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Patch 1.31.1 Backup Files

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Greetings,

After Warcraft III: Reforged launched, some people like myself either updated to the latest version by mistake or regretted doing so afterwards. Since Blizzard removed patch installers from Battle.Net, the option to go back to an older version was effectively lost. The purpose of this thread is to help with this problem. Below you will find a backed up version of the 1.31.1 installation. This will allow you to revert to the last patch before Reforged, but know that this is a purely singleplayer version.

THIS IS NOT A FREE OR PIRATE VERSION OF WARCRAFT III.
YOU NEED A VALID, LEGAL CD-KEY TO RUN THIS.
DO NOT DOWNLOAD OR USE THESE FILES IF YOU DON'T HAVE ONE.


Due to the above, I will not be offering any assistance in circumventing proper activation and any tips or questions about this will be immidiately reported to site moderation. If Blizzard Entertainment or Hive Workshop staff takes issue with this thread, please contact me and I'll remove all download links without delay.

WARNING!
This version has a couple of significant bugs, one of which is particularly annoying - after playing a map, the game may freeze when trying to exit the score screen. Based on various reports (thanks @Ravager16829, @Daffa, @OutsiderXE) and personal testing, this seems connected to the map containing a lot of leaks, but it doesn't appear to impede the ability to play or progress through custom campaigns.

That said, as there is no known solution to this issue other than force-exiting the game (or editing maps to remove leaks, which can be cumbersome and requires some map editing knowledge, which not everyone has), I'd generally recommend using another version such as 1.30.4 or 1.29.2 (LINK) and reserving 1.31.1 only for playing maps or campaigns that were made specifically for it.


--- --- ---
GAME CLIENT DOWNLOAD
--- --- ---

1. Recommended:

Game client - one file (1.89 GB): Link (MediaFire)

2. Alternative links:

Game client - older upload (1.94 GB): Link (MEGA) or Link (Hive)

Game client - split into 250 MB parts:
Part #1 - Link. Part #2 - Link. Part #3 - Link. Part #4 - Link.
Part #5 - Link. Part #6 - Link. Part #7 - Link. Part #8 - Link.

--- --- ---
ADDITIONAL FILES
--- --- ---

a) Language Fix: Link (Google Drive)
- this .reg file will fix the problem with the game using your OS language, it might also resolve stuttering problems.

b) Cleaned up files: Link (Google Drive)
- these files were removed from the older download, you most likely won't need them.

--- --- ---
HOW TO INSTALL
--- --- ---


1. While it is possible to have multiple versions of Warcraft III installed at the same time, you might run into some issues due to incompatible registry keys. As such, if you use (or used) another Warcraft III version, it's advised that you check the registry first by following these 3 simple steps:
  • Press Windows Key + R, type in "regedit" (without quotes) and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
  • In the Registry Editor, nagivate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Blizzard Entertainment.
  • Look for folders: "Classic Launcher", "Warcraft III" and "WorldEdit".
Not all keys contained in these folders are causing problems, but for the sake of keeping this guide simple - if you see any of these folders, you might as well delete it entirely since any required keys will be automatically recreated upon launching the game.

If you'd prefer to delete specific keys instead, @BogdanW3 explained which ones are problematic:



Be advised that if you're planning to have multiple versions of Warcraft III installed at the same time, you might need to repeat the step above quite often when switching between versions, especially if you're using the World Editor. For example, if you play Reforged and then want to launch 1.31, but you're encountering problems, you'll need to "purge" the registry. Same when going from 1.31. to Reforged or any other version.

That said, if you're just using 1.31 and 1.32 and you'd like to keep your preferences, it might also be enough to simply delete this key:



2. Download the client from the links above, unzip it using any compression software you want (e.g. WinRar or 7zip). You will see a "Warcraft III" folder. It doesn't really matter where you put it, as long as it's not the same directory as another Warcraft III installation. If you downloaded the version split into parts - make sure you have all parts in the same directory, right click on the first one and choose your desired unpacking option from the context menu.

3. ALWAYS RUN THE GAME AND THE EDITOR USING THESE FILES (AND NOT "LAUNCHERS"):



The first time you launch the game, you should see a window asking to either enter your CD-KEY or login to Battle.Net. Choose the first option, enter your CD-KEY and confirm. The game should launch. Afterwards you should be able to launch the game without having to input the CD-KEY.

Congratulations! You now have a working 1.31.1 version of Warcraft 3! Enjoy playing and remember that this is a standalone installation - you don't need to and, in fact, shouldn't apply any patches to it as they will most likely cause the game to update to Reforged or not work at all.

Beyond that - have fun and if you encounter any other problems, be sure to check for potential solutions below.

--- ---- ---
OPTIONAL INSTALLATION STEPS
--- --- ---

1. Removing old (potentially incompatible) save data:

  • This is probably not necessary, though I still did it when first instaling 1.31.1.
  • So, if you want to be extra sure that no leftover data interferes with your Classic installation, you can delete these folders:

  • Just be sure to back up any saves or maps.

2. Language Fix:

  • The game might launch using the language of your operating system. It worked fine for me, though other users reported stuttering.
  • The reason why the language changes is due to to missing registry files. To solve that issue, download the Language Fix registry file from the link above and run it. It will ask you for confirmation. Click yes. This will automatically add the registry files and set the language of your game to English.
  • If you'd prefer to manually add the missing registry keys instead, refer to this post for the directory and types / values of keys - link.

