Beginner's Guide To Setting Up A Private WoW Server

World of Warcraft has been a top-rated MMORPG, and is now the most-played MMORPG. It's not difficult to say that World of Warcraft made the MMORPGs a mainstream genre.

A game of World of Warcraft must be hosted on a server. This allows players to stay online 24x7, and can join and leave whenever they wish. For a seamless experience, first-time players will be able to join one of the dedicated servers. However, if you're an experienced player looking for something more challenging, consider setting up your own private server.

Why use a private server?

Private servers let you customise the game by modifying gameplay rules and adding mod features that drastically enhance the overall multiplayer gaming experience. You can also choose to play an older version - a feature that is often requested for by more experienced players. Another important point to keep in mind is that private WoW servers are not always 100% legal. The developers, Blizzard, regularly send takedown notices to private servers that get too popular for their own good or start charging players money to play-a huge breach of the game's EULA. However, as long as you use the private server to play with a close group of friends, you shouldn't have to worry about it being taken down.

You may be asking yourself: "How difficult can it be to set up a private server for WoW?" Once you download the right tools, you can get a private WoW server up and running in minutes by following the seven easy steps listed below. GRNONLINE Instructables is to be credited for their detailed guide.

List of things you'll need to setup a private WOW server:

Step 1

Install the following software:

[1] World of Warcraft

[2] AC Web Ultimate Repack

[3] Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Service Pack

Step 2

First, go to AC Web Ultimate Repack's 'Maps Extractor" directory (default: 'C/AC Web Ultimate Repack/Tools/Map Extractor ENUS'). Copy the maps' folder from this directory and the ad.exe file to the WoW directory. (Default location:?C:/Program files/World of Warcraft).

Step 3

Now, run 'ad.exe' and wait for the tool to finish fetching the map data. Once the tool is done running, copy the 'maps' folder and paste it in the AC Web Ultimate Repack 'Maps Extractor' directory (default location: 'C:/AC Web Ultimate Repack/Server/Ascent)

Step 4

Open the 'ascent-logonserver.conf' file with a text editor (Notepad should suffice). Find the section with text that looks like this:

If this is the exact text in your system's config file, then you're good. Alternately, change the values to match those in the config file.

Step 5

Open the ascent-realms.conf file using a text editor. Search for a section with text that reads as follows:

If the values in the file differ from those given here, go ahead and modify them accordingly.

Similarly, search for:

And change the values if required.

Step 6

Finally, you can play with the 'ascent.conf' file and configure different gameplay elements. Search for the section beginning with "

XP="5'' QuestXP="5'' RestXP="5'' DropGrey="15'' DropWhite="10'' DropGreen="5'' DropBlue="2'' DropPurple="2'' DropOrange="2'' DropArtifact="2'' DropMoney="5''

Step 7

Open'realmlist.wtf' in a text editor. Clear all contents of the file, and replace them with the following:

Set realmlist 127.0.0.1

It's done!

Start your server now by running the "Control Panel.exe" file located in the "SC Web Ultimate Repack" directory. Once the application starts click on the first three buttons. Your server is now live.