Vanilla Naxxramas (AzerothCore Module)

An AzerothCore module that brings back the original level 60 Naxxramas experience to a 3.3.5a world, alongside the WotLK version, without requiring any client patches.

Why I Built It

AzerothCore has a strong focus on progression-style gameplay, but one key piece of history was missing: the vanilla-era Naxxramas that was removed in 3.0.

The goals for this module were:

• Restore removed content that can no longer be reached in a stock 3.3.5a client
• Keep the experience as close as possible to vanilla, within 3.3.5 client limitations
• Make it usable by other servers via the AzerothCore Modules Catalogue

What started as a "is this even feasible?" challenge turned into one of my most used and most time-intensive modules. It required:

• Porting large amounts of quests, NPCs, items, spells, SmartAI, and loot from older cores
• Designing mechanics so the vanilla and WotLK Naxx can co-exist on the same instance map and scripts
• Iterating through multiple approaches, bug fixes, and balance passes until it felt right in play

Several people had previously tried similar restorations and concluded that it was too much work. This project was my attempt to prove it could be done end‑to‑end.

Highlights

• New 10-player heroic difficulty hosting the level 60 version of Naxxramas
• Flying Naxxramas restored over Plaguewood in Eastern Plaguelands
• Stratholme entrance reintroduced: unlock the original entry via an attunement quest from Light's Hope Chapel
• Teleport shortcuts:
  • A teleporter gameobject in Plaguewood Ziggurath after attunement
  • Optional map patch to restore the original Plaguewood teleporter hub
• Full quest and loot restoration:
  • Previously unobtainable Naxx quests (including Tier 3 lines)
  • Boss and trash loot tables reconstructed
  • Frozen Runes and frost resistance crafting brought back
• NPCs and encounters:
  • Restored trash mobs, vendors, and NPCs like Omarion (with reputation and profession checks)
  • Tarsis and Atiesh-related roleplay
  • Vanilla-specific boss mechanics reimplemented where possible (e.g. Razuvious, the Horsemen, Heigan, etc.)

Screenshots and a full change breakdown live in the project wiki.

Co-existence with WotLK Naxxramas

A core design challenge was letting vanilla Naxx and WotLK Naxx share:

• The same instance map
• Many of the same spell IDs and scripts

The module uses careful data separation and scripting so that:

• Both versions can exist on the same server
• Changes to AzerothCore's WotLK Naxx scripts are less likely to break the vanilla version
• Server owners can integrate the module without rewriting their existing progression setup

This required a detailed checklist and several refactors as upstream code evolved.

Effort and Scope

This is one of the modules I invested the most time into:

• Systematically restored every relevant creature, quest, spell, SmartAI script, and loot entry
• Verified progression logic and attunement flows to match the original intent
• Addressed multiple rounds of issues reported by players and other module authors

Because of this depth, the module is included in the official AzerothCore Modules Catalogue and is actively used in real servers.

Learnings

• How to port complex content from older core projects (cmangos, vmangos, etc.) into AzerothCore while staying maintainable
• Strategies to layer restored content on top of an existing expansion without forking the core
• The importance of having a clear data checklist and test scenarios when dealing with large, interdependent content sets

Links

• Code and wiki: https://github.com/sogladev/mod-vanilla-naxxramas
• AzerothCore module catalogue entry: https://www.azerothcore.org/catalogue#/
• Screenshots, detailed change list, and installation guide: see the project wiki