3. Cleaning up or restoring the older upload:

  • This is only meant for people who either downloaded the older version (i.e. one that weights 1.94 GB) and would like to reduce their installation size or used the newer version (i.e. one that weights 1.89 GB) and found some issues that didn't happen in the older version.
  • To restore the older version, download the cleaned up files from the link above, unpack the archive and copy the files to your Warcraft III directory.
  • To clean the older version, delete all folders in your Warcraft III directory except "Data", "x86" and "x86_64" and all files except ".build.info", ".patch.result" and ".product". Your folder should look like this:


4. Preventing the game from being updated to 1.32+:

- The first time you launch the Battle.Net app after setting up W3, immidiately switch to W3 and check if it hasn't started updating. If it has, instantly pause it using the button to the right of the progress bar. Just to be safe, regardless whether you paused the update or not, go to Settings -> Game Install/Update -> select "Never automatically apply updates" to disable automatic updates.

--- --- ---
POTENTIAL FIXES TO PROBLEMS
--- --- ---

1. I get errors while trying to unpack the archive:

- If you trying unpacking directly to Program Files (x86), Windows might block the program from doing so.
  • Unpack the archive in another directory (e.g. where it was saved when you downloaded it) and then move the Warcraft III folder to Program Files (x86) directory manually.
  • I used 7zip to create this archives, if you experience any further issues, you might try using it for decompression as well.

2. The CD-KEY window doesn't appear or appears completely black:

- Try clicking a couple times in the inner left part of the window.
  • Close the window and run Warcraft III.exe (in the x86_x64 folder) as admin.
  • Uninstall other versions of Warcraft III and remove all Warcraft 3 and/or Blizzard registry entries.
  • Rename the installation folder to something else.
  • Try launching the game through the Warcraft III Launcher.exe file (in the Warcraft III folder) as admin. You will need to restore the older version (see above) to try this.

3. Graphics or performance issues (e.g. stuttering):

- Add -graphicsapi Direct3D9 at the end of the shortcut target, as explained by @loktar - link.
  • Try downloading and applying the Language Fix file listed above. Be mindful that this will change your game language to English.
  • You might also want to to check out this post by @grimgrents - link.

4. Maps/campaigns aren't visible in game:

- If maps or campaigns that you are using were saved in 1.32 (Reforged), they won't work.
- Make sure that your maps and campaigns are located in appropriate folders. If the folders don't exist, create them yourself, watching out for potential typos.

Folder paths and names are as follows - these are case sensitive, i.e. the folders must be named exactly as below, including which letters are big/small:


- If you still cannot see a map or a campaign in game and neither of the above doesn't help, there's sadly no known solutions to that problem. Feel free to either post the map file in the thread or send it to me directly via a PM. I'm not promising that I will find a solution, but I can at least try.

5. World Editor is crashing/not working:

- Press Windows Key + R, type in "regedit" (without quotes) and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
  • In the Registry Editor, nagivate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Blizzard Entertainment.
  • Delete the "WorldEdit" folder.

- If you're using both 1.31 and 1.32, this issue might reoccur and can require repeating these steps.

6. Test map is crashing:

- Work around to this issue is explained in this post by @grimgrents - link.

7. Freeze / black screen when exiting the score screen:

This is most likely caused by the map containing a lot of leaks. Sadly, there's no known solution to that problem other than opening maps and fixing memory leaks, so I'd generally recommend using another version (e.g. 1.30.4 or 1.29.2 - LINK) if possible.

If you're forced to use 1.31.1, because the map requires it, your options are:

a) Force-exit the game (what worked best for me was quickly clicking inside the game window once it freezes so Windows displays the "the application is not responding pop-up, giving you an option to close the game, but you can also try using the Task Manager [CTRL+ALT+DELETE] to terminate the process, logging out of your Windows account or even restarting the PC). If you're worried about losing campaign progress - it shouldn't happen.

b) Ask the map maker to fix their map / campaign or you can attempt to do this yourself, given you have pretty basic modding knowledge - read this thread to find out more about leaks (LINK) then edit map(s) to remove them, looking especially for triggers with periodic (i.e. every x.x seconds) events.

--- --- ---
DISCLAIMER
--- --- ---

Using the method described above allowed me to restore the original 1.31.1 Classic client, but since it's not an official installer, I cannot guarantee that it will work for you too. Also, I've only done this on a 64-bit Windows 10 system. No idea if or how it would work on other Windows versions.

If you're going to use this - I hope it works just as fine for you as it did for me. Good luck :)
the one download file on the recommended one i downloaded it and when i try to extract the files to my downloads/desktop folder and this happens
 

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Level 28
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the one download file on the recommended one i downloaded it and when i try to extract the files to my downloads/desktop folder and this happens
Read this notice below:
- If you trying unpacking directly to Program Files (x86), Windows might block the program from doing so.
  • Unpack the archive in another directory (e.g. where it was saved when you downloaded it) and then move the Warcraft III folder to Program Files (x86) directory manually.
  • I used 7zip to create this archives, if you experience any further issues, you might try using it for decompression as well.
I recommend not extracting the game in C drive since many users have reported problems.
Also, it might be due to the antivirus killing your files during the process.
I used WinRAR to extract the download and worked like charm.
 
