This page is for the original game client up to and including the v1.31.1 patch. For the v1.32.0 patch and above, see the 2020 reimagining Warcraft III: Reforged.
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos is a fantasy RTS game developed by Blizzard Entertainment with singleplayer and multiplayer content, and is the first fully 3D game by the studio.
The game was released in July 2002, with The Frozen Throne expansion pack following in July 2003. They both use the same executable, with Reign of Chaos accessed with the -classic command line argument. Like prior Blizzard games, both titles were supported simultaneously. The initial support cycle lasted until March 2011 with patch 1.26a, during which time the disc check was removed, basic widescreen resolution support was implemented, balancing was refined, new maps and neutral heroes were added, and The Frozen Throne's Rexxar campaign received its second and third acts. The game's support was restarted in March 2016; patch 1.27b from December 2016 is the last patch applicable to the retail version of the game, as all subsequent ones were distributed through Battle.net exclusively.
With patch 1.29.0 from April 2018, the game started using different formats than before, and more quality-of-life improvements were added (such as support for more players in skirmish and multiplayer, improved widescreen support, etc.) laying the foundation for the "classic" mode of the then-upcoming Warcraft III: Reforged. The last pre-Reforged version was 1.31.1 from June 2019. Redeeming the serial keys of the retail version on Battle.net will grant access to Reforged, but restricted to its "classic" mode.
The original version of the game is no longer available digitally nor can it access the Battle.net multiplayer service, as it was replaced entirely by Reforged. As there are significant changes between the two and valid reasons to keep using the retail version, this article retains relevant information for users of these builds. The game remains stable on modern systems after patching to version 1.27b.
General information
- Official Blizzard Store Page For Warcraft III
- Official Battle.net "Classic" Games Support
- Mojo StormStout's Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne Strategy Guide - Strategy and Game Guide by Blizzard
- maps.w3reforged.com - Warcraft III & Warcraft III: Reforged Map Database
- Epicwar - Large Warcraft III Map Database
- HIVE - A Warcraft III community site with a focus on modding, and a map database.
- WarCraft III section on Liquipedia
Availability
| Source |
DRM |
Notes |
Keys |
OS |
| Retail |
|
SecuROM 4 DRM on Windows; removed as of patch 1.21b, retaining only serial key requirement.
Most copies pre-2007 install on all three operating systems. |
|
|
- The original version is no longer sold digitally as of November 2018 in favor of the remaster.
- If a retail copy is already owned, access to the classic version of Warcraft III: Reforged (which allows access to the original Reign of Chaos and The Frozen Throne campaign content as well as Reforged multiplayer) can be gained for free by entering the serial key here on Battle.net and then downloading the installer from here; this will install the Battle.net App in order to download the Warcraft III: Reforged client.
- Installers for non-Reforged versions are no longer available from Blizzard.
- With patch 1.21b, the game no longer requires the CD to play.
Version differences
- The Warcraft Battle Chest retail release includes Reign of Chaos and The Frozen Throne. It is patched to 1.21b.
Demo
- A free demo version is available from GameFront: Windows, OS X.
- It features a prequel orc campaign. While its missions were added in the full version of The Frozen Throne expansion, the voiceovers were not migrated.
Monetization
DLC and expansion packs
| Name |
Notes |
|
| The Frozen Throne |
|
|
Essential improvements
Patches
List of 1.27b patches
- Version 1.27b is the most up-to-date standalone installer version for the retail release, as well as the the Czech release.[citation needed]
- Official support for Windows 7/8.1/10 and Mac 10.10/10.11 was added with version 1.27a, although Mac 10.9 remains unsupported.
- Support for older Windows, as well as Direct3D 8, was removed in version 1.27a.
Version 1.26a should be used instead if compatibility with older machines is required.
- The 1.27b patches for a specific language can be downloaded from Blizzard's FTP server using the links below, or from the PCGW download mirrors (Windows, Mac).
- Install the Reign of Chaos patch only if The Frozen Throne is not installed.
| Patch Language
|
Reign of Chaos
|
The Frozen Throne
|
| English
|
Windows, Mac
|
Windows, Mac
|
| Simplified Chinese
|
Windows, Mac
|
Windows, Mac
|
| Traditional Chinese
|
Windows, Mac
|
Windows, Mac
|
| Czech
|
Windows, Mac
|
Windows, Mac
|
| French
|
Windows, Mac
|
Windows, Mac
|
| German
|
Windows, Mac
|
Windows, Mac
|
| Italian
|
Windows, Mac
|
Windows, Mac
|
| Japanese
|
Windows, Mac
|
Windows, Mac
|
| Korean
|
Windows, Mac
|
Windows, Mac
|
| Polish
|
Windows, Mac
|
Windows, Mac
|
| Russian
|
Windows, Mac
|
Windows, Mac
|
| Spanish
|
Windows, Mac
|
Windows, Mac
|
Conversion to Reforged build
- Updating to the latest version requires the use of the "Warcraft III Launcher" program.
