WoW Files Build notes
Stable branch 12 patches Build target 1.12.1

Vanilla Era patch history

1.0.0 — 1.12.2

Twelve content patches in under two years. The pace never repeated, and the 1.12 protocol became the foundation everything else in preservation was measured against.

Patches tracked
12
Major releases
7
First
1.1.0
Last
1.12.0
Build target
1.12.1

Patch timeline

First to last · summarized for operators
  1. 1.1.0
    23 Nov 2004

    Launch

    Major release
    • The game ships with Molten Core and Onyxia's Lair as the only raid content.
    • Forty-player raids, no lockout sharing, no queue systems of any kind.
    • Two continents, no flying, and a talent system of three fixed trees per class.
    What this means for a buildEverything after this is additive. A core that handles 1.1 handles the shape of every later Vanilla patch.
  2. 1.2.0
    18 Dec 2004

    Mysteries of Maraudon

    • Adds the Maraudon dungeon and its attunement chain.
    • First round of class balance passes and a long list of quest fixes.
    What this means for a buildSmall content delta. Scripting work here is dungeon encounters only.
  3. 1.3.0
    7 Mar 2005

    Ruins of Dire Maul

    • Dire Maul opens as a three-wing dungeon complex with tribute runs.
    • Adds librams, enchanting recipes, and the first wing-specific loot rules.
    What this means for a buildTribute runs need state tracking inside an instance — the first script of that kind.
  4. 1.4.0
    19 Apr 2005

    The Call to War

    Major release
    • Introduces the honor system, PvP ranks, and rank-gated rewards.
    • Weekly honor decay and a ladder that recalculates for every player on the realm.
    What this means for a buildThe weekly honor calculation is the first scheduled realm-wide job a core has to run.
  5. 1.5.0
    7 Jun 2005

    Battlegrounds

    Major release
    • Warsong Gulch and Alterac Valley open as the first instanced PvP maps.
    • Adds battleground queues, per-map objectives, and score tracking.
    What this means for a buildQueueing and instanced PvP state are a separate subsystem from raid instances. Budget for it.
  6. 1.6.0
    12 Jul 2005

    Assault on Blackwing Lair

    Major release
    • Blackwing Lair opens above Blackrock Spire as the second forty-player tier.
    • Adds the Darkmoon Faire and battleground holiday weekends.
    What this means for a buildMulti-phase boss scripts with mind control mechanics — a meaningful step up in scripting difficulty.
  7. 1.7.0
    13 Sep 2005

    Rise of the Blood God

    • Zul'Gurub arrives as a twenty-player raid on a three-day lockout.
    • Arathi Basin opens as the third battleground, with resource-node scoring.
    What this means for a buildTwo raid sizes and two lockout lengths now coexist. Lockout handling stops being a single rule.
  8. 1.8.0
    10 Oct 2005

    Dragons of Nightmare

    • Four world dragons spawn on shared timers across the old world.
    • Silithus is rebuilt with faction outposts and a new zone questline.
    What this means for a buildWorld bosses on shared realm-wide timers need persistent respawn state across restarts.
  9. 1.9.0
    3 Jan 2006

    The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj

    Major release
    • Opens both Ahn'Qiraj raids behind a realm-wide war effort event.
    • Adds a server-first gate opening with a multi-day scripted sequence.
    What this means for a buildThe war effort is realm-scoped progress with a one-time irreversible outcome — awkward to script and easy to get wrong.
  10. 1.10.0
    28 Mar 2006

    Storms of Azeroth

    • Adds tier 0.5 dungeon set upgrades with a long quest chain.
    • Weather effects arrive across the old world zones.
    What this means for a buildWeather is client-driven from server state — cheap to implement, easy to forget.
  11. 1.11.0
    20 Jun 2006

    Shadow of the Necropolis

    Fan favorite
    • Naxxramas opens over Stratholme as the final forty-player tier.
    • Adds the first Scourge Invasion world event and a new raid attunement chain.
    • Introduces spell rank changes that reshaped several class rotations.
    What this means for a buildThe most-reimplemented raid of this era. If a Vanilla core is judged on one thing, it is this one.
  12. 1.12.0
    22 Aug 2006

    Drums of War

    Build targetMajor release
    • Cross-realm battleground queues arrive, pooling players between realms.
    • World PvP objectives open in Eastern Plaguelands, Silithus, and Hellfire.
    • Final balance state before the expansion pre-patch.
    What this means for a buildThe reference build. Nearly every Vanilla emulator targets 1.12.1 or 1.12.2 specifically.

Keep reading

Vanilla Era setup sheetDeployment paths, config keys, and the failures everyone hits on build 1.12.2. Get this eraCompiled and ready to run, or the complete source tree. All build notes71 patch entries across eleven expansions.