Level 17
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There is no need to move the folder into either of the program files folders. I recommend instead keeping the game on a different disk. All my pre-32 installations are on my E drive, and 32 is on my D drive because it's an SSD

But also about the corruptions, you may want to try one of the different downloads if it happens in 7Zip.
 
Level 20
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the one download file on the recommended one i downloaded it and when i try to extract the files to my downloads/desktop folder and this happens
Well, I downloaded the "recommended" archive and unpacked it without any issues, so I'd say that the upload is fine and either something got corrupted while you were downloading or you're doing something wrong while trying to unpack it. Whichever one it is, I can't really do anything about it.

Thus my advice would be to either download it again, whether from the recommended link or one of the others.
 
Last edited:
Level 4
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if already have reforged and it's updated to 1.32 and after i download 1.13.1 now it wants me to update the game how do i revert to 1.31.1 and uninstaling reforged does nothing
 
Level 17
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303
if already have reforged and it's updated to 1.32 and after i download 1.13.1 now it wants me to update the game how do i revert to 1.31.1 and uninstaling reforged does nothing
Don't let it update the game. Don't connect to battle.net and if it asks you at startup, press no there too.

If you have the Battle.net launcher on autostart, disable auto-updating for Warcraft 3 unless you also want to have a 1.32, in which case instead just make sure the launcher is looking at your 1.32 installation and not your old one.
 
Level 4
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Don't let it update the game. Don't connect to battle.net and if it asks you at startup, press no there too.

If you have the Battle.net launcher on autostart, disable auto-updating for Warcraft 3 unless you also want to have a 1.32, in which case instead just make sure the launcher is looking at your 1.32 installation and not your old one.
already did those
 
Level 28
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if already have reforged and it's updated to 1.32 and after i download 1.13.1 now it wants me to update the game how do i revert to 1.31.1 and uninstaling reforged does nothing
already did those
I'm pointing out that uninstalling 1.32 (Reforged) doesn't seem to completely remove the game content. You'll have to purge the whole WC3 registry keys, as the author said:
Be advised that if you're planning to have multiple versions of Warcraft III installed at the same time, you might need to repeat the step above quite often when switching between versions, especially if you're using the World Editor. For example, if you play Reforged and then want to launch 1.31, but you're encountering problems, you'll need to "purge" the registry. Same when going from 1.31. to Reforged or any other version.
Should the game had a problem with auto-update, please remove the whole game folder + registry (save data is not necessary, although most of them are incompatible), reinstall the client, then follow Bogdan's suggestion above on preventing the auto-update.
Alternatively, you could use my old trick:
1.Hit Search button, then type "run".
2.When the application starts, input "wf.msc". This will open the Windows Defender Firewall w/d Advanced Security.
3.Click on "Outbound Rules". To the right of the contents, you should see another options. Click on "New Rule".
4.On Rule Type, choose "Program".
5.On Program, choose "This program path", then navigate to the game folder which contains "Warcraft III.exe" or "Warcraft III Launcher.exe". Be sure to select those files.
6.On Action, choose "Block Connection".
7.On Profile, keep all options active, then just create your own profile.
You can do the same thing for the "Inbound Rules".
 
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For the record: Ravager in Post #300 has shown that the 1.31.1 version is "1.31.1.12164 x86_64 Jun 5 2019 19:00:29" I think this is the uploaded file here.
I have what's probably the last pre-reforged version ever, "1.31.1.12173" from PTR. Signature dated: Friday, June 7th, 2019 (02:44:43 UTC) If anyone's interested.

PS: It still had x86 and x86-64 versions
 
Level 28
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For the record: Ravager in Post #300 has shown that the 1.31.1 version is "1.31.1.12164 x86_64 Jun 5 2019 19:00:29" I think this is the uploaded file here.
I have what's probably the last pre-reforged version ever, "1.31.1.12173" from PTR. Signature dated: Friday, June 7th, 2019 (02:44:43 UTC) If anyone's interested.

PS: It still had x86 and x86-64 versions
PTR for Classic is deprecated because if you attempt to start the game it will auto-update to Reforged, regardless of your Classic version (non-PTR or PTR).
According to deepstrasz, there's quite an impressive number of bugs you might encounter when using the PTR, especially the World Editor.
 
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Ok I thought I had to reinstall the patch one more time but I was too lazy to do that, because I spent too much work installing the patch to do it one more time, well no, I have the same version installed the one that ends with the numbers 2164 many thank you
Read the post above. The version is "1.31.1.12164 x86_x64 Jun 5 2019 19:00:29" (can be found in the title menu).
The PTR version is "1.31.1.12173", but it's not recommended since there are numerous bugs.
 
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Ive just got it all set up and its running well, but the cursor has alike a 5ms lag in this version, but not my other versions. how to fix this?
EDIT1: Changing Nvidia setting to force my GPU for the game fixed it guys. THANKS for the wonderful patch :D
EDIT2: I cant seem to get my HD mod to work on this version, I've unpacked into the same folder as the .exe like the 1.28v i got working, but this one it does nothing. is there a different place to put these files? or will it not work. the mod says it works with version 1.31. I wanted to ask before i just start randomly deleting Regedit files to see if that helps. the game runs perfect, just doesn't apply the HD mod for some reason.
 
