On September 22, 2026, Blizzard officially revealed the Skyborne — the first playable race of Forever. The journey starts on the island of Zephras (levels 1–12), with a choice of Horde or Alliance made right in the character creator, plus unique racial abilities and a set of custom emotes.

On September 22, 2026, Blizzard officially unveiled the Skyborne — the first playable race of World of Warcraft: Forever. Also known as the shen'dorei, or "hidden folk," the Skyborne are descendants of elven exiles who tied their fate to the spirits of air. They come to Azeroth to find out where their elemental patrons have gone — and to decide what to do next.

Starting out on the island of Zephras

Zephras is the 1–12 starting zone. Visually it blends classic Warcraft motifs with the architecture of the elemental spirits. In the lore, thousands of years ago the high elven exiles struck a pact with the spirits of air and built a civilization inside Skywall — one of the elemental planes. By the time the player arrives on Zephras, the spirits are already gone, the ancient structures are starting to crumble, communities have grown isolated, and the people are split.

Faction and class choices

The Skyborne are a rare kind of race: Horde or Alliance allegiance is chosen right in the character creator. It isn't "one for Horde or the other" — it's a full faction choice with two distinct racial branches.

Windshaper Skyborne (Horde) — descendants of the first shen'dorei, who received the gift of elemental sight. Their task is to uncover the mystery of the missing spirits and restore the way of life of their ancestors. Available classes: druid, hunter, rogue, shaman, warrior.

High Order Skyborne (Alliance) — descendants of the ancient scholars of Eldre'Talas. They believe that dependence on elemental patrons left their people vulnerable, and they want to recover the lost arcane knowledge. Available classes: druid, hunter, mage, rogue, warrior.

Classes shared by both factions — warrior, hunter, rogue, druid. The race also has its own druid forms, made specifically for the Skyborne.

Racial abilities

Windshaper Skyborne (Horde):

• Walk on Air — glide downward through the air for 10 seconds.
• Skysight — blessing of the elements, run speed +10%.
• Wind Blessed (passive) — +1% to melee, ranged, and spell haste.
• Elemental Insight (passive) — damage against elementals +5%.

High Order Skyborne (Alliance):

• Walk on Air — the same 10-second glide.
• Read Ley Line — read a ley line, regenerate health and mana +100%.
• Wind Blessed (passive) — +1% to speed.
• Elemental Insight (passive) — damage against elementals +5%.

Appearance

Customization is a noticeable part of the reveal. The first body type offers: 10 faces, 9 skin tones (from sky-blue to peach and darker shades), 21 hairstyles, 11 hair colors, 3 ear lengths, 9 eye colors, 4 brow shapes, 13 facial hair options, plus feather and tattoo choices. The second body type adds 25 hairstyles, 6 earring styles, a choice of jewelry (silver or gold), and expanded Zephyr and Wayfinder tattoo variants. Blizzard talks about thousands of combinations.

You can change your look after creation, too — at city barbershops, for a small fee.

Emotes

The Skyborne have their own emote set, including a unique /dance: /laugh, /flirt, /silly, /applaud, /bye, /hello, /cackle, /bow, /cry, /no, and others. A race-specific dance is a small thing, but Blizzard uses it to underscore the point: the Skyborne have their own cultural identity.