The Skyborne are two races, and they're the two factions

Blizzard announced one new race. The client ships two, and their class lists explain why.

Two rows in the data

ChrRaces carries them as separate playable entries:

Client ID	Race	Short name	Faction
95	High Order Skyborne	Elf	Alliance
96	Windshaper Skyborne	Elf	Horde

Both count as full playable races with their own class lists, their own starting experience on Zephras Isle, and their own character creation options.

The class lists give it away

This is the part that resolves it. Both versions get the same four classes, and then they diverge by exactly one:

	Warrior	Hunter	Rogue	Druid	Mage	Shaman
High Order (Alliance)	●	●	●	●	●	—
Windshaper (Horde)	●	●	●	●	—	●

Mage for one, Shaman for the other, nothing else. Beta creators describe the split in exactly these terms — the Alliance Skyborne get the mage, the Horde Skyborne get the shaman — and the client’s class lists match with no exceptions.

So the Skyborne are a neutral race with two faction variants, stored as two rows. What looked like an unexplained asymmetry is just how the game handles a race that can join either side.

What they can play

Four classes are open to both factions:

• Warrior — and Skyborne warriors get Blood Fury-adjacent tools via their racials
• Hunter — the pet classes are the forgiving picks
• Rogue — stealth, and in Forever, the ability to wield axes
• Druid — with unique Skyborne druid forms

Then one faction-exclusive each: Mage for Alliance, Shaman for Horde.

The Druid entry is the interesting one. Every other Druid race has had its forms set for twenty years. Skyborne Druids get their own, which is the first genuinely new shapeshift art set the game has added to Classic-era Azeroth.

Who they are

The Skyborne are elves — the client’s own short name for both entries is literally “Elf”. The lore positions them as Shan’dorei, cousins to both the blood elves and the night elves, descended from the ancient Kalimdor stock that split after the Sundering rather than from either modern nation.

They arrive from Zephras Isle, their starting zone, which is included with the Skyborne Heroic and Epic packs along with early name reservation.

And no, they don’t have to be blue. Customisation covers a normal range; the blue is a marketing impression, not a rule.

Where they fit

Being neutral means Skyborne can be recruited by either faction, which is why they’re the only race in the client with two entries instead of one. Functionally:

• Pick Skyborne on Alliance → you’re playing the High Order variant, and you can be a Mage
• Pick Skyborne on Horde → you’re playing the Windshaper variant, and you can be a Shaman
• Either way you get Druid, which is otherwise restricted to Night Elf, Tauren, and you

That last point matters more than it looks. Before Skyborne, Alliance Druid meant Night Elf and nothing else — a twenty-year monopoly that a lot of players wanted broken.

The community did not ask for this

Worth stating plainly, because it’s the loudest thing about the race: the beta forums are heavily against them. The biggest threads include “Consider pumping the brakes on Skyborne” with over ten thousand views, “Can We Get A Toggle to Turn Off Skyborn?”, and a self-described analysis thread claiming 59% disapproval against 12% in favour.

Blizzard has shown no sign of reversing the addition. If you’re making a character decision rather than a forum argument, the class list above is what actually constrains you.

What’s uncertain

• Whether the character creator presents them as one race with a faction choice, or as two visibly separate options, isn’t confirmed. The data says two.
• Their racials aren’t fully documented yet — this site has the Skyborne class list from the client, but not the effect values for their racial abilities.
• The faction inference above is a strong one, not an official statement. It rests on the mage/shaman split being corroborated by both the client and independent creator coverage.