Last edited:
Level 17
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303
Ive just got it all set up and its running well, but the cursor has alike a 5ms lag in this version, but not my other versions. how to fix this?
EDIT1: Changing Nvidia setting to force my GPU for the game fixed it guys. THANKS for the wonderful patch :D
EDIT2: I cant seem to get my HD mod to work on this version, I've unpacked into the same folder as the .exe like the 1.28v i got working, but this one it does nothing. is there a different place to put these files? or will it not work. the mod says it works with version 1.31. I wanted to ask before i just start randomly deleting Regedit files to see if that helps. the game runs perfect, just doesn't apply the HD mod for some reason.
Local files in 1.31 should still go into the Warcraft 3 install folder the same way as before, but also make sure to have "Allow Local Files" set in the registry. While most people said it is not required for 1.31, it not being set might be causing you issues.
 
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Local files in 1.31 should still go into the Warcraft 3 install folder the same way as before, but also make sure to have "Allow Local Files" set in the registry. While most people said it is not required for 1.31, it not being set might be causing you issues.
so i did that for the 1.28 version, and it worked fine. Double checked after installing 1.31, its still there.
 
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Greetings, downloaded 1.31.1 version, but it is Enlish only (using Language fix, otherwise I see black screen every time launching the game). Is it possible to change language somehow or to get somewhere 1.31 Russian download? I tried editing registy, didn't work.
Edit (base enUSLanguage fix is meant, Russian fix from united fixes pack doesn't work)
 
Last edited:
Level 2
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so i did that for the 1.28 version, and it worked fine. Double checked after installing 1.31, its still there.
To clarify, it only works on the 1.28 still, not the 1.31 yet. not sure why tho.
 
Level 17
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To clarify, it only works on the 1.28 still, not the 1.31 yet. not sure why tho.
I have tested myself again, you just need to enable Local Files (file attached at bottom of post) and it works.
I'll also reiterate that the files don't necessarily go into the folder where the game exe is, but into the game root (this folder contains the x86 and x86_64 folders in 1.31 in case you're unsure)
 
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I have tested myself again, you just need to enable Local Files (file attached at bottom of post) and it works.
I'll also reiterate that the files don't necessarily go into the folder where the game exe is, but into the game root (this folder contains the x86 and x86_64 folders in 1.31 in case you're unsure)
o lord, i put it in the x86 folder with the .exe, ill try the root LUL
ok so after dropping it in the root it still didn nothing, but running the Local Files .reg file worked and now its working. i guess my allow local files thing got messed up to only allow 1.28 to run local files? i have no idea but im all Gucci now tyvm! :D
 
Last edited:
Level 17
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o lord, i put it in the x86 folder with the .exe, ill try the root LUL
ok so after dropping it in the root it still didn nothing, but running the Local Files .reg file worked and now its working. i guess my allow local files thing got messed up to only allow 1.28 to run local files? i have no idea but im all Gucci now tyvm! :D
It's the same registry key for 1.28 as it is for 1.32 but it is completely possible 1.28 had an issue or exploit that let local files be turned on without the registry key being set, or possibly case-insensitivity or some other less problematic explanation, but yea - people said 1.31 didn't need "Allow Local Files" anymore but that is not correct, I think that was only the case for 1.30.
You're welcome, I'm glad to hear you got them working :psmile:
 

I have this addition in regards to handling registries, though this is only aimed for the editor use rather than the game one. It might be of some use when handling mapmaking in Reforged and pre-Reforged (for whatever reason you might have, since I have mine).
 
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Hi there! First of all thank you Master Blaster, for this very important service to the community, and for putting up with all sorts of issues, I do appreciate it, even if you can't help me with my problem. Alright so, here's the puzzle I'm trying to solve (further details below):
1656219589267.png

The menu of the game and various other bits have all of these wobbly scrambly things instead of words, messing around with fullscreen, windowed, etc, changes what is displayed to a mess of characters, but nothing I do by just pressing buttons actually solves the problem.

Another issue (probably related?) is that I am trying to play OutsiderXE's most recent version of Day of the Dragon, I clicked on the very first map which is an introductory cinematic (I... think? I can't read it lol) and it crashes on the loading screen.

The troubleshooting I have done so far:
  1. Tried applying the language fix, thought that might be related, since all I saw was wibble wobbles instead of words, but apparently that is not it;
  2. Tried adding -graphicsapi Direct3D9 to the end of a shortcut that leads to the executable, also no effect sadly;
  3. Tried the ol' run as administrator, that is also not it;
  4. Tried changing resolutions, tried running it in windowed mode with various different resolutions, also not a solution to my problem.
This machine is:
An old laptop running on windows 7 x86, it has previously been able to run 1.28 and all of the other non-wacky updates that we were used to back in the day without any issues.

Further notes:
The files provided in this thread were downloaded straight to desktop and ran from there, I understand that this is a separate instance of the game and not a patch to be applied to a previous version. I did delete the relevant registry key, as instructed (there was only one folder, called Warcraft 3), though I did make a back up of course by exporting it, one thing I noticed on further inspection is that the game did not generate a replacement one, could this be related to the problems I'm having?

