Azeroth Survivors vs Hordes of Azeroth starts with a practical distinction: Aethus provides the original Survivors through a browser entrance and a Windows download, while Hordes documents a separate setup using your own 1.12.1 game files and a server on your computer. Both use a survivors-style loop, but their installation, progression and support instructions belong to different projects. Choose by the setup and kind of session you want, rather than assuming one is an updated edition of the other.
On this page
| Decision | Azeroth Survivors original | Hordes of Azeroth |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Aethus browser entrance or creator-linked Windows download. | jonhaldors GitHub documentation and its launcher. |
| Required setup | Follow the selected original-client route and its graphics requirements. | Own enUS 1.12.1 build 5875 files; separate local client and server. |
| Classes and plans | Original-game rules; this companion retains checked 0.131.0 data. | Nine classes documented; its own spells, evolutions and progression. |
| Friends | Check current original host/join flow; no session test established here. | README currently says solo; friends are not supported yet. |
| Controller / handheld | Check the current original build and actual device. | Controller support documented; Linux and Steam Deck are beta. |
| Progress and backups | Original save export and companion JSON are different records. | Local database and launcher backups documented; no verified cross-project transfer. |
| Version boundary | 0.135.1 menu observed; calculator snapshot still 0.131.0. | 0.5.2 at the pinned repository commit; no local installation test. |
Azeroth Survivors vs Hordes of Azeroth: two separate projects
The original-game entrance used by this companion is wow.aethus.pl. Its page identifies a browser graphics requirement and offers the creator’s Windows download. Hordes of Azeroth is the jonhaldors project on GitHub. Its documentation describes a survivors-style mode using a modified client and a local server. The launcher also supplies an interface addon, but that does not make the whole project a single addon to drop into an unrelated WoW installation. Keep the project name and source address beside any instructions you follow.
This identity check also prevents a common search mistake. A same-name WoW addon, a community reconstruction of Survivors and Hordes are separate objects. Their presence in the same search results does not establish shared saves, matching talents or compatible packages. If a guide tells you to open a particular folder, first confirm which project creates that folder. The comparison here concerns Aethus’s original and the named Hordes repository, rather than every game that uses Warcraft settings or a similar title.
Installation is the clearest decision point
For the original, begin with the creator entrance and choose the available browser or Windows route there. A browser graphics warning is a startup condition for that route; installing the Hordes launcher is not a repair for it. If you already have a working original-game session, export its own backup before changing browsers or client locations. A saved configuration from this companion is a separate planning file and does not replace that game backup.
Hordes documents a more specific prerequisite: your own English enUS World of Warcraft 1.12.1 client, build 5875, reserved for this project. Its launcher adds its own client, server and supporting files beside those game files. The current README names 64-bit Windows 10 or 11, with Linux and Steam Deck support in beta. This is a client requirement recorded by the author, not a claim that we installed or verified each operating system. Read the upstream instructions before using a folder that already serves another project.
Compare the controls you will actually use
Hordes describes automatic spell attacks, choices at level-up, visible boss attacks and a dash. Its README also documents controller input and switching prompts between a controller and mouse or keyboard. Those features answer a concrete question: do you want the locally installed project’s documented control scheme? They do not demonstrate that every pad, mapping or handheld configuration has been tested by this site. Linux and Steam Deck retain the author’s beta qualifier.
On the original side, use the controls shown by your current build and device. The fresh menu observation supplied for this article is version 0.135.1, build 90898d5e3. A visible option establishes what that menu offers; it does not certify a complete run on a physical handheld. If the camera or input is your main concern, compare the exact setting and first failing action instead of switching projects on the strength of an untested compatibility claim.
Nine classes do not mean interchangeable builds
The current Hordes README lists all nine classes, alongside spell evolutions, difficulty modes, gear, an extraction system and upgrades between runs. Its older launch discussion still contains wording from when some classes were missing. Use the current, dated repository for the present feature list and keep the early comments in their original context. Shared class names tell you the fantasy being used, not that the next talent point or an equipment bonus has the same meaning in both games.
This site’s talent and equipment tools remain a checked original-game reference for version 0.131.0. They are not a Hordes calculator and have not silently become a complete 0.135.1 ruleset. You can use a draft to record a planning idea, but verify current in-game conditions before following it. Likewise, do not copy Marks prices, star rules, boss schedules or an ordered talent route from one project into the other merely because both display a Warrior or a Mage.
Solo play, friends and storage need separate checks
Hordes currently documents solo play on a server running on the same computer. Its friends answer says multiplayer is not available yet, and its offline answer applies after installation. That makes it a documented option for someone seeking a local solo setup, subject to actually meeting the prerequisites. It is not evidence of an available shared Hordes realm or cross-play with the original. For an original-game group session, follow that project’s current host and join instructions; this article does not establish party size or a successful cross-client lobby.
Treat progress as project-specific as well. Hordes documents a local database and launcher backups; an original-game export and a companion JSON draft have different purposes. We have no verified transfer process that turns one project’s character into the other’s. Before experimenting, keep an unchanged backup from the project you are leaving. A browser folder, a launcher backup and a planning export should have clear source labels so that a later restore does not depend on guessing from a filename.
Use community comparisons as dated experiences
The Hordes launch thread contains an explicit question asking how it compares with Azeroth Survivors. The author’s reply was based on trying the web version. Other participants describe both enthusiasm for the added systems and frustration with the early progression. These are useful reasons to ask about setup, pacing and personal preference, but they are not a controlled benchmark or a current class ranking. A later Hordes changelog documents changes, so an early complaint should not be presented as a measured property of every subsequent version.
For a short first session, start by deciding whether you want to use the original creator entrance or prepare the separate local client and server. For a longer solo experiment, read the Hordes requirements and progression description before committing to installation. For playing with friends or testing a specific device, check that exact capability in the chosen project. This comparison supplies those decision boundaries; it does not award a winner for damage, drop rates, clear speed or hours of entertainment.