Clicking on "Battle.net" in the main menu, it will automatically attempt to patch the game to the latest version and download the “Warcraft III Launcher”.
- Requires Battle.net App.
- Versions above 1.28 will automatically update to Warcraft III: Reforged "classic" the next time the game is launched.
Version 1.28 or newer will automatically update the next time Battle.net is chosen from the main menu.
"Reforged" visuals will only be available if the user's account has that version of the game purchased.
- As of version 1.28, support for the Czech version of the game has been dropped. New standalone patch installers are no longer provided by Blizzard.[citation needed]
Game data
In-game general settings.
Configuration file(s) location
| System |
Location |
| Windows |
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III\ |
| Mac OS (Classic) |
|
| macOS (OS X) |
$HOME/Library/Preferences/com.blizzard.Warcraft III.plist
$HOME/Library/Preferences/com.blizzard.WarcraftIII.plist |
Save game data location
| System |
Location |
| Windows |
%USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\Warcraft III\ |
| Mac OS (Classic) |
|
| macOS (OS X) |
$HOME/Library/Application Support/Blizzard/Warcraft III/Save/ |
- Save games were migrated from
<path-to-game>\Save in patch 1.28.[1]
Video
In-game graphics settings.
Run the game at screen refresh rate
- Fullscreen mode defaults to 60Hz, even if the screen refresh rate is set higher than that.
|
Set screen refresh rate in registry[3]
|
- Press ⊞ Win+R.
- Type
regedit and press ↵ Enter.
- Go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III\Video.
- Double-click on
refreshrate and select Decimal.
- Change
60 to the screen refresh rate and click OK.
|
|
Set screen refresh rate with Special K[3]
|
- Install Special K by following the Special K Unofficial Guide. Manual local installation may work better.
- Start the game once and close it to allow the configuration file of Special K to be created.
- Open
<path-to-game>\d3d9.ini or %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Mods\SpecialK\Profiles\Warcraft III.exe\SpecialK.ini, depending on the used installation method.
- Change
RefreshRate=-1 to RefreshRate=0 under [Render.FrameRate].
|
Enabling V-sync for exclusive fullscreen mode
|
Change the v-sync registry key
|
- Press ⊞ Win+R.
- Type
regedit and press ↵ Enter.
- Go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III\Video.
- Double-click on
vsync and select Decimal.
- Change the value to
1 and click OK.
- Run the game with the
-nativefullscr parameter.
Notes
- As of version 1.29.2, V-sync seems to be active by default, also setting
vsync=0 does not disable vsync.
It implies the switch has been deprecated altogether. This solution is meant for fully updated retail versions.
|
Input
Audio
| Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
| Separate volume controls |
|
|
| Surround sound |
|
|
| Subtitles |
|
|
| Closed captions |
|
|
| Mute on focus lost |
|
|
| EAX support |
|
EAX 2. Support removed with 1.30 update and replaced with software. |
| Royalty free audio |
|
|
Localizations
Network
Multiplayer types
| Type |
Native |
Players |
Notes |
| Local play |
|
12 |
Up to patch 1.29, use Nucleus Co-op. |
| LAN play |
| 12 |
1.28 and later requires Bonjour service to run. |
| Online play |
| 24 |
The official Battle.net servers were shut down on January 28, 2020.[4]
Use Warcraft 3 Loader to play in unofficial servers.[5] |
Connection types
Ports
| Protocol |
Port(s) and/or port range(s) |
| TCP |
6112, 6113-6119 |
| UDP |
6112 |
- Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.
VR support
| 3D modes |
State |
Notes |
| vorpX |
| G3D
User created game profile (DGVoodoo2), see requirements in the vorpx forum profile introduction. |
Issues fixed
Running the game on Intel-based Macs
- Even with the patch, the map editor will not be compatible with Intel Macs.
- As of patch v1.27a, the game can be installed natively on Intel Macs without requiring PowerPC application support.
"Windows NT is not supported"
- Only early builds of Reign of Chaos did not officially support the NT line of Windows operating systems.
- The related warning when running the installer from pre-2007 discs can be ignored.
Windows Vista, 7, 8.1, and 10 compatibility
- Official support for Windows 7, 8.1, and 10 was added in patch v1.27a.
The Frozen Throne installer does not recognize a Reign of Chaos installation
- This may occur if the Reign of Chaos installer fails to deploy its uninstaller in
%WINDIR%, as in the case of the 2007 BestSeller Series re-release that comes with an altered setup.
