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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 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 2026-10-10, 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.
The Heroic Pack does not include Beta access.
Beta access comes with the Epic Pack and the Collection.
Players who opt in to the Beta can also be selected and invited.
The first Beta week 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.
Each race still keeps its own utility.
| Trait | Horde (Windshaper) | Alliance (High Order) |
|---|---|---|
| Walk on Airactive | Glide downward for 10 sec | Glide downward for 10 sec |
| Faction abilityactive | Skysight: +10% run speed | Read Ley Line: +100% health and mana regeneration |
| Wind Blessedpassive | +1% haste | +1% haste |
| Elemental Insightpassive | +5% damage to Elementals | +5% damage to Elementals |
Traits as published in Blizzard's race and class article on 2026-09-22. Values can change before launch.
Blizzard's race and class article lists the same three traits for both Skyborne groups.
Walk on Air lets you glide downward through the air for 10 seconds.
Wind Blessed gives 1% increased melee, ranged and spellcasting haste.
Elemental Insight increases damage to Elementals by 5%.
Only one active ability depends on the faction.
Horde Windshapers get Skysight, an Elemental Blessing that increases run speed by 10%.
Alliance High Order Skyborne get Read Ley Line.
It activates a ley line for 100% increased health and mana regeneration.
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 (PST) | Oct 28 – Nov 4 (KST) |
| Beta ends | Oct 21 | Oct 21 | Oct 22 |
| Launch date on the Forever page | Nov 4 | Nov 4 | Nov 5 |
As printed on each regional Blizzard page, checked 2026-10-10.
Early Name Reservation comes with every upgrade edition, including the Heroic Pack.
The U.S. and German news posts list October 27 to November 3, 2026 (PST).
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.
The U.S. and German Forever pages end the Beta on October 21, 2026.
The Korean page ends it on October 22.
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.
The Heroic Pack does not include Beta access.
The Epic Pack and the Collection include it.
You can also opt in to the Beta and may be selected for an invitation.
The racial traits are close to identical across factions.
Pick your side for the class and faction you want, not for one differing ability.
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.