I think that's about all that comes to my mind, does anyone have any ideas? I hope I'm not missing something obvious, or that this was already solved previously in the thread (I skimmed through it for my problem, I did not read it in detail), though to be honest, I'd take the embarrassment of making that mistake over having this technical issue hahaha.

If any other information is needed I'll try to provide it to the best of my ability, thank you in advance for your time and help.
 
Level 28
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The menu of the game and various other bits have all of these wobbly scrambly things instead of words, messing around with fullscreen, windowed, etc, changes what is displayed to a mess of characters, but nothing I do by just pressing buttons actually solves the problem.
The troubleshooting I have done so far:
  1. Tried applying the language fix, thought that might be related, since all I saw was wibble wobbles instead of words, but apparently that is not it;
  2. Tried adding -graphicsapi Direct3D9 to the end of a shortcut that leads to the executable, also no effect sadly;
  3. Tried the ol' run as administrator, that is also not it;
  4. Tried changing resolutions, tried running it in windowed mode with various different resolutions, also not a solution to my problem.
The problem is pretty obvious. Some people reported that the graphics card is the main reason the problem appears. As far as I can tell you, the minimum system requirements have been changed drastically at the time when 1.27 patch was released. When the game version becomes higher, it literally consumes your computer resource, especially 1.31 which can boast your RAM usage up to 3 GB. If you are using a laptop or computer with crappy specifications like not using the dedicated graphics card or having only 3 GB or less, then you might encounter numerous issues with the game.
This machine is:
An old laptop running on windows 7 x86, it has previously been able to run 1.28 and all of the other non-wacky updates that we were used to back in the day without any issues.
The 32-bit support for most Blizzard games are obsolete nowadays. Windows 7 SP1 is no longer supported as of January 2020. If you want to play the game with the recent versions without problems, I would suggest upgrading your OS to Windows 10 or Windows 11 64-Bit. Be warned, there were still little issues once you upgraded the OS.
Also, I can confirm that Blizzard will drop a support for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8 OS in the future when 1.33 patch for Reforged comes out, but this was a leak.
Further notes:
The files provided in this thread were downloaded straight to desktop and ran from there, I understand that this is a separate instance of the game and not a patch to be applied to a previous version. I did delete the relevant registry key, as instructed (there was only one folder, called Warcraft 3), though I did make a back up of course by exporting it, one thing I noticed on further inspection is that the game did not generate a replacement one, could this be related to the problems I'm having?
Read this notice:
Old versions won't affect new versions negatively, for going into full-screen, have you tried alt+enter? Every version 1.28+ supports that hotkey.
As for purging the registry, not recommended as the only versions that can break are older ones and only upon changing things from inside newer ones (1.26 breaks if you change graphics settings using 1.28+, 1.28 breaks if your save directory is written to the registry by 1.29+, and only up to 1.31.1, 1.32's settings won't break the game, but if you open the 1.32 WorldEditor then all old ones will stop working).
If any version completely refuses to run, only then should you even consider deleting anything in the registry unless you know exactly what you're doing.
It might because you have just downloaded the 1.26 file and managed to run the 1.28 file after the 1.26 ones.
 
Level 17
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Feb 25, 2013
Messages
303
Hi there! First of all thank you Master Blaster, for this very important service to the community, and for putting up with all sorts of issues, I do appreciate it, even if you can't help me with my problem. Alright so, here's the puzzle I'm trying to solve (further details below):

The menu of the game and various other bits have all of these wobbly scrambly things instead of words, messing around with fullscreen, windowed, etc, changes what is displayed to a mess of characters, but nothing I do by just pressing buttons actually solves the problem.

Another issue (probably related?) is that I am trying to play OutsiderXE's most recent version of Day of the Dragon, I clicked on the very first map which is an introductory cinematic (I... think? I can't read it lol) and it crashes on the loading screen.

The troubleshooting I have done so far:
  1. Tried applying the language fix, thought that might be related, since all I saw was wibble wobbles instead of words, but apparently that is not it;
  2. Tried adding -graphicsapi Direct3D9 to the end of a shortcut that leads to the executable, also no effect sadly;
  3. Tried the ol' run as administrator, that is also not it;
  4. Tried changing resolutions, tried running it in windowed mode with various different resolutions, also not a solution to my problem.
This machine is:
An old laptop running on windows 7 x86, it has previously been able to run 1.28 and all of the other non-wacky updates that we were used to back in the day without any issues.
It's been a while seen I've seen anyone experience that wobbly text issue outside of a virtual machine, you could try running the exe with -graphicsapi OpenGL2 (or was it just OpenGL for 1.31) to make the game use opengl rather than Direct3D9 (which is the default btw, so it changed nothing). Other than that, I am not sure what can be causing your issues other than using the 32-bit version of the game. I remember it experiencing many issues when playing with 64-bit users and even some extra problems otherwise. Note that I won't recommend that you try reinstalling Windows just to make Warcraft 3 work - there should likely be a few more less tiresome things to try.

Also @Ravager16829 1.32 already doesn't support any 32-bit OS and has been using features not present in Windows 7's core DLLs, breaking compatibility. And I don't really see where 1.26 plays into this grand scheme of things.

