Warcraft 3: Legacy is now available on Battle.net as its own client, meaning fans of Blizzard’s old-school RTS no longer need to install or launch Warcraft 3: Reforged to access the classic.
When Blizzard launched Warcraft 3: Reforged (to disastrous results) back in 2020, it essentially replaced the original version of the game on Blizzard’s platform. Though players could still technically play with original Warcraft 3 visuals within Reforged, the “remaster” was objectively worse in many ways. It lacked features like player profiles and competitive ladders, and made it so many custom maps, the lifeblood of Warcraft 3’s lasting popularity, no longer worked.
Now, players can go back to an earlier version directly through Battle.net, as quietly announced last week in a forum post.
“All players who own Warcraft 3 now have access to the original 1.29 client from the Battle.net app,” a post from community manager Kaivax states. “To install it, click the game version dropdown on the bottom left corner for your Battle.net Warcraft 3 playscreen and select Warcraft 3 Legacy TFT 1.29. Please note: The Legacy client supports offline and LAN play only.”
Blizzard’s wording is a little confusing here. Many on the forums are complaining that they are not able to select the Legacy client from the dropdown menu, even though they have old versions of Warcraft 3 registered to their account. It’s unclear if the post means only owners of Reforged have access to the Legacy client or owners of older versions of the game should also have access. But that’s not a surefire answer either, as I personally own Reforged but don’t have an option for installing the Legacy client.
Players are additionally reporting issues with the game’s cinematics not playing and missing custom maps, both of which may require users to rename certain folders in the game’s files to get them working.
There are perhaps still some bugs to work out on Blizzard’s end and clarifications to be made about who exactly can install the Legacy client. Updates over the years, including a major 2.0 update in 2024 that coincided with the Warcraft franchise’s 30th anniversary, have improved many aspects of Reforged, but it’s still nice to be able to easily return to the original.
Warcraft 3: Reforged reportedly suffered from serious budget cuts and a rocky development. It received scathing reviews upon release, with Blizzard even going so far to expand its refund policy in the wake of the game’s launch. Though its reputation is still blemished, it is much improved now, with its 2.0 update upgrading the game’s environments, lighting, and UI. It additionally added new features for those playing with Warcraft 3’s original visuals, with options for high-rez sprites. Remasters of all three Warcraft RTS games are avaialbe as part of Warcraft Remastered Battle Chest, released to celebrate the franchise’s 30th anniversary.