The Frozen Throne checks for Reign of Chaos by querying the existence of the uninstaller file and will refuse to proceed until those files are present.
|
Place dummy files in the Windows directory[6]
|
- Create blank files named
War3Uninst.dat and War3Uninst.exe.
- Place them in
%WINDIR%.
- Reattempt installing The Frozen Throne.
|
The Frozen Throne installer stuck on "Waiting for files to close"
- This may occur if Reign of Chaos was installed and opened just prior, as the executable will still be active in the background even after exiting the game.
Open the task manager and end the war3.exe process
|
Black screen with audio for in-game cinematics
- Blizzard's video codec does not get properly registered during installation on newer operating systems.
|
Manually registering the codecs[7]
|
- Run the Command Prompt as administrator.
- Type
regsvr32 "<path-to-game>\blizzard.ax" and press ↵ Enter.
Notes
- To manually unregister it, run the same command but with the
/u parameter before the file path.
|
Low performance in Wine
|
Force the game to run with OpenGL rendering[citation needed]
|
- See the API table for details.
|
|
Run the game in Windowed mode[citation needed]
|
|
Notes
- This fix reportedly worked well on older Intel integrated GPUs.[citation needed]
|
Microstutter on modern machines
|
Use RivaTuner to cap the frame rate at 64 FPS[9]
|
|
Prevent front buffer locking
|
- Press ⊞ Win+R.
- Type
regedit and press ↵ Enter.
- Go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III\Video.
- Double-click on
lockfb.
- Set the value to
0 and click OK.
Notes
- This approach will only work up to patch 1.31.1 and affects the d3d8/d3d9 renderer.
|
Other information
API
| Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
| Direct3D |
8, 9, 11 |
Version 1.26a and older use Direct3D 8 |
| OpenGL |
2 |
Use the -opengl or -graphicsapi OpenGL2 command line argument to force OpenGL rendering in Windows. |
| Shader Model support |
2 |
|
| Executable | PPC | 16-bit |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
| Windows | | |
|
|
Support for later versions of Windows after XP was added in 2007. |
| macOS (OS X) | | | |
|
Initially PowerPC-only until patch 1.21, which converted the game to a universal binary, but dropped Classic support in the process.
Later on in patch 1.27a, the game's app was made 64-bit to support 10.10+. |
| Mac OS (Classic) | | | |
|
|
Middleware
|
Middleware |
Notes |
| Audio |
FMOD |
Dolby Surround, Miles Emulated 3D, and Creative Labs EAX2 before patch 1.30. |
| Multiplayer |
Battle.net Classic |
Official servers were shut down in 28 January 2020.
As of June 2021, updating from WC3 classic retail version to Reforged does not work anymore. Use Warcraft 3 Loader to play in unofficial servers. |
| Command[10] |
Description
|
| -window |
Runs the game in windowed mode
|
| -fullscreen |
Runs the game in borderless windowed mode
|
| -nativefullscr |
Runs the game in fullscreen mode
|
| -nowfpause |
Prevents the game from pausing upon losing focus
|
| -d3d |
Runs the game using Direct3D (obsolete as of 1.29)
|
| -opengl |
Runs the game using OpenGL (obsolete as of 1.29)
|
| -swtnl |
Runs the game using Software T&L (obsolete as of 1.29)
|
| -graphicsapi [option] |
Runs the game using selected graphics API (as of 1.29): OpenGL2, Direct3D9. Using other options is reported to crash the game.
|
| -classic |
Runs the base game (Reign of Chaos) instead of The Frozen Throne.
|
| -loadfile [filename] |
Immediately runs the game from the specified save file. When applied to the map editor executable, it applies the same functionality to the specified map file
|
| -datadir [path] |
Forces the game to load all files from the specified folder (useful for mods)
|
| -crash |
Intentionally crashes the game to test the crash log output
|
| -locale [locale] |
Switches the game's language
|
System requirements
| Windows | Mac OS (Classic) | macOS (OS X) |
| Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
| Operating system (OS) |
98 |
2000, ME, XP |
| Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium II 400 MHz
| 600 MHz |
| System memory (RAM) |
128 MB |
256 MB |
| Hard disk drive (HDD) |
700 MB | |
| Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia RIVA TNT
3dfx Voodoo 3
Intel i810
ATI Rage 128
8 MB of VRAM
DirectX 8.1 compatible
| 32 MB of VRAM |
| Sound (audio device) |
16-bit sound card | |
| Other |
4X CD-ROM | |
| macOS (OS X) |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
| Operating system (OS) |
10.3.9 to 10.6.8 | |
| Processor (CPU) |
PowerPC G3 400 MHz
| 600 MHz |
| System memory (RAM) |
128 MB |
256 MB |
| Hard disk drive (HDD) |
700 MB | |
| Video card (GPU) |
16 MB of VRAM
| 32 MB of VRAM |
References
