u/Powerful-Joke5120

I’m completely new to self-hosting and private WoW servers, so I’m looking for some guidance before I dive in.

My goal is to create a Wrath of the Lich King server that’s primarily a solo experience, but one that still feels like a living MMO.
My ideal setup would be something like this:
Bots that roam the world instead of just sitting in cities.
Bots that level, quest, gather professions, craft, use the auction house, and contribute to the economy.
Eventually, enough capable bots that I can run dungeons and raids with them.
A world that feels populated even though I’m mostly playing alone.
I’m still trying to decide whether I should:
Host everything locally (VM on my main PC? Dedicated home server?)
Or rent a small cloud VPS if that’s a better long-term option.
A few questions:

How many bots would you recommend before the world starts feeling “alive”?
50?
100?
250?
500?
More?

I’m not trying to perfectly simulate retail population—just enough that questing, cities, and the economy don’t feel empty.

I’d also like a few real-life friends to join occasionally.
Does that significantly change the hardware requirements or server setup?

Server software
Right now I’m leaning toward AzerothCore because it seems beginner-friendly and has a large community.
Is that still the recommendation in 2026 for this kind of project?

Client
Which WotLK client should I use?
I’ve seen people mention ChromieCraft, but I’m not sure if that’s just a public server or if they distribute a client that’s recommended for AzerothCore.

Progression
Is it possible to make an AzerothCore server progressive?

For example:
Start with only vanilla content available.
Then unlock Burning Crusade.
Eventually unlock Wrath raids over time.
Or is progression mostly something I’d have to enforce manually?

Finally, if anyone has done something similar (solo MMO with bots), I’d love to hear:
what bot system you used,
how many bots you ended up running,
what hardware you’re using,
and anything you wish you’d known before starting.

With how fast AI is advancing, how realistic is it that we’ll eventually be able to host a local Classic WoW server populated almost entirely by AI players?

I don’t mean scripted bots—I mean AI that can level, quest, dungeon, PvP, chat naturally, form guilds, and interact with you like real players.

For those working on projects like AzerothCore or TrinityCore, what’s the biggest hurdle? Are we talking 2–5 years, 10+ years, or is it still much further away? I’d love to hear what people in the emulation community think.