Furthermore, if the game is not generating its settings registry keys back, the first symptom you should be able to reproduce is that changing, for example, video settings won't be saved upon quitting the game. If this is the case, you might have some permissions issues.
I am also going to write the correct registry key name for the Warcraft III registry entries here: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III And this folder should also have subfolders for Sound, Video, and likely a few more.
If they are indeed gone, try running the game as admin once to see if that brings them back.

Good luck either way, and happy playing
 
Level 19
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320
New patches don't have "OpenGL2" only "-graphicsapi OpenGL" (does it work?) / DirectD3D9/10/11 (although I don't know if there's a difference to the latter).
There're also crash bugs in the DX9 renderer Model crashing in Direct3D9 mode which aren't present in other rendering pipelines.
Also Warcraft's newer patches (1.27++) have a much higher memory consumption when run on 64-bit. Say before you needed 400MB, after 1GB of memory. I suggest you to have 1.5GB free RAM, this is barely doable on a 2GB 32-bit machine with pagefile enabled and ALL other programs closed.
The registry keys should not matter in my experience and the game recreates them automatically. I think you've got a driver issue + very old mobile GPU that new Warcraft wasn't tested for? If nothing else helps, I'd try older drivers that you can find. Just in case here's the registry keys for 1.26:
NOTE: On 32-bit system, the path will NOT contain "Wow6432Node" e.g.:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III

Also "Capabilities" points to my 1.32 stable release install, idk why. You can disregard it.
INI:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III]
"InstallPath"="c:\\warcraft iii - lan\\"
"GamePath"="c:\\warcraft iii - lan\\war3.exe"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III\Capabilities]
"ApplicationDescription"="Warcraft III"
"ApplicationIcon"="\"D:\\Warcraft III Public Test\\_retail_\\x86_64\\Warcraft III.exe\",0"
"ApplicationName"="Warcraft III"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III\Capabilities\FileAssociations]
".w3g"="Warcraft3.Replay"
".w3z"="Warcraft3.Save"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III\Capabilities\URLAssociations]
 
Level 17
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Messages
303
New patches don't have "OpenGL2" only "-graphicsapi OpenGL" (does it work?) / DirectD3D9/10/11 (although I don't know if there's a difference to the latter).
There're also crash bugs in the DX9 renderer Model crashing in Direct3D9 mode which aren't present in other rendering pipelines.
Also Warcraft's newer patches (1.27++) have a much higher memory consumption when run on 64-bit. Say before you needed 400MB, after 1GB of memory. I suggest you to have 1.5GB free RAM, this is barely doable on a 2GB 32-bit machine with pagefile enabled and ALL other programs closed.
The registry keys should not matter in my experience and the game recreates them automatically. I think you've got a driver issue + very old mobile GPU that new Warcraft wasn't tested for? If nothing else helps, I'd try older drivers that you can find. Just in case here's the registry keys for 1.26:
NOTE: On 32-bit system, the path will NOT contain "Wow6432Node" e.g.:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III

Also "Capabilities" points to my 1.32 stable release install, idk why. You can disregard it.
INI:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III]
"InstallPath"="c:\\warcraft iii - lan\\"
"GamePath"="c:\\warcraft iii - lan\\war3.exe"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III\Capabilities]
"ApplicationDescription"="Warcraft III"
"ApplicationIcon"="\"D:\\Warcraft III Public Test\\_retail_\\x86_64\\Warcraft III.exe\",0"
"ApplicationName"="Warcraft III"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III\Capabilities\FileAssociations]
".w3g"="Warcraft3.Replay"
".w3z"="Warcraft3.Save"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III\Capabilities\URLAssociations]
This doesn't seem applicable: the DirectD3D9 crash seems to be both an invalid model and 1.32-specific, the patches do have opengl2 but I did mention both in case one of them didn't exist in the specific patch, and -graphicsapi opengl should be the one as that's what I remember using to run 1.31.1 in Virtual machines and Linux. Later the registry keys do matter if the game cannot recreate them and thus save its settings and the keys for 1.26 won't fix 1.31 if it can't make its valid keys for any reason.

It's opengl that should allow you to play on almost any GPU although with glitches. Also about the higher ram usage on 64-bit, you mention this a bit inconsistently: is it about running 32-bit apps in 64-bit systems ("higher memory consumption when run on 64-bit")? Or is it about 32-bit ones ("2GB 32-bit machine")? You say both but follow up on neither. Memory usage is also largely dictated by the map being played: at startup, 1.28 uses about 65MB of RAM (according to the task manager). Maps with a lot of objects and even worse leaks can increase this value infinitely (until the game freezes or crashes from not knowing how to deal with it). Alternatively, if you tried talking about anything to do with 64-bit apps, only 1.31 and up have 64-bit executables.

I'll end this by saying I mean nothing bad to you, and even want to say I respect that you're trying to help, I just want to correct what I see incorrect or needless.
 
Level 4
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Nov 3, 2013
Messages
12
Dang, okay, sounds like the consensus is that my ol' laptop can't keep up then, that's sad. I may poke around with the other versions, see what I can get working and what I can't, at least it seems like a lot of the stuff I'm interested in still use 1.28, so I'm not missing out on too much.

Thank you for your assistance and for the explanations @Ravager16829, @BogdanW3 and @Luashine! At least we got to see some weird stuff.

