Skyborne
Zephras Isle
New playable race: Skyborne
Starting experience: Zephras Isle, levels 1–12
Factions: Windshaper Horde or High Order Alliance
Class specializations: Horde Shaman / Alliance Mage
Skyborne is the new playable race in World of Warcraft: Forever, a windswept elven people whose floating home is Zephras Isle. The isle is a pack-gated starting experience for levels 1 through 12, inspired by Skywall rather than a ground-level racial capital. During that opening you choose Windshaper Horde or High Order Alliance while defending the island. Horde Skyborne can be Shaman; Alliance Skyborne can be Mage. None of that is available on a subscription alone: Skyborne and Zephras require the Skyborne Heroic Pack or higher.
Zephras Isle as a 1–12 start
Zephras Isle is not a cosmetic cloak over an existing starter zone. What’s Next and the official hub describe it as an elemental, skybound starting experience for levels 1 through 12, with Skywall-inspired architecture and a defense of the island as the through-line. You are not dropped into Elwynn or Durotar first if you roll Skyborne; the isle is the racial home and the leveling band.
That matters for alts and for pack buyers. A subscription character who never buys Heroic will not walk this 1–12 path. A Heroic, Epic, or Collection buyer who wants the new race should expect the first dozen levels to be Zephras content, then a handoff into the rest of original Azeroth. The hub does not publish a quest count for the isle the way it does for Riverglades, so no count is listed.
If you are choosing a first Forever character and you already own Heroic or higher, Skyborne is the race that exists only on this branch. Classic vanilla does not have Skyborne. Modern WoW does not have Zephras Isle. The closest comparison is a new racial start with a faction fork, not a heritage armor unlock on an old race. Official details live on the Forever hub.
Windshaper Horde and High Order Alliance
Skyborne do not pick Horde or Alliance as a silent checkbox. The official hub names the two paths: Windshaper Horde and High Order Alliance, chosen while you defend Zephras Isle. That is the faction split for the race, and it is also the class split. Horde Skyborne can be Shaman. Alliance Skyborne can be Mage. The Deep Dive and hub both hold those class locks; they do not publish a full list of every Skyborne class beyond those highlighted options.
Plan around the named locks rather than Classic-era assumptions. If you want a Skyborne caster on Alliance, Mage is the class the public notes actually name. If you want a Skyborne hybrid on Horde, Shaman is the class they name. Other combinations may exist in the live talent sheet later; they are not in the sealed first-party list, so they stay off this board.
Korean and Traditional Chinese hubs localize the product title (월드 오브 워크래프트: 포에버 and 《魔獸世界：永恆》) and carry the same Skyborne structure. The race is not a region-exclusive. The pack gate is also global: Heroic or higher, everywhere the English hub states it.
Why the Heroic gate exists
Blizzard split Forever access in two. A subscription or Game Time is enough to play the 1–60 branch at launch. Skyborne as a race and Zephras as a starting questline sit behind the Skyborne Heroic Pack, the Skyborne Epic Pack, or the Warcraft Forever Collection. Heroic is the cheapest named pack that clears the gate. Epic and Collection also include beta and thirty days of game time.
That split is easy to miss in store copy that talks about “your next journey in Azeroth.” If you only subscribe, you still launch into Forever on 4 November; you just do not roll Skyborne or play Zephras. If you buy Heroic, you get the race, the isle, early name reservation, and the listed cosmetics, but not beta. If you want the beta that opened 17 September, you need Epic or Collection.
There is no Steam SKU for this gate. Battle.net is the storefront, and unauthenticated shop pages return 401, so the pack matrix on this wiki follows the official hub table and the pre-purchase news rather than a live price API. Open editions when you need the three-column compare.
After Zephras: where Skyborne go next
Once you leave the 1–12 isle, Skyborne play the same original continents as every other Forever character. Riverglades, Hyjal, Shen'dralas, and the lighting-update classics are not race-locked. The nine new dungeons are not Skyborne-only. What you carry off the island is the racial identity, the faction you chose, and the class lock the notes already named.
Combat numbers stay off the board because no first-party document publishes Skyborne racial stats, a Zephras boss list, or a talent calculator. Padding those fields would not help you roll. Use the races and classes page for the six new combinations that are not Skyborne, and use Azeroth for the zones you will enter after level 12.
If you are deciding tonight: buy Heroic or higher only if you want Skyborne and Zephras; subscribe if you just want the 1–60 branch; pick Windshaper or High Order knowing that Shaman and Mage are the classes Blizzard has actually printed next to those paths.
Frequently asked questions
Can I play Skyborne with only a WoW subscription?
No. A subscription or Game Time includes Forever at launch, but Skyborne and Zephras Isle require the Skyborne Heroic Pack or a higher pack. Heroic is the first pack that opens the race and the 1–12 isle. Epic and Collection add beta access on top of that gate.
What classes can Skyborne be?
The public first-party notes name Horde Skyborne as Shaman and Alliance Skyborne as Mage, tied to Windshaper Horde and High Order Alliance on Zephras Isle. A full class matrix beyond those highlighted options is not in the sealed hub or Deep Dive records, so extra Skyborne classes stay unnamed until Blizzard prints them.
Is Zephras Isle a full leveling continent?
No. Zephras is the Skyborne starting isle for levels 1 through 12, Skywall-inspired, and pack-gated. After that band you continue on original Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor with everyone else. Riverglades, Hyjal, and Shen'dralas are separate region stories, not parts of Zephras.
Sources
Official Forever hub — official Forever source Official site
What’s Next panel recap — official Forever source Official site
Pre-purchase upgrades — official Forever source Official site