Critical Custom Lobby Bug as of Latest Patch

With Warcraft III Reforged coming to Microsoft’s Game Pass, this should be a massive moment for the game—especially the custom map scene that gave birth to entire genres.

Instead, every custom lobby currently breaks after ~15-17 minutes due to a new bug likely introduced during anti-DDoS patching. Hosts get are forced to remake, players get dropped, and the game appears dead to new players browsing the custom list.

If this isn’t fixed before the Game Pass launch, players will assume WC3 custom games are broken or empty—and they won’t come back. We can’t afford that. Blizzard, please prioritize a hotfix or communicate some form of intent.

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The custom game community has dealt with a lot over the years, but this new bug is the most damaging in a long time.

Lobbies are auto-breaking around the 15-minute mark—players don’t realize it, hosts are forced to remake, and it kills momentum. It looks like nobody is hosting anything, and that’s exactly what new Game Pass players will think when they load in.

Warcraft III is about to get more visibility than it’s had in a decade. Don’t let it fall apart now. Please confirm this is being addressed!

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This has been happening to me too, makes filling lobbies and testing maps a huge pain

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Now WC3 is coming to Game Pass and THIS is what we’re giving to new players? “Join a broken lobby simulator”? Are you trying to kill custom games for good?

We’ve been holding this game together with duct tape and nostalgia for YEARS. Don’t screw up the one shot we have at new blood because of a lazy patch and silence on the issue. FIX. THE. DAMN. LOBBIES.

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used to play for a couple of times a day, but now when custom games are like this, it’s just impossible to play, having to join and leave to keep the lobby, it’s so annoying, this should be fixed.

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Hello Blizzard, I like to talk about a few things. The first is there a constant bug/error for people trying to host/join Custom lobbies. In my experience this bug is current and on going ive been experiencing it since the beginning of may. After hosting a custom lobby, ive noticed that after 15 minutes my custom lobby is removed from the current lobby list and the only way to fix it currently is to remake and hope that all the players rejoin, This is CRITICAL PROBLEM for the (Warcraft 3 Custom lobby Communities) as it takes 30 minutes to 2 hours to fill a lobby, this ERROR will affect GamePass and will deter new players at launch, ive also made multiple tickets, ‘no real response from wc3 team’ just automated answers

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Yeah, it’s incredibly frustrating. Sometimes lobbies just stop showing up, which makes it really hard to play with friends. We often have to rehost the game just so others can see it, and by then it sometimes never fills up again, even if it was nearly full before. we sometimes end up waiting a full hour to fill a lobby, because we have had to re-host it 3 times to show up in the lobby list again.

As someone who creates custom maps, this bug is especially demotivating. It’s tough to put hours of work into something and then struggle just to get it hosted or seen by players. It really kills motivation to build content for the community.

With Warcraft III now being added to Game Pass, this issue should absolutely be a priority. New players will be coming in, and if their first experience is broken custom games or empty lobbies, they might just bounce right off the game. Fixing this would go a long way in making the experience smoother and more welcoming, and would give the game a much needed reinvigoration.

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WC3 Reforged is being added to Gamepass in a week and a bit, and we still haven’t seen any movement or acknowledgement of custom game issues. I really hope Blizzard puts some effort into trying to fix this. It seems like a missed opportunity for new/returning players to be met with bugged custom game lobbies, which helped popularize massive modern genres like MOBAs.

This is more critical then having broken most custom maps with retroactive upgrade costs before Christmas break, which is saying something! This issue has been around for a month and then some by now and it’s getting really demoralizing for both hosts and mapmakers. This isn’t something we can fix, and have to rely on Blizzard to fix instead.

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This is a serious issue that Blizzard can’t afford to ignore.

Custom games are the lifeblood of Warcraft III—the reason the game still has a community. Breaking lobby stability right before the Game Pass launch is a recipe for disaster. New players will see empty or crashing lobbies, assume the game is dead or broken, and never come back. Worse, there’s been no official communication, which makes it feel like the problem is being ignored. Even a single sentence acknowledging the issue would go a long way. If this bug is related to the recent anti-DDoS changes, fine—but tell us that. Transparency matters.

If Blizzard doesn’t act fast—either with a hotfix or a clear message—this could permanently damage the custom map scene just as new interest is peaking. Please don’t let that happen.

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I cant support this enough. This is something that must be fixed not only now but for the games life going forward, If this isnt fixed before the game pass launch WC3 custom maps will fall flat on release.

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This has been an issue for an extremely long time. Quite literally the majority of WC3’s player base is custom game centric (both melee maps and otherwise.) Lobby stability needs to be revisited and supported if you want the game to actually have any sort of life.
With new people coming in don’t set them up for failure, like the abysmal start of reforged was.

