The Skyborne are World of Warcraft: Forever's new playable race, and you choose their faction at character creation: Horde Skyborne can become Shamans, Alliance Skyborne Mages, and both can play Warrior, Hunter, Rogue or Druid. They begin on Zephras Isle, their own starting zone for levels 1 to 12. A subscription alone does not include them: the Skyborne Heroic Pack, or a bigger upgrade that contains it, unlocks the race.
One race, two factions
Blizzard calls the Skyborne a race "whose shared ancestry has led to very different visions for the future": Horde Skyborne follow elemental traditions, Alliance Skyborne the arcane legacy of their ancestors.
The beta client we read (build 1.60.1.70009) makes them two races, one per faction, both elves with the lore name shen'dorei:
- High Order Skyborne (Alliance) descend from the Highborne scholars of Eldre'Thalas. When the wind spirits vanished from Zephras Isle, the High Order realised that the Skyborne's dependence on their elemental patrons had left them vulnerable; a new generation returns to Azeroth to reclaim the arcane knowledge they lost.
- Windshaper Skyborne (Horde) descend from the first shen'dorei to receive the wind spirits' gift of elemental skysight. A new generation leaves its home within Skywall to find its missing elemental mentors and restore the wind spirits.
Classes: five on each side
Blizzard adds druid forms made for the race, and the client's class lists confirm the split:
- Alliance (High Order): Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Mage, Druid.
- Horde (Windshaper): Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Shaman, Druid.
No Skyborne can be a Paladin, Priest or Warlock. Druids are no longer limited to Night Elves and Tauren: each faction now has two Druid races. If the class decides your faction, compare the Shaman and Mage trees in our talent planner.
Racial abilities in the beta client
Blizzard promises new racials without detailing them, and says every race in Forever now has two active and two passive abilities. The beta client already holds the Skyborne's, four per character:
- Walk on Air (both factions, active): glide downward for 10 seconds while steering.
- Elemental Insight (both, passive): 5% more damage against Elementals.
- Wind Blessed (both, passive): 1% more spell, melee and ranged Haste.
- Read Ley Line (Alliance only, active): Health and Mana regeneration increased by 100% for 15 seconds, or 15 minutes if a ley line is nearby.
- Skysight (Horde only, active): movement and mounted speed increased by 10% for 30 seconds, or 15 minutes near an elemental convergence.
Each active ability has a 2-minute cooldown. These are beta values that can still change.
Zephras Isle, the starting zone
Every Skyborne starts on Zephras Isle, which Blizzard describes as an "elemental skybound starting experience" from level 1 to 12, with architecture inspired by Skywall. The client's Group Finder lists it from 1 to 14. Both the race and the island have been in the beta since it opened on September 17.
Our Zephras Isle map shows its villages and ruins, and our guide to the new zones covers the island in detail.
How to unlock the Skyborne
A World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time is enough to play WoW Forever, but not the Skyborne. "Access to the new Skyborne race and their Zephras Isle starting experience" tops the list of the Skyborne Heroic Pack, an optional upgrade on the Battle.net Shop. It also brings Early Name Reservation, the Cerulean Prideclaw ground mount (the riding skill is still bought in game), the Shen'dorei Skyseer's Garb, the Shen'dorei Windwell toy, housing decor for modern WoW and one Invite-A-Friend code.
The Skyborne Epic Pack and the Warcraft Forever Collection include everything in the Heroic Pack, so they unlock the race too; the Epic Pack adds beta access and 30 days of Game Time. According to Blizzard Watch, the Skyborne and their starting zone are the only major content a subscription leaves out, and the Heroic Pack costs about $30 in the US. Our release date and price guide compares the editions.
Six other new race and class pairs
Blizzard is also adding six combinations: Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock and Undead Paladin, with more planned in future updates. No edition lists them among its contents, and the beta client already allows all six.
Two of them reshape a faction: in the client, Dwarves are the Alliance's only Shamans and the Undead the Horde's only Paladins. Blizzard adds that the Undead's Cannibalize now restores Mana as well as Health, which helps mana users such as Paladins.
Until the beta closes on October 21, it is the only way to play a Skyborne. After that, any upgrade lets you create up to three characters and reserve their names from October 27 to November 3 (PST), ready for launch on November 4.
