Azeroth SurvivorsPlay & community guides

Set up the community engine

Use your own WoW 1.12.1 files with the reconstruction. The original online game has a separate entry.

What the community engine needs

This setup is for the open-source reconstruction. To play the original without a local Data folder, open Aethus's original online.

For the community engine, use a Windows PC, a WebGPU-capable browser and your own World of Warcraft 1.12.1, build 5875 client data. Choose the client's Data folder, which contains its .MPQ archives.

The engine download contains open-source code. It does not include the WoW client, maps, models, textures or audio. Keep your client files on your PC.

Download the local data host

Download the Windows package and extract it to a folder. It includes the data host, launcher and license notices. The launcher starts the host on 127.0.0.1:8090 so the browser engine can read your local data.

Windows local data packageData host, launcher & licenses
Download package

Connect your files

  1. Find your Data folder

    Locate Data inside your own WoW 1.12.1 client. Select the folder itself, rather than an individual MPQ file.

  2. Start the launcher

    Open PowerShell in the folder where you extracted the package. Replace the example path with your actual Data folder, then run:

    powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\Start-LocalGame.ps1 -DataPath "D:\Games\World of Warcraft\Data" -SiteUrl "https://azerothsurvivors.top"

    Keep the PowerShell window open while you play.

  3. Open the game

    Open Launch community engine in your browser. Use the launcher to check the local connection and start the engine.

    If the browser asks to access your local network, allow this page to connect to your local host. It uses the loopback address on this PC.

What stays on your PC

The local host reads the client folder and answers the engine's data requests through 127.0.0.1. Your MPQ archives are not uploaded to this site. This site hosts the engine and these guides.

The host binds to loopback. Leave it there; you do not need to expose port 8090, set up port forwarding or run a realm server for this survivors mode.

Start the host manually

If you prefer to start the executable directly, open PowerShell beside it and run:

.\wenilla-host.exe --data "D:\Games\World of Warcraft\Data" --allow-origin "https://azerothsurvivors.top"

The allowed origin must match the website you use to open the game. Stop the host with Ctrl + C when you finish.

Build from source

The project is based on azeroth-survivors-re, a Rust + Bevy engine compiled to WebAssembly. Its upstream build requires Rust, make, curl and unzip, plus the WebAssembly toolchain.

The upstream make build also runs a client-data downloader. To use your own data, follow the individual engine build scripts and supply your existing client folder instead. Read the README and browser build documentation before building.

Having trouble connecting? Read browser support and troubleshooting.