Yes, Skyborne is worth playing in WoW Forever , just maybe not on day one. The race is fine. The problem was everyone else trying it at the same time.
I rolled a Skyborne Shaman on the Horde side early in the beta, mostly because it was the new thing and a Shaman seemed like a giggle. I got it to level 11, didn't play for a day or two, then went back to my Undead Paladin. Here's why.
What's Wrong with the Skyborne Starting Zone?
Nothing, really. Zephras Isle, the Skyborne starting zone for levels 1 to 12, looks nice. The problem is the population.
I started playing the beta too early, and everyone was Skyborne. So you're standing next to wolf spawns, waiting for the next one to pop so you can try to be the one who kills it. It's tedious when a quest needs a set number of mobs. It's worse when a quest needs one specific mob that isn't spawning fast enough, and nobody groups up to share it. Somewhere around levels 3 to 8, that blocked me completely.
That's what sent me away.
Is Walk on Air Any Good?
Walk on Air is great. It's the Skyborne racial that lets you glide down through the air for up to 10 seconds, steering as you go, on a 2-minute cooldown. If you're already high up, you can jump off a cliff and glide and cut a chunk off your journey.
Honestly, it might be overpowered for how long it lasts and how gently you coast. I had it bound to a side mouse button. In a big raid or mob fight that throws you in the air, being able to press one button and not take the full fall damage would be huge.
Does Picking Horde or Alliance Change Anything?
Not that I saw. Skyborne can go either way , a bit like the Pandaren could: High Order for the Alliance, Windshapers for the Horde. I don't know the lore well, but if half of them pick Horde and half pick Alliance, surely their homeland ends up in a civil war?
Where I got to, there was no difference between the two, because I never left the Skyborne area to see anything that would show it either way. The class list does change depending on faction:
The full rundown is in our Skyborne guide.
Will It Be Better at Launch?
No, I think launch has the same problem. Everyone wants to try the new race, so Zephras Isle is going to be packed again, especially with so many players sharing the same zones. It gets better once people spread out.
Should You Start as a Skyborne?
It depends on your patience. You can wait until you're ready to grind the whole Skyborne area , fighting other players for the same fetch quests and the same spawns, with your time stalled while you wait. Or you can buzz through any of the other starting areas a lot quicker, because you're not waiting as much.
The other areas aren't perfect either. They're packed too, because everyone in the beta wanted to try new stuff.
Is Skyborne Worth Playing in WoW Forever?
Yes. If you haven't played a race , Skyborne or any other , you should play every one of them at least once. Just maybe let the crowd thin out first.
