Blizzard has announced plans to significantly update the visual appearance of the Skyborne, a new race introduced in World of Warcraft: Forever. The changes, slated for early 2027, aim to bring both the standard and high-definition models for the Skyborne and their associated Druid forms more in line with the game's overall polygonal, textured aesthetic.
World of Warcraft: Forever is built upon the original vanilla World of Warcraft, featuring a distinct retro visual style characterized by its "polygonal" and "aggressively textured" models. While the game incorporates graphical improvements like enhanced lighting and water effects, and offers an option to toggle HD character models, the Skyborne have stood out as visually dissonant. Their colors are described as extra-bright, lacking the sharp edges and textures of older models, and appearing too smooth and modern. This visual disparity is particularly noticeable when players using standard-definition graphics interact with other races.
Comparing the Skyborne's SD model to that of a Night Elf or a Tauren highlights the visual difference. The Skyborne currently only possess an HD model, making them appear incongruous when seen alongside the more traditional SD models of other races.
Druid forms for the Skyborne also present a similar issue, with even their HD versions appearing to stand out significantly. Blizzard plans to address these discrepancies by redoing both the standard and HD models for all Druid forms.
This visual update has been met with generally positive reception from players. While some comments express disappointment in the decision to make the models appear "worse" by adhering to the older aesthetic, and others remain critical of the Skyborne's existence, a significant portion of the community appears pleased with the planned changes. Even players who do not favor the Skyborne race acknowledge the update as a positive step.
The developer's decision to update the Skyborne's visuals appears to be part of a broader effort to address player feedback. Earlier comments from developers explained the inclusion of the Skyborne by citing a desire to reintroduce underused Air Elemental architecture and to prevent faction imbalance, a concern that arose with the addition of the Blood Elves in The Burning Crusade expansion.