Play classic WoW on iPhone, iPad and Android

How WoW on a phone works here

Blizzard never made a phone version of classic World of Warcraft, and the old 1.12 client only runs on computers. Keldurn takes another route: the game opens in the browser that already comes with your phone or tablet, and a layer of touch controls sits over the classic interface.

It is not a video stream of a remote computer. The game runs on your device, so the picture stays sharp and you do not need a cloud gaming plan. There is also nothing to install from the App Store or Google Play, and no Windows emulator.

The first visit takes longer while the browser gets the game ready. After that, opening the game from the same browser is much quicker. Use Wi-Fi for that first visit if you can.

On iPhone: Safari, step by step

Safari is the browser to use on an iPhone. It is updated with iOS, so the first step is always Settings, General, Software Update. Other browsers on the iPhone use the same engine as Safari, so they rarely change anything; Safari is the one we check first.

Then follow this order on your first evening:

1. Close the apps you are not using: swipe up from the bottom of the screen, pause, and swipe the other apps away.
2. Open Safari and close tabs you no longer need, especially other games, maps and video sites.
3. Go to keldurn.com, create the account or sign in, and create your character.
4. Turn the iPhone to landscape. If it stays upright, open Control Center and switch off Portrait Orientation Lock.
5. Wait for the first entry with the screen on. Do not switch to another app until the world appears.
6. Once in, open the game options and choose a graphics quality that keeps the phone cool.

On iPad: touch, or keyboard and trackpad

An iPad gives the classic interface much more room. In Safari, the steps are the same as on an iPhone: update iPadOS, close what you do not need, open keldurn.com and hold the tablet in landscape. Touch controls work exactly as on the phone, with more space between buttons.

The iPad can also become something close to a laptop. Pair a keyboard and a trackpad or mouse, either a keyboard case or any Bluetooth set, and play with the keys and the pointer as you would on a computer. Many players keep a tablet on a stand at home for exactly this: a quiet evening of questing, on the sofa, without turning on the PC.

If you use a keyboard, check the key bindings in the game options once. Some keyboard shortcuts belong to iPadOS or Safari, and a spell bound to one of them may not reach the game, so move it to another key.

On Android: Chrome, step by step

Android phones and tablets come from many makers, so menus differ a little, but the route is the same. Use Chrome, which is the browser we check first on Android.

On your first evening:

1. Update the system in Settings (usually under System or Software update), then update Chrome from the Play Store.
2. Close apps you are not using from the recent apps view, and close extra tabs in Chrome.
3. If a power saving or battery saver mode is on, switch it off while you play; it can slow the game down a lot.
4. Open keldurn.com, create the account or sign in, and create your character.
5. Turn the phone to landscape, and switch auto-rotate on in the quick settings if the screen does not turn.
6. Keep Chrome in front during the first entry, then pick a graphics quality in the game options that keeps the phone comfortable.

Touch controls: moving, camera, targets and action bars

The touch layer is drawn over the classic interface, so the world, the unit frames and the minimap look as they always did. These are the four things you do most:

• Move. Hold your thumb on the movement pad on the left side of the screen and slide it in the direction you want to walk.
• Turn the camera. Drag on the open part of the screen with your other thumb to look around.
• Choose a target. Tap a creature, a player or a quest giver to target it, the same way you would click it with a mouse.
• Use the action bars. Tap the buttons of your action bars to cast spells and use abilities and items.

Spend the first few levels getting used to it: starting zones are forgiving, and the controls feel natural after a couple of quests.

Why landscape, and how to give the game the whole screen

The 1.12 interface was designed for wide computer screens. In landscape your character, the action bars and the minimap all fit, and your thumbs rest at the sides where the controls are. In portrait there is simply not enough width, so always turn the device sideways.

To give the game as much of the screen as possible, close the other tabs, keep the browser bars out of the way by scrolling the page fully into view before you enter the world, and turn off anything that draws over other apps, such as chat bubbles or screen recorders. A phone stand or a case that props the phone up saves your wrists on long sessions.

Battery and heat: keeping the phone comfortable

A 3D game asks more of a phone than social media or video, so it uses more battery and warms the device. A phone that gets hot slows itself down to cool off, and the game feels it. A few habits make a big difference:

• Lower the graphics quality. It is the single most effective change on a phone. The classic world still looks like itself on lighter settings.
• Lower the screen brightness a little. The screen is one of the biggest users of battery.
• Play away from direct sun and take the phone out of a thick case. Heat has nowhere to go in the sun or inside a heavy case.
• Charge before, not during, a long session if the phone gets warm. Charging adds heat of its own. If you must charge, keep the phone in the open air.
• Leave Low Power Mode or battery saver for travel. They save battery by slowing the device down, so the game is less smooth while they are on.

When the page reloads by itself

The most common phone complaint is that the page suddenly reloads, or the browser shows the site from the start. Phones close or reload the heaviest tab when they run short of room for everything that is open, and a game is usually the heaviest thing in the browser.

Your character is never lost when this happens: it is saved on the realm, and you can sign in again straight away. To make it rare:

• Close the other apps you are not using before you play, especially other games, the camera and video apps.
• Close the other browser tabs. A dozen open pages in the background compete with the game.
• Keep the phone or tablet updated; system and browser updates often make heavy pages steadier.
• Lower the graphics quality in the game options.
• Restart the phone now and then, especially if it has been on for days.
• Do not switch to another app for long during play; when you come back, the system may have reloaded the tab to save room.

Honest expectations: what a phone is good for

Recent phones and tablets play best. Older or entry-level devices can start the game but may run slowly in busy places such as capital cities, and they are the ones most likely to reload the page. If your device is several years old, try it in a starting zone with a low graphics quality before planning a long evening.

A phone is very good for questing, travelling, gathering, professions, the auction house and chatting with your guild. Five-player dungeons work, but with more buttons to press and less room to read the fight. Large raids such as Molten Core, with forty players and a busy screen, are much more comfortable on a computer with a keyboard and mouse, and that is where we would play them.

Many players split it that way: the phone for the bus, the lunch break and the sofa, the computer for raid night. Because the character is the same, that split costs nothing.

The same character on phone and PC

There is one account and one realm for every device. Create a character on your iPhone and you will find it on your Windows PC, your Mac, your Chromebook or the Windows client, with the same level, gear, gold, quests and professions. Nothing has to be synced or copied.

Some settings belong to each device, such as graphics quality, so the phone can run lighter settings than the desktop without changing anything there. Your friends list and guild are on the realm, so your friends see you online whichever device you use.

Devices, browsers and tips at a glance

Older or entry-level devices can play, but recent devices give the steadiest experience.