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Troubleshooting
Keleborn edited this page 2026-03-12 13:29:02 -07:00
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Troubleshooting

This page covers the most common issues encountered when installing and running mod-playerbots, based on community support experience. If your issue isn't listed here, check the Discord server or open a GitHub issue.


Table of Contents


Build & Compilation Issues

Hundreds of compilation errors (500+)

Cause: You are building mod-playerbots against the standard AzerothCore repository instead of the required Playerbots fork.

Fix: You must use the Playerbots fork:

git clone https://github.com/mod-playerbots/azerothcore-wotlk.git --branch=Playerbot

The standard azerothcore/azerothcore-wotlk repository will not work. See the Installation Guide for full instructions.


Thousands of "unused parameter" warnings

Cause: The mod-playerbots codebase has not yet been fully cleaned up for compiler warnings. These are cosmetic and do not affect functionality.

Fix: Suppress warnings by adding this to your cmake command:

cmake .. -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="-w"

Or set -DWITH_WARNINGS=0. This also significantly speeds up recompilation since the compiler skips warning output.


Third-party module fails to compile after update

Cause: The playerbots AzerothCore fork may be behind the latest upstream AzerothCore. Modules targeting the newest AC version may reference APIs or headers that don't exist yet or have changed in the fork.

Fix: Use an older release or commit of the third-party module that matches the fork's AC version. Check the module's release history or ask in Discord for a known-compatible version.


Visual Studio runs out of memory during compilation (Windows)

Fix: In Visual Studio, go to Tools > Options > Projects and Solutions > Build and Run and set maximum number of parallel project builds to 4 (down from the default).


Database Issues

Table 'XXXX' doesn't exist

Cause: The playerbots SQL files were not imported into the database. The auto-updater does not always pick up module SQL files.

Fix: Manually import the SQL files:

mysql -u acore -p acore_characters < modules/mod-playerbots/sql/characters/base/playerbots_characters.sql
mysql -u acore -p acore_world < modules/mod-playerbots/sql/world/base/playerbots_world.sql

Make sure you import to the correct databases: character SQL goes to acore_characters, world SQL goes to acore_world.


Unknown database 'acore_playerbots'

Cause: The acore_playerbots database was not created, or the database user does not have permission to access it. The playerbots module uses this database in addition to the standard acore_characters and acore_world databases.

Fix: Create the database and grant permissions:

CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS acore_playerbots;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON acore_playerbots.* TO 'acore'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Then restart the server.


Configuration Issues

Changes to playerbots.conf have no effect

Cause: You may have edited the .conf.dist file in the module source directory instead of the .conf file in the server's configuration directory.

Fix: Edit the configuration file in your server's install directory:

<install_dir>/etc/modules/playerbots.conf       # Linux/macOS
<install_dir>\configs\modules\playerbots.conf    # Windows

The .conf.dist files are templates. The server reads .conf files from the install directory, not from the source folders. Both .conf.distand .confare required for the module to work correctly.


.playerbot command doesn't exist in-game

Cause: The module was not compiled into the server.

Fix:

  1. Verify the module is in azerothcore-wotlk/modules/mod-playerbots/ before building.
  2. Rebuild the server (cmake + make/build).

Server Crashes & Performance

Server diff time steadily increases / server becomes laggy

Cause: Too many bots for your hardware, or not enough processing threads.

Fix:

  1. Increase map update threads in worldserver.conf:

    MapUpdate.Threads = 4
    

    Set this to 46 for most systems (roughly number of CPU cores minus 2).

  2. Reduce bot count. Start with 50200 bots and scale up while monitoring performance. Check with .server info in-game.


Server crashes in dungeons/raids with bots

Possible causes:

  • Conflicting modules (especially Individual Progression + Playerbots)
  • Uninitialized bot strategies for specific encounters

Fix:

  1. Disable conflicting modules to isolate the issue.
  2. Update to the latest playerbots version.
  3. Report crashes with full logs and stack traces as a GitHub issue.

To get useful crash logs:

  • Linux: Run worldserver under GDB: gdb -ex run ./worldserver and type bt after the crash.
  • Windows: Check the crash log in your server directory or enable Windows Error Reporting.

Platform-Specific Issues


Docker Issues

Worldserver stuck in boot loop / Unknown database errors

Cause: The Docker db-import container does not automatically import module SQL files, and the acore_playerbots database may not have been created.

Fix:

  1. Ensure the acore_playerbots database exists and the user has permissions (connect to the MySQL container or use an admin tool):

    CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS acore_playerbots;
    GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON acore_playerbots.* TO 'acore'@'%';
    FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
    
  2. Copy the module SQL files to the custom import directories before building:

    mkdir -p data/sql/custom/db_characters data/sql/custom/db_world
    cp modules/mod-playerbots/sql/characters/base/*.sql data/sql/custom/db_characters/
    cp modules/mod-playerbots/sql/world/base/*.sql data/sql/custom/db_world/
    
  3. Restart the containers: docker compose down && docker compose up -d --build


Client & Gameplay Issues

Bots don't cast spells / have missing abilities

Cause: Non-enUS DBC files are being used on the server. The bot spell system relies on enUS spell name lookups.

Fix: Use enUS DBC files server-side. Your game client can be in any language — only the server-side DBC files need to be enUS.


Bots stuck at level 1 after hours of running

Cause: Bots need time and proper configuration to level. On first startup with many bots, the system is initializing.

Fix:

  1. Let the server run for a full cycle (check playerbots.conf for bot update intervals).
  2. Ensure AiPlayerbot.RandomBotAutologin = 1 is set.
  3. Check server logs for SQL or pathfinding errors that might be preventing bot activity.

Still Need Help?