Edit: I did try the various suggestions, for the record (except for downgrading the driver, may try that at some point still), sadly it did not work.
 
Level 17
Joined
Feb 25, 2013
Messages
303
Dang, okay, sounds like the consensus is that my ol' laptop can't keep up then, that's sad. I may poke around with the other versions, see what I can get working and what I can't, at least it seems like a lot of the stuff I'm interested in still use 1.28, so I'm not missing out on too much.

Thank you for your assistance and for the explanations @Ravager16829, @BogdanW3 and @Luashine! At least we got to see some weird stuff.
Since you were aiming to play the Day of the Dragon, it's unfortunate you haven't been able to get 1.31 to work well. If you're looking for any older versions, the Hive patch archive should be able to provide you with most, and a few tips to get them working if needed. Good luck
 
Level 19
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Jan 3, 2022
Messages
320
@BogdanW3 to keep it short, I almost exclusively played Farmer vs Hunter before release. Before the patches the memory consumption was so low that I didn't pay attention to it. Then it rose to at least 800MB, later 1-1.2GB. I talk about the War3.exe process only, the web browsers take another few hundred megabytes.
This cannot be explained by the natural increase of 32-bit app on 32b OS vs 64-bit on 64b OS.

OK, I decided to test it now :)
Farmer vs Hunter 2 Final with a loading screen tutorial
LAN vs 1 AI
Memory measured upon peasant spawn, Process Explorer
I used different language versions but the outcomes are still comparable.
In the chinese tests and opengl, I loaded the map directly with -loadfile
PTR version: 1.31.1.12173
VersionMemory Used (WS)Notes
1.26, 32-bit205 MBLanguage 3 install
1.29 32-bit, Chinese236 MBThe UI was in Chinese unlike 1.30
1.30.1 Chinese, 32-bit1.12GBUses 3rd Language install's language
1.30.4 Chinese, 32-bit1.06GBIt took 3 minutes to load, picked up my "1.26 LAN" install with a different language; none of the interface was in Chinese but used the 3rd Language install. It launched a 50MB CEF browser for something
1.31.ptr 32-bit1.07GB
1.31.ptr 64-bit1.15GB
1.31.ptr 64-bit, opengl~~1.05GBwindow bugged and blackscreen, cant switch to ingame (then I loaded the map with -loadfile but its improper, because the display wasnt initialized)
1.31.ptr 64-bit, dx91.16GB wsHere I get the infamous mouse input lag, that feels the same as if vsync was on
1.31.ptr 64-bit, dx111.13GBno mouse lag like above

@Nihillo The above is relevant to you now. The 1.30 vs 1.29 Chinese version differences. Delete or Move all of your WC3 installs somewhere and try again with a fresh copy. So it has no chance to detect anything else.


Resume: They've changed something massively inside the game. What? Probably CASC. 1.29 still used MPQ and uses little RAM. 1.30 uses CASC and needs +800MB to run. For comparison, it's the entire size of the old Warcraft 3 install.
PS: I didn't keep it short :peasant-work-work:

-nocasc​

This is a secret parameter in 1.31.x. Tasyen figured out how it works below.
It either crashes (all files extracted to local folder) or doesn't start (no local files, all CASC/MPQ) with an error message that says no files found. So it is intended to work without accessing CASC for dev reasons but I don't know how to make it work.
Judging by the official changelog, there're only two big changes in 1.30: CASC and new anti-cheat. It could be either, but I can't imagine an anti-cheat to be this bad.

Using older clients: CD Keys​

While testing these, I discovered the pre-Reforged versions search for keys but do not have a DRM(?) The game also asked to provide my working CD keys (because I did not launch bnet app on purpose).
EXAMPLE ERROR MESSAGE:
---------------------------
Warcraft III World Editor Error
---------------------------
Cannot find appropriate CD keys
---------------------------
OK
---------------------------
Where it says <RELEASE> it means either "Warcraft III" or "Warcraft III Public Test" depending on the version you run.
Where <EXE_FOLDER>: either the "x86" or "x86_64" folder.
  • C:\ProgramData\Blizzard Entertainment\<RELEASE>\roc.w3k - contains ROC key
  • C:\ProgramData\Blizzard Entertainment\<RELEASE>\tft.w3k - TFT
  • C:\ProgramData\Blizzard Entertainment\<RELEASE>\user.w3k - Username used ingame
  • Current-Warcaft3-Folder\EXE_FOLDER\user.w3k and roc.w3k and tft.w3k - again (new versions)
  • Current-Warcaft3-Folder\user.w3k and roc.w3k and tft.w3k - again (old versions)
Format of all files: UPPERCASE without - dashes. Only 1 line without a LF/CRLF character at the end.
 
Last edited:
Level 17
Joined
Feb 25, 2013
Messages
303
@BogdanW3 to keep it short, I almost exclusively played Farmer vs Hunter before release. Before the patches the memory consumption was so low that I didn't pay attention to it. Then it rose to at least 800MB, later 1-1.2GB. I talk about the War3.exe process only, the web browsers take another few hundred megabytes.
This cannot be explained by the natural increase of 32-bit app on 32b OS vs 64-bit on 64b OS.

