---
title: "How to Install Warcraft 3 Frozen Throne Mod (WC3 FT)"
excerpt: "Install the Warcraft 3 Frozen Throne RPG mod on an AMX Mod X server, from plugins and custom resources to how player XP is saved."
category: "installation"
tags: "warcraft3, mods"
image: ""
read_time: "8 min read"
---
<p>Warcraft 3 Frozen Throne (WC3 FT) is a long-running Counter-Strike 1.6 mod that turns the game into an RPG: players pick a <em>race</em>, gain XP for kills and objectives, level up, and spend skill points on abilities. It is built entirely as AMX Mod X plugins plus custom models and sounds — there is no engine or game-DLL swap. This guide installs WC3 FT on an AMXX server.</p>
<h2>1. Start from a working AMXX server</h2>
<p>WC3 FT is a pile of AMXX plugins, so AMX Mod X must be installed and loading first — see <a href="/tutorials/install-amx-mod-x-1-9">the AMX Mod X 1.9 guide</a>. Confirm <code>amxx plugins</code> works before adding the mod. WC3 leans on several standard AMXX modules (<code>fakemeta</code>, <code>hamsandwich</code>, <code>cstrike</code>, <code>fun</code>, and a saving backend), so make sure a normal module set is enabled in <code>modules.ini</code>.</p>
<h2>2. Copy the plugin files in</h2>
<p>WC3 FT ships as a main plugin plus a folder of race plugins and includes. Put the compiled plugins in the plugins folder:</p>
<pre>addons/amxmodx/plugins/wc3ft.amxx
addons/amxmodx/plugins/ (race sub-plugins, if the build splits them)</pre>
<p>Follow the general procedure in <a href="/tutorials/install-amxx-plugin-files">installing AMXX plugin files</a> — drop the <code>.amxx</code> in, add it to <code>plugins.ini</code>, change map. If your WC3 build splits each race into its own plugin, every race plugin gets its own <code>plugins.ini</code> line.</p>
<h2>3. Install the custom models and sounds</h2>
<p>The abilities use custom sprites, models and sounds — the lightning of Chain Lightning, the shockwave, the healing wave. These resources live under <code>cstrike/</code> in the paths the plugins precache:</p>
<pre>cstrike/models/...
cstrike/sound/...
cstrike/sprites/...</pre>
<p>They must exist server-side or the server fails to precache and refuses to start the map (a "precache" error naming a missing file). They must also reach clients, so serve them over <a href="/tutorials/fix-fastdl-not-working">FastDL</a> — without the download, players get missing-model errors even though the server is fine.</p>
<h2>4. Register the plugins and load their configs</h2>
<p>Add the main plugin (and any race plugins) to <code>addons/amxmodx/configs/plugins.ini</code>. WC3 FT keeps its own config — race balance, XP curve, which races are enabled — typically under <code>addons/amxmodx/configs/</code>. Load order: keep the main WC3 plugin above the race plugins if the build depends on it initialising first; see <a href="/tutorials/plugins-ini-load-order">plugins.ini load order</a>.</p>
<h2>5. Choose how XP is saved</h2>
<p>Players expect their level to persist between sessions, so WC3 FT saves XP keyed by SteamID. Builds use one of two backends:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>nvault</strong> — a local file database (the <code>nvault</code> module). Zero setup, data lives in <code>addons/amxmodx/data/</code>. Fine for a single server.</li>
<li><strong>MySQL</strong> — the <code>sqlx</code> module writing to a database. Use this if you run several servers that must share one set of levels.</li>
</ul>
<p>Set the saving cvars in the WC3 config to match. Whichever you pick, XP is keyed by SteamID, so on a non-Steam server you need stable IDs (Reunion configured with a proper hash salt) or players share and overwrite each other's levels.</p>
<h2>6. Balance for your player count</h2>
<p>WC3 FT changes the pace of the game — high-level abilities can snowball a round — so the config exposes cvars for the XP required per level, the maximum level, whether items are enabled, and per-race tuning. On a small server, cap the maximum level lower so newcomers are not facing maxed-out veterans; on a busy one, a higher cap keeps long-term players invested. Enable only the races you have tested together, because a race added by a broken sub-plugin drags the whole mod down. Advertise the race menu and the level system in your <a href="/plugins/csb-server-adverts">server adverts</a> so new players know to pick a race on their first join.</p>
<h2>Troubleshooting</h2>
<ul>
<li><strong>Server will not start / "host_error: PF_precache" naming a model</strong> — a custom resource the mod precaches is missing server-side. Put the exact file at the path in the error.</li>
<li><strong>Clients see missing models but the server runs</strong> — the resources are on the server but not downloading. Fix <a href="/tutorials/fix-fastdl-not-working">FastDL</a> so clients pull them.</li>
<li><strong>Levels reset every reconnect</strong> — the saving backend is not writing. For nvault, the <code>data/</code> folder is not writable; for MySQL, the connection cvars are wrong. Check the AMXX log.</li>
<li><strong>Some abilities do nothing</strong> — a race plugin failed to load (<code>bad load</code> in <code>amxx plugins</code>), usually a missing module it needs.</li>
<li><strong>Everyone shares one level on a non-Steam server</strong> — colliding SteamIDs. Configure Reunion so each player gets a stable ID.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Verification</h2>
<p>Change map, run <code>amxx plugins</code>, and confirm the WC3 main plugin and every race plugin read <code>running</code>. Join, open the race menu (usually a chat command such as <code>/changerace</code> or a bound menu key), pick a race, get a kill and confirm you earn XP and eventually level up. Then disconnect and reconnect — your level should be restored, which proves the saving backend works. If it is, the mod is fully installed; tune the XP curve and race balance in the WC3 config to taste.</p>
