Start with the right project
Hordes of Azeroth is the author’s locally hosted survivors-style mode for the English World of Warcraft 1.12.1 build 5875 client. It is separate from Project Ebonhold’s WotLK project and from Azeroth Survivors. The original GitHub README is the starting point for supported installation and the launcher; Cobalt does not host a client or installer.
Use a dedicated copy of your own supported game folder. The launcher adds its own game, server and addon files beside it. Keep your existing setup separate so a test of this mode does not become an accidental change to another server’s folder.
Make the first run short and legible
Current progression uses levels, not the old twenty-floor climb. Normal has four selectable levels with one stage per run; Heroic has five with two stages; Mythic levels continue upward and use three stages. Begin with a Normal selection you can finish instead of picking the hardest available label.
Learn the starter and choose one effect that shares its purpose. A condition-based finisher is valuable only when something is applying that condition. Use the class guide to identify the connection, then keep your attention on a safe route through the horde.
Save a route for the next telegraph
Dash gives a brief defensive window and can be rebound. The Inn offers improvements to its range and cooldown. Practise leaving a marked area before trying to squeeze another hit out of it. Automatic spells do not make movement automatic.
Boss mechanics need more attention than the normal pack. A fear, freeze or root that handles normal enemies may have restricted boss behaviour. Keep the next destination visible, and move toward space rather than toward the loot you hope will drop.
Finish with one useful question
After the final stage, the current portal offers Finish the run before Continue in endless mode. Endless is an optional pressure test with no additional rewards according to 0.6.2 Hotfix 2. Finish if your goal was progression or bringing the run home.
Record one reason the run was difficult: damage, recovery, movement, or an engine that never connected. Change one piece on the next attempt. This gives you a better comparison than replacing every spell and difficulty level together.
SOURCE DESK / REVIEWED 3 NOVEMBER 2026
Know the version.
Know the boundary.
Release v0.6.2, published 2 November, is our current reference. The author’s release notes take precedence over older class-preview tooltips. Recommendations are original qualitative analysis; we have not measured class win rates or playtested these builds.
- Author’s project and setup guide ↗Official identity, launcher, supported client, co-op and backups.
- Release v0.6.2 ↗Published 2 November 2026. Current class changes and Hotfix 2.
- Versioned class preview ↗Class and specialization identities. Some preview tooltips lag the release notes; the newer release takes precedence.
- Versioned change history ↗0.6 changed floors into levels and shorter stage counts. Older 20-floor advice is superseded.