Archive Formats

Archive formats are used to store and compress World of Warcraft game assets.

Supported Formats

MPQ Format

The primary archive format used by Blizzard games. MPQ archives can contain any type of game asset including models, textures, sounds, and data files.

Key Features:

• Multiple compression algorithms (ZLIB, PKWare, BZip2, LZMA)
• File encryption support
• Patching capability
• Efficient hash-based file lookup

Common Use Cases

Extracting Game Assets

#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
use wow_mpq::Archive;

let mut archive = Archive::open("Data/art.mpq")?;
let entries = archive.list()?;
for entry in entries {
    println!("{}: {} bytes", entry.name, entry.size);
}
}

Working with Patches

WoW uses a patch chain system where newer MPQs override files in older ones:

• base-*.mpq - Base game files
• patch-*.mpq - Incremental patches
• locale-*.mpq - Localization files

Tools

• warcraft-rs mpq - CLI commands for MPQ operations
• Ladik’s MPQ Editor - Popular Windows MPQ editor

Performance Tips

1. Caching: Cache frequently accessed files in memory
2. Streaming: Read files on demand rather than extracting all at once
3. Parallel Extraction: Use --threads flag in CLI for concurrent extraction
4. Compression: Choose appropriate compression for your use case

See Also

• Working with MPQ Archives Guide
• MPQ Format Specification