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WC3 has been a staple in the gaming community - the foundation for WOW. I have been playing for over 20 years now.

The custom games community needs some stability. Games have to be unhosted and rehosted every 15 minutes. And it is hard to get people to stay and then rejoin.

Blizzard, listen to the community and fix the servers. The game still has life left in it, but only if people can actually play. Custom games are so unique and fun and a way for people to show their creativity.

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Inviting guests to your home requires reorganization and preparation. You should not invite them when you are not organized. I hope their housewarming party will be a good memory. A simple bug has been causing a lot of damage to players. I think it will also lower the potential of Warcraft in the future. Please fix this bug.

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where did you hear this?

And how the heck is anyone going to play this game with a controller? (or is it only PC Game Pass?)

Have I been living under a rock?

It is with the most profound and jubilant spirit that I contribute my own humble observations to this most riveting of colloquies.

Verily, one cannot help but stand in awe of the sheer, unadulterated audacity of this custom lobby bug. A masterstroke of game design, I must contend! To introduce such a delightfully chaotic element, one that renders the very bedrock of our cherished custom games so splendidly unstable, is a move of breathtaking boldness.

The digital ghosts of countless Footmen now wander, directionless, unable to find their frantic wars. The grand strategies for our beloved Tower Defenses—a genre which, having been birthed within these very halls, would proceed to inspire a veritable deluge of the most microscopic of transactions—from the hallowed halls of Wintermaul to the intricate paths of Legion TD , lay dormant, their mazes devoid of hapless creeps. One can almost hear the lamentations from the taverns where heroes, once destined for grand clashes in the lanes of yore, now sit idle, their ultimate abilities gathering dust. What is a Hero Siege without a gate to besiege? What is a Castle Fight without a castle to defend? How will Hector indiscriminately stomp the swath of heroes set before them at the eaves of Lordaeron Gambit? Will the Veilfall if no one is around to hear it? How will I go on without my daily dose of Canned Bread? It is a postmodern masterpiece of deconstruction.

And the timing! To unveil this magnum opus of digital disruption just as a fresh wave of would-be adherents arrives, courtesy of the Game Pass? It is a spectacle of such magnificent irony that one is almost moved to tears.

One must also commend the accompanying performance of complete and utter silence. It is a bold artistic choice, a veritable vow of omertà that speaks volumes. In an age of ceaseless, wearisome communication and incessant badgering from the likes of Herolosta, this commitment to inscrutable mystique is a breath of fresh, albeit stagnant, air. It leaves us, the humble supplicants, in a state of exquisite suspense, forever guessing at the grand, unknowable machinations that transpire behind the curtain.

Bravo, I say. Bravo!

And yet, amidst this masterfully orchestrated turmoil, a whisper of dissent emerges. A final acknowledgment must be paid to the original poster, the sagacious Achille, who has dared to offer a path forward. Treat us to a truly unforgettable exhibition of avant-garde community engagement and offer us some comfort and sanity to carry on. For this clever artifice—this chance to once again command our digital legions—we would be most profoundly grateful.

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You put way too much effort into writing that.

Is it your magnum opus?

  1. You can google Game Pass Warcraft III as I cannot post direct links here… and its a google search away.

Edit: “Okay, but it feels unnecessary and pedantic.”

(https://www.wowhead.com/news/warcraft-i-and-ii-remastered-and-warcraft-iii-reforged-coming-to-xbox-game-pass-377300)
(https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2025/06/17/xbox-game-pass-june-2025-wave-2/?ocid=XGP_soc_omc_xbo_tw_Photo_lrn_6.17.1)
(https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/1ldnvyb/coming_to_game_pass_rematch_warcraft_i_ii/)
(https://www.ign.com/articles/call-of-duty-wwii-and-warcraft-rts-trilogy-headline-xbox-game-pass-june-2025-wave-2-lineup)
(https://www.facebook.com/Wowhead/posts/on-june-26th-the-warcraft-franchise-is-debuting-on-the-xbox-game-pass-with-warcr/1143357994505104/)
  1. I don’t think people will play it with a controller.

  2. And yes… probably?

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You can post links here. Use code tags like this:

www.google.com

And I looked it up, its PC game pass only. So… all ten people who have that will be able to play, hooray I guess?

You can google Game Pass Warcraft III as I cannot post direct links here… and its a google search away.

It’s a good idea to tell people your sources rather than to tell them to look it up. it gives your statements a lot more credibility, even if what you’re saying turns out to be true.

Same here, incredibly frustrating how often these crashes are occurring after this last patch and lobbies disappearing.

Cool that WC3 is coming to gamepass, hope it will introduce some new players to the custom community.

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blizzard why you hate warcraft 3 so much???!!!

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