Are the Skyborne a neutral race?

No. A Skyborne picks the Horde or the Alliance at character creation. Horde-aligned Skyborne are the Windshapers, Alliance-aligned Skyborne the High Order.

Are the Skyborne high elves?

Not the high elves of Quel'Thalas. They descend from Highborne exiles who settled in Skywall, the elemental plane of air. Blizzard says Quel'Thalas and its high elves are planned for later, as their own addition.

Which classes can a Skyborne play?

Warrior, Hunter, Rogue and Druid on either side, plus Shaman for the Horde's Windshapers and Mage for the Alliance's High Order. There are no Skyborne Paladins, Priests or Warlocks.

Do I need to buy something to play a Skyborne?

Yes. The Skyborne race and its starting island come with the Skyborne Heroic Pack or a higher edition. The base game does not include them.

Where do Skyborne start?

On Zephras Isle, a new starting zone for levels 1 to 12.

Skyborne Elves in World of Warcraft: Forever

The short answer

The Skyborne are Forever’s new playable race: elves whose ancestors left Azeroth for Skywall, the elemental plane of air. At character creation you choose the Horde or the Alliance, and that choice decides which classes you can play. Every Skyborne starts on Zephras Isle, a new zone for levels 1 to 12. The race comes with the Skyborne Heroic Pack or a higher edition.

Who they are

Thousands of years ago, a group of Highborne exiles made a pact with elemental wind spirits and built a civilization inside Skywall. With no Sunwell to sustain them, they steeped themselves in elemental magic instead. Their own name for their people is the shen’dorei.

They are not the high elves of Quel’Thalas. Blizzard says its plans for Quel’Thalas were too large for a low-level zone and badly timed for launch, and that players can expect high elves in time, as their own addition.

When your story begins, Zephras Isle is in crisis. The air spirits that protected the island have vanished, its ancient structures are failing, its communities are cut off from each other, and the Skyborne are divided over what comes next. That division is the choice you make at character creation.

Windshaper or High Order: your faction sets your classes

Windshaper Skyborne join the Horde. They descend from the first shen’dorei to receive the wind spirits’ gift of elemental skysight, and they set out to find their missing elemental mentors. They can be Shamans.
High Order Skyborne join the Alliance. They descend from the Highborne scholars of Eldre’Thalas and want to win back the arcane knowledge their people lost, so the Skyborne no longer depend on the spirits. They can be Mages.

Both can be Warriors, Hunters, Rogues and Druids, and Skyborne Druids have shapeshift forms made for the race.

Both
- Warrior new Blizzard — What’s Next panel recap · Blizzard — race and class chart · Wowhead — Skyborne First Look
- Hunter new Blizzard — What’s Next panel recap · Blizzard — race and class chart · Wowhead — Skyborne First Look
- Rogue new Blizzard — What’s Next panel recap · Blizzard — race and class chart · Wowhead — Skyborne First Look
- Druid new with sky-blue Bear, Cat, Travel and Moonkin forms made for the race. Blizzard — What’s Next panel recap · Blizzard — race and class chart · Wowhead — Skyborne First Look
Windshaper (Horde)
- Shaman new Blizzard — What’s Next panel recap · Blizzard — race and class chart · Wowhead — Skyborne First Look
High Order (Alliance)
- Mage new Blizzard — What’s Next panel recap · Blizzard — race and class chart · Wowhead — Skyborne First Look

From our class data, the same list the class guides and the class picker use. Each class links to its guide.

No Skyborne can be a Paladin, Priest or Warlock.

Racials

Both sides share three racials and differ in one. The descriptions are Blizzard’s.

Racial	Who	What it does
Walk on Air	Both	Glide downward through the air for 10 seconds.
Wind Blessed	Both	Passive: 1% more melee, ranged and spellcasting Haste.
Elemental Insight	Both	Passive: 5% more damage to Elementals.
Skysight	Windshaper (Horde)	An Elemental Blessing that raises your run speed by 10%.
Read Ley Line	High Order (Alliance)	Activate a ley line for 100% more Health and Mana regeneration.

In Forever’s client files, Walk on Air, Skysight and Read Ley Line each have a 2-minute cooldown. Skysight’s blessing lasts 30 seconds, and Read Ley Line’s regeneration lasts 15 seconds. Datamined Forever's client files, build 1.60.1.70009

Starting on Zephras Isle

Every Skyborne begins on Zephras Isle, a new starting experience for levels 1 to 12 that blends classic Warcraft looks with elemental architecture.

At Shen’dar Village, around level 5, the Horde-only quest Meddlesome Mages rewards a Druid idol and a Shaman totem. Alliance characters are turned away. Datamined Wowhead
In Blizzard’s September 24 beta notes, the High Order Skyborne quest “Catching Wind” was redesigned and its spawns at the Overlook Standing Stones in the Shen’dar Highlands adjusted. The druids of Nightclaw Cavern now give credit for “Wounds of Betrayal” when healed, and “A Firm Response” no longer fails to give credit.
The same notes fixed the Skyborne quest “Exploring the Horde” in Undercity: its objective to talk with Lady Sylvanas Windrunner now completes.

Getting access

The Skyborne race and Zephras Isle come with the Skyborne Heroic Pack or a higher edition; nothing cheaper unlocks them. Our edition guide compares what each edition adds.

How they look

Customization runs to thousands of combinations. There are two body types with ten faces each, and skin tones from sky blue to darker shades. There are more than twenty hairstyles, three ear lengths, and feathers, earrings, and face and body tattoos. A barber shop in the cities can change the look later, for a fee.

Skyborne have their own /dance among a set of new emotes. Skyborne Druids have shapeshift forms made for the race: Blizzard showed sky-blue Bear, Cat, Travel and Moonkin forms on stage.

What we will check in the beta

A Windshaper and a High Order character through Zephras Isle, levels 1 to 12: the quests, the Horde-only relic quest, and where each side goes next.
The racials in play: how far Walk on Air carries you, and what Skysight and Read Ley Line feel like in use.
The cooldowns and durations above, against the game’s own tooltips.
The Skyborne Druid forms and the customization options at character creation.