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~zloutek1/vault

Self-hosting a World of Warcraft server

2 min read

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I’ve recently decided to dive into the world of Azeroth again. World of Warcraft used to be my favorite game and I wanted to re-experience it with my girlfriend. Our goal was to go through the leveling zones and explore the story through quests. This led us to a critical choice: play on official servers, find a private server, or host our own.

The Decision

Our first attempt was with the official retail version of World of Warcraft. However, we quickly found the modern leveling experience of Exile’s Reach was quite fast-paced but also boring.

Next, we explored public private servers. While these offered a more classic feel, we ultimately found ourselves preferring to play as a duo. We liked the increased xp-rate, but didn’t like some of the grindy aspects that WoW has.

This realization led us to the ideal solution: self-hosting. By running our own server, we could gain complete control over the experience, amplifying the fun parts and eliminating the tedious ones.

Setting up the server

For our server, we chose AzerothCore, a stable and popular open-source project that excels at emulating the Wrath of the Lich King expansion—my personal favorite.

Setting up the server was surprisingly simple thanks to its Docker support. I followed the official AzerothCore Docker installation wiki, which involved these key steps:

  1. Downloading the source code.
  2. Configuring the realmlist to point to our server.
  3. Populating the game database with world data.
  4. Creating our user accounts.
  5. Launching the server.

Installing modules and addons

To create the perfect two-person adventure, I integrated a few key modifications:

Server-Side Modules

  • mod-ah-bot: This module populates the Auction House with bot-driven activity, simulating a living economy. This is crucial for allowing us to buy and sell gear as if we were on a populated server.
  • mod-solocraft: This brilliant module dynamically adjusts player stats in raids based on the number of players in the group, making epic encounters possible for a solo or duo team.

Client-Side Addons

  • Voiceover (Classic): This addon was a game-changer for immersion. It uses high-quality, AI-generated voices for quest text, bringing the NPCs and their stories to life.

By combining these elements, we’ve successfully built a tailored World of Warcraft experience that lets us explore the world at our own pace.

References

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