 27.
Skysight and Read Leyline became castable while moving in the October 15 build.
That build also added spawn locations for Elemental Convergences and Leylines.
This applies to most zones in the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor.
Blizzard posted both sets of notes on its U.S. forums, in English.
The Beta closed before the October 26 values arrived, so recheck them on the launch build.
Visual updates: HD druid forms and SD models
Blizzard posted a Skyborne visual update on October 7, 2026 (U.S. time).
| Item | What Blizzard said | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| HD Skyborne druid forms | Being revisited: less softness, more detailed fur, adjusted saturation | No live date announced |
| Skyborne bear and travel form textures | Updated in the Beta (October 8 known issues) | In the Beta |
| Skyborne cat form textures | Not updated in the Beta yet | A future build |
| SD Skyborne player characters | In development | Early 2027 |
| SD Skyborne druid forms | In development | Early 2027 |
From Blizzard's October 7, 2026 article and October 8 Beta known issues. Timing and details can change.
First, it is revisiting the High Definition (HD) Skyborne druid forms.
In its example, the forms lose some softness and gain finer fur and adjusted saturation.
They keep their exotic origin but should not clash with other creatures in the world.
The article itself gives no date for the HD form changes.
Blizzard's October 8 Beta known issues add a status update.
Texture updates for the Skyborne bear and travel forms are already in the Beta.
Cat form and various Zephras Isle creatures get their texture updates in a future build.
Some mounts, pets and other creatures follow in a future build as well.
The SD or HD toggle for player characters so far focused on the races from original WoW.
Blizzard agreed with feedback that HD Skyborne look jarring next to SD models.
Standard Definition (SD) Skyborne player characters and SD druid forms are in development.
Blizzard says they arrive in early 2027 and that it will share more closer to that date.
Early 2027 comes after the November 4 launch.
So we expect no SD Skyborne at launch (our reading).
No exact date has been announced yet.
Blizzard also has not said what the SD setting shows for Skyborne until then.
Both images here are Blizzard development images, not final in-game art.
Dates that differ by region
| Item | U.S. | Germany | Korea |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Name Reservation | Oct 27 – Nov 3 (PST) | Oct 27 – Nov 3 (CET) | Oct 28 – Nov 4 (KST) |
| Launch date on the Forever page | Nov 4 | Nov 4 | Nov 5 |
As printed on each regional Blizzard page, checked 2026-10-28.
Early Name Reservation comes with every upgrade edition, including the Heroic Pack.
The U.S. news post lists October 27 to November 3, 2026, PST.
The German news post lists the same dates with CET.
The Korean post lists October 28 to November 4, 2026, Korean time.
Blizzard says you can create and customize up to three characters in that window.
Names are reserved first come, first served.
Blizzard closed the Beta on October 23, 2026, in posts on its U.S. and EU forums.
The regional Forever pages no longer show a Beta end date (checked October 28).
Each region states its own date and time, not one converted moment.
Use the date shown on the page for your region.
The launch-time page converts the official launch time to your time zone.
Common mix-ups
Skyborne are not a third faction.
Each Skyborne character belongs to the Horde or the Alliance.
The faction you pick decides between Shaman and Mage.
A subscription or game time lets you play Forever.
It does not unlock the Skyborne.
Blizzard requires the Heroic Pack or a higher edition for this race.
Beta access no longer matters, because Blizzard closed the Beta on October 23.
Both Skyborne groups share three of their four racial traits.
Pick your side for the class and faction you want, not for one differing ability.
Attuned and Charged are not permanent.
They last 1 hour, survive death and are removed when you enter a raid.
SD Skyborne models are not a launch feature.
Blizzard dates them and SD druid forms to early 2027, after the November 4 launch.
Everything here follows Blizzard's announcements and the Beta, not the live game.
Recheck the class list and racials after launch.
Launch is November 4 in the U.S. and Europe and November 5 in Korea.