Get the game client

You need a World of Warcraft 3.3.5a (Wrath of the Lich King) client. Ours is ready to go: the realmlist is already set, so there is nothing to configure. Extract it, run it, log in.

Download the client

Large download — expect several GB. Extract it anywhere you like.

Windows

1. Extract the archive to a folder you can write to — for example C:\Games\WoW. Do not put it in C:\Program Files; the client needs to write to its own folder.
2. Double-click Wow.exe.
   Not Launcher.exe — that one tries to reach Blizzard's servers.
3. Log in with the username and password you created here.

That is the whole setup — no realmlist editing, no patches.

Linux (Lutris + Wine)

The client runs well under Wine. Lutris is the easiest way to manage it.

1. Install Lutris and Wine

# Arch
sudo pacman -S lutris wine wine-mono wine-gecko lib32-vulkan-icd-loader vulkan-icd-loader

# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt install lutris wine winetricks

# Fedora
sudo dnf install lutris wine

Make sure your GPU's 32-bit Vulkan driver is installed (lib32-mesa/lib32-nvidia-utils on Arch, mesa-vulkan-drivers:i386 on Debian) — the client is a 32-bit application.

2. Extract the client

Anywhere in your home directory, e.g. ~/Games/World of Warcraft. Keep it out of a Wine prefix's drive_c; it does not need to live there.

3. Add it to Lutris

1. Open Lutris and click + → Add locally installed game.
2. Game info tab: name it whatever you like (e.g. WotLK), set Runner to Wine.
3. Game options tab:
   • Executable: the Wow.exe inside your extracted folder.
   • Wine prefix: leave blank to use the default ~/.wine, or point at a dedicated prefix such as ~/Games/prefixes/wow if you prefer to keep it isolated.
4. Runner options tab: Wine version can stay on system. Leave DXVK enabled — it gives a large frame-rate improvement over WineD3D.
5. Save, then hit Play.

The resulting Lutris config is about this small:

game:
  exe: /home/you/Games/World of Warcraft/Wow.exe
  prefix: /home/you/.wine
wine:
  version: system

Without Lutris

cd ~/Games/World\ of\ Warcraft
WINEPREFIX=~/.wine wine Wow.exe

If something goes wrong

• Black screen or a crash on launch — run the game in windowed mode by setting SET gxWindow "1" in WTF/Config.wtf.
• Very low frame rate — confirm DXVK is on in the runner options, and that vulkaninfo works.
• Login hangs at "Connecting" — check the realmlist, below.

Realmlist — only if you brought your own client

Skip this if you downloaded the client above; it is already pointed at this realm.

The client finds the server through a single line in a text file. If you are using your own 3.3.5a copy, open Data/enUS/realmlist.wtf inside the game folder (enGB instead of enUS on a European client) and make it read exactly:

set realmlist persignum.com

Delete any other lines. Some clients also keep a realmlist.wtf in the game's root folder — set that one too if it exists.

Then what?

Create an account and use those credentials at the game's login screen.