Patch 2.0.4 (Build 23745) has introduced a hard AVX/SSE4 instruction requirement that prevents the game from launching on legacy hardware, including CPUs that are still within the officially listed Minimum System Requirements.
The Evidence of Regression:
-
The Minimum Spec Gap: Blizzard’s official requirements list the AMD Phenom II as a compatible CPU. The Phenom II does not support SSE 4.1, 4.2, or AVX. By allowing the current build to crash with an ILLEGAL_INSTRUCTION (Address: 0DF917AA), you have effectively “bricked” the game for users on officially supported hardware.
-
The WoW Precedent: I want to give massive credit to the World of Warcraft team. Even with the massive scale of WoW: Midnight, that engine still features incredible fallback paths that allow it to run beautifully on my Pentium D 965 XE (SL9AN). The WoW team has proven that you can push modern tech without abandoning the heritage of the players who have been here for 20 years.
Warcraft III is the cornerstone of Blizzard’s RTS legacy. Forcing a modern, bloated AVX dependency for the sake of a Chromium-based menu wrapper provides zero gain for the actual gameplay. It only serves to dilute the heritage of the game and alienate the retro-computing community.
Please don’t let the WC3 “doorman” be more restrictive than even the World of Warcraft Midnight engine. We ask that the dev team follows the example set by the WoW and D2:R teams:
-
Audit the Compiler Flags: Re-compile the x86_64 executable and the Chromium wrapper with SSE3 as the baseline (the maximum common denominator for this hardware).
-
Restore the fallback: Ensure that users on Phenom II and high-end NetBurst/Core2 hardware can once again access the official Battle.net ladder.
Given the successful restoration of non-AVX support in Diablo II: Resurrected (Patch 10.5), I assume that this current lockout in Warcraft III is an unintended oversight. We trust that the development team values the “evergreen” nature of Blizzard classics as much as the players do. Restoring SSE3 compatibility isn’t just about supporting old chips; it’s about honouring the heritage of a game that was built to stand the test of time, on hardware that helped build the community we have today.
Think of classic hardware like vintage cars: people are restoring these rigs specifically to play the games they love. Warcraft III should be the crown jewel of that experience, just like Diablo 1-3 and WoW. Fixing this isn’t just about technical fine print—it’s about respecting the history of the game. There is a significant community of retro fans ready to play; don’t leave us at the door because of a simple compiler setting.
4 Likes
So there have been updates that were not mentioned in the update logs again, which is not a good habit
2 Likes
Same exact issue here. The game was running fine before, but now it instantly crashes on launch.
My crash log too shows ILLEGAL_INSTRUCTION. Guess this basically proves someone messed up the compiler settings in the latest update and accidentally locked out CPUs like the AMD Phenom II (which is still explicitly supported on the shop page’s minimum specs!).
Here is what my dump log shows:
ILLEGAL_INSTRUCTION
DBG-ADDR<00007FF7852583AA>("Warcraft III.exe")
Hopefully, the devs see this thread and just re-run the build pipeline with the correct legacy hardware settings turned back on.
Please hotfix this!
1 Like
pls fix, having the same issue
2 Likes
Whose address is that?
If this really is an ILLEGAL_INSTRUCTION crash, that usually means the game is attempting to execute CPU instructions unsupported by the processor, such as AVX or newer SSE variants.
Optimizing for modern CPUs should not automatically prevent the game from running on older hardware. Normally, unsupported instruction paths should have fallback code or runtime checks instead of hard crashes.
Original Warcraft III ran on hardware far older than the Phenom II era, including CPUs from the AMD K7 generation. Of course, Reforged has much higher requirements today, but if Blizzard officially lists Phenom II CPUs as supported minimum hardware, then introducing mandatory AVX/SSE4.x execution paths without fallback handling would understandably create compatibility concerns.
3 Likes
It is indeed a memory address directly pointing to the game executable.
I agree with all your points and assume this must be an oversight in the compiler settings. Otherwise, the game is in direct conflict with both basic logic and the official minimum system requirements.
It is almost certainly an SSE4, AVX, or similar instruction set that slipped into the code. Here is a snippet from my most recent error log showing the exact addresses within the executable:
ILLEGAL_INSTRUCTION
DBG-OPTIONS
DBG-ADDR<00007FF7C60383AA>(“Warcraft III.exe”)
DBG-ADDR<00007FF7C60380D0>(“Warcraft III.exe”)
DBG-ADDR<00007FF7C5119E90>(“Warcraft III.exe”)
DBG-ADDR<00007FF7C60381C0>(“Warcraft III.exe”)
DBG-ADDR<00007FF7C5119F08>(“Warcraft III.exe”)
DBG-ADDR<00007FF7C6036CB1>(“Warcraft III.exe”)
2 Likes
It really looks like the current build accidentally locks out the official minimum specs.
We completely understand the WC3 team is small and that fixes take time, but a quick heads-up from the team just to know this is on your radar would be helpful for peace of mind.
Would really love to get back on the game soon.
1 Like
Hopefully we get a clean SSE3 baseline - just like WoW.
I’ll donate to a charity of the Devs choosing if we get it haha
1 Like
It might be POPCNT that slipped in, not SSE4 or AVX?
1 Like
May well be, anything beyond a clean, basic SSE3 compile won’t let us play. If they decide to keep POPCNT, we’re locked out. Would be massively irritating given how basic and ancient this game engine is (in a very good way!).
1 Like