OK, I decided to test it now :)
Farmer vs Hunter 2 Final with a loading screen tutorial
LAN vs 1 AI
Memory measured upon peasant spawn, Process Explorer
I used different language versions but the outcomes are still comparable.
In the chinese tests and opengl, I loaded the map directly with -loadfile
PTR version: 1.31.1.12173
VersionMemory Used (WS)Notes
1.26, 32-bit205 MB
1.29 32-bit, Chinese236 MBThe UI was in Chinese unlike 1.30
1.30.4 Chinese, 32-bit1.06GBIt took 3 minutes to load, picked up my "1.26 LAN" install with a different language; none of the interface was in Chinese but my other language. It launched a 50MB CEF browser for something
1.31.ptr 32-bit1.07GB
1.31.ptr 64-bit1.15GB
1.31.ptr 64-bit, opengl~~1.05GBwindow bugged and blackscreen, cant switch to ingame (then I loaded the map with -loadfile but its improper, because display wasnt initialized)
1.31.ptr 64-bit, dx91.16GB wsHere I get the infamous mouse input lag, that feels the same as if vsync was on
1.31.ptr 64-bit, dx111.13GBno mouse lag like above

@Nihillo The above is relevant to you now. The 1.30 vs 1.29 Chinese version differences. Delete or Move all of your WC3 installs somewhere and try again with a fresh copy. So it has no chance to detect anything else.


Resume: They've changed something massively inside the game. What? Probably CASC. 1.29 still used MPQ and uses little RAM. 1.30 uses CASC and needs +800MB to run. For comparison, it's the entire size of the old Warcraft 3 install.
PS: I didn't keep it short :peasant-work-work:
1.30's increase is logical, I was just worried about you mentioning it as 1.27+ as that would've meant they messed up memory allocation somehow. 1.30 has to take up more memory for a few reasons, including obfuscation of the whole executable :psmile: Thank you for the detailed test results though, this is good to know!
I don't know why opengl doesn't render on 1.31.X but I was able to reproduce that on both retail and ptr 1.31.1 as well just now.
Also for that CASC conjunction, try running 1.30.1 or 1.30.0 if you have extra time, CASC was introduced in 1.30.0 but most significant changes of 1.30.x only came in 1.30.2
 
Level 19
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Jan 3, 2022
Messages
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@BogdanW3 I said "1.27++" and not "1.27+" :D In my head I mean "later than 1.27" but I know I should've made it clearer.
I tested 1.30.1 from the archive thread, 1.12GB. I found that 1.31.x has a hidden startup parameter "-nocasc" and tested it (no success). I will add details to my post above to keep it all in one place.
 
Last edited:
Level 7
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Nov 13, 2018
Messages
83
so, I downloaded 1.31 here
but, it just leads to reforged again ......
What should I do to play custom campaign while maintaining 1.31 version...?
 
Level 28
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May 14, 2021
Messages
1,095
so, I downloaded 1.31 here
but, it just leads to reforged again ......
What should I do to play custom campaign while maintaining 1.31 version...?
Make sure to start the game using the executable file that guy's above posted. Alternatively, you can either disconnect your Internet or use the Firewall to whitelist the "Warcraft III.exe".
 
Level 17
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Feb 25, 2013
Messages
303
Make sure to start the game using the executable file that guy's above posted. Alternatively, you can either disconnect your Internet or use the Firewall to whitelist the "Warcraft III.exe".
There is no longer too much reason to blacklist Warcraft III.exe as it stopped popping up the update prompt, but you could Blacklist the launcher exe if you want to be sure - or just delete it so you can never accidentally start the wrong one again
 
Level 7
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Messages
83
There is no longer too much reason to blacklist Warcraft III.exe as it stopped popping up the update prompt, but you could Blacklist the launcher exe if you want to be sure - or just delete it so you can never accidentally start the wrong one again
that's smart
 
Level 7
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There is no longer too much reason to blacklist Warcraft III.exe as it stopped popping up the update prompt, but you could Blacklist the launcher exe if you want to be sure - or just delete it so you can never accidentally start the wrong one again
Don't start "warcraft III launcher.exe", start "x86_64\Warcraft III.exe"
I have one more question sorry... How can I change the game into my native language?(Korean)
 
Level 17
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Feb 25, 2013
Messages
303
so i reset my pc because of fault in microsoft file and now i cant even launch the game, it will send me to error message
These files are verified to work, make sure you're running the Warcraft III\x86_64\Warcraft III.exe file, and you could try removing all your Warcraft 3 registry, located at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III
 
Level 17
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Messages
303
i did it multiple times, still not working
In that case, you can try also deleting the Documents\Warcraft III folder but that should not be causing issues, other than that I don't know enough about your situation to know why it would fail.
I guess another thing to mention is that if you're on a 32-bit operating system, run the file out of Warcraft III\x86 instead, but you shouldn't really be on a 32-bit operating system in 2022.
Idk what else there is that could cause failures
 
Level 18
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Messages
889
In that case, you can try also deleting the Documents\Warcraft III folder but that should not be causing issues, other than that I don't know enough about your situation to know why it would fail.
I guess another thing to mention is that if you're on a 32-bit operating system, run the file out of Warcraft III\x86 instead, but you shouldn't really be on a 32-bit operating system in 2022.
Idk what else there is that could cause failures
nope still cant
 
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