World of Warcraft 3.3.5a on Linux (Wine + DXVK)

wow-335a-linux.md

World of Warcraft 3.3.5a on Linux (Wine + DXVK)

Complete guide to running World of Warcraft 3.3.5a (Wrath of the Lich King) on Linux for private servers.

Download

Warmane Client (~15 GB): Official Download

Alternative: Any 3.3.5a (12340) client works.

Prerequisites

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install wine wine64 winetricks gamemode

# Fedora
sudo dnf install wine winetricks gamemode

# Arch
sudo pacman -S wine winetricks gamemode

Installation

1. Create Wine Prefix (64-bit)

export WINEPREFIX="$HOME/.wine"
export WINEARCH=win64
wineboot -u

2. Install DXVK

# Download latest DXVK
cd /tmp
wget https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk/releases/download/v2.5.3/dxvk-2.5.3.tar.gz
tar -xzf dxvk-2.5.3.tar.gz

# Install to prefix
export WINEPREFIX="$HOME/.wine"
cd dxvk-2.5.3
./setup_dxvk.sh install

3. Extract Game

# Extract to Documents
mkdir -p ~/Documents/World\ of\ Warcraft\ 3.3.5a
# Extract downloaded client here

Configuration Files

Launch Script (~/Games/launch-wow.sh)

#!/bin/bash
# World of Warcraft 3.3.5a - Optimized Launcher

# Wine prefix
export WINEPREFIX="$HOME/.wine"
export WINEARCH=win64

# DXVK settings
export DXVK_CONFIG_FILE="$WINEPREFIX/dxvk.conf"
export DXVK_STATE_CACHE_PATH="$WINEPREFIX/dxvk-cache"
export DXVK_HUD=fps

# AMD GPU optimizations
export RADV_PERFTEST=gpl
export AMD_VULKAN_ICD=RADV
export mesa_glthread=true

# Performance
export WINE_LARGE_ADDRESS_AWARE=1
export WINEDEBUG=-all

# Game path
GAME_DIR="$HOME/Documents/World of Warcraft 3.3.5a"
LOG_FILE="$HOME/Games/wow-debug.log"

mkdir -p "$(dirname "$LOG_FILE")"

echo "=== Launching World of Warcraft 3.3.5a at $(date) ===" >> "$LOG_FILE"

cd "$GAME_DIR" || {
    echo "ERROR: Could not find game directory: $GAME_DIR" | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
    exit 1
}

echo "Starting WoW..." | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
gamemoderun wine Wow.exe 2>&1 | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"

echo "=== Game closed at $(date) ===" >> "$LOG_FILE"

chmod +x ~/Games/launch-wow.sh

DXVK Config (~/.wine/dxvk.conf)

# DXVK configuration for Wine games (Railroads, WoW)

# Frame latency
d3d9.maxFrameLatency = 1
d3d8.maxFrameLatency = 1

# VSync ON to prevent tearing
d3d9.presentInterval = 1
dxgi.syncInterval = 1

# Tear-free presentation
dxgi.tearFree = True

# Shader cache
dxvk.enableStateCache = True
dxvk.enableGraphicsPipelineLibrary = True

# Performance optimizations
d3d9.floatEmulation = strict

WoW Config (~/Documents/World of Warcraft 3.3.5a/WTF/Config.wtf)

SET locale "enUS"
SET gxWindow "1"
SET realmList "logon.warmane.com"
SET hwDetect "0"
SET gxRefresh "60"
SET gxMultisampleQuality "0.000000"
SET gxFixLag "0"
SET videoOptionsVersion "3"
SET movie "0"
SET Gamma "1.000000"
SET readTOS "1"
SET readEULA "1"
SET Sound_OutputDriverName "System Default"
SET Sound_MusicVolume "0.40000000596046"
SET Sound_AmbienceVolume "0.60000002384186"
SET farclip "1277"
SET groundEffectDensity "64"
SET projectedTextures "1"
SET gxMultisample "8"
SET textureFilteringMode "5"
SET componentTextureLevel "9"
SET shadowLevel "0"
SET groundEffectDist "140"
SET environmentDetail "1.5"
SET extShadowQuality "5"
SET weatherDensity "3"

Change realmList to your private server's address:

• Warmane: logon.warmane.com
• Local/TrinityCore: 127.0.0.1

Desktop Shortcut (~/.local/share/applications/wow.desktop)

[Desktop Entry]
Name=World of Warcraft 3.3.5a
Comment=WoW 3.3.5a with DXVK
Exec=/home/YOUR_USERNAME/Games/launch-wow.sh
Icon=/home/YOUR_USERNAME/Documents/World of Warcraft 3.3.5a/wow-icon.png
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Game;

Private Servers

Warmane (Popular)

• Website: https://www.warmane.com
• Realm List: logon.warmane.com
• High population, multiple realms

Local Server (TrinityCore)

For running your own server:

# See TrinityCore installation guide
# Set realmList to 127.0.0.1

Troubleshooting

Black Screen / Won't Start

# Delete cache
rm -rf ~/Documents/World\ of\ Warcraft\ 3.3.5a/Cache/*

No Sound

WINEPREFIX="$HOME/.wine" winetricks sound=pulse

OpenGL Mode (if DXVK issues)

Add to Config.wtf:

SET gxApi "opengl"

Fullscreen Issues

Run in windowed mode and use your desktop's fullscreen:

SET gxWindow "1"
SET gxMaximize "1"

Performance

Expected FPS with DXVK:

• AMD RX 580: 60-100+ fps
• Any modern GPU: 60fps+ stable

WoW 3.3.5a is a 2008 game - runs extremely well on modern hardware with DXVK.

File Locations

• Config: ~/Documents/World of Warcraft 3.3.5a/WTF/Config.wtf
• Addons: ~/Documents/World of Warcraft 3.3.5a/Interface/AddOns/
• Screenshots: ~/Documents/World of Warcraft 3.3.5a/Screenshots/
• Logs: ~/Documents/World of Warcraft 3.3.5a/Logs/

Addons

Place addon folders in Interface/AddOns/. Popular 3.3.5a addons:

• Questie
• Recount
• DBM (Deadly Boss Mods)
• AtlasLoot
• Bartender4