Warcraft 3: Reforged players will finally be able to play modded custom-designed campaigns with the release of 1.35.0. Now available on the public test realm for Blizzard's tumultuous remaster of a beloved classic, Warcraft 3: Reforged is now nearing content parity with its predecessor.
Released on January 28, 2020, Warcraft 3: Reforged has had a rocky start. At one point boasting the title of "lowest user-rated game on Metacritic," the modern remaster of 2002's Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos and its expansion pack Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne arrived without several key features as well as some questionable design decisions. The controversy surrounding the game was compounded by Blizzard's choice to replace the client of the original Warcraft 3 entirely, forcing fans into what many considered an inferior product. At launch, Warcraft 3: Reforged had no competitive ladders, no tournaments, no custom campaigns, and a series of game-breaking bugs. While several content and balance patches have rectified many of the initial gripes with the game, it remains clear that Blizzard still has a long road ahead of it to right the remaining wrongs of the remaster's initial launch.
Announced with a day-and-date release on its PTR, patch 1.35.0 for Warcraft 3: Reforged arrives with a litany of balance changes and bug fixes to its core game mode. However, the much-needed balance comes secondary to the announcement of a long-requested feature. A staple of the modding scene in Warcraft 3, custom campaigns are fan-crafted stories and scenarios meant to be shared and enjoyed by the community. From far-flung what-ifs in the world of Azeroth to recreations of epic storylines buried deep in the Warcraft lore, custom campaigns have been utilized as an expansive tool in letting gamers experience sides of the Warcraft universe they otherwise could only daydream about.
The announcement of version 1.35.0 has been met favorably by the Warcraft 3: Reforged community. While Blizzard has been wrought with controversy over the last several years, with some citing its merger with Activision as the beginning of the end, the commitment to making amends from the missteps of Warcraft 3: Reforged's initial launch is commendable. Blizzard's pace of patches has picked up over the course of 2022, with 1.33 coming out in August, 1.34 in November, and now 1.35 released for testing on December 13. The list of features missing from the 2020 remaster has dwindled considerably.
There is still work to be done to reach parity with the classic version of Warcraft 3, but the outlook has never been better for the remaster of one of the best-selling RTS games of all time. For those unfamiliar with Warcraft 3: Reforged, or holdouts still waiting for Blizzard to patch the game into a state worthy of succeeding the original, the live client release of patch 1.35.0 presents a great time to dive in and give Warcraft 3: Reforged a chance.
Warcraft 3: Reforged is available to play on PC.