mod-playerbots (SkyFire)

A port of the AzerothCore playerbots system to SkyFire (World of Warcraft 5.4.8 / Mists of Pandaria), intended to populate a test server with bot players so features such as LFG, LFR, random battlegrounds, arenas and open-world activity can be exercised without a large human population.

Command reference: see COMMANDS.md for every GM slash command and whisper/party order (including what is not ported yet, such as co / nc).

Upstream references:

• Core fork: https://github.com/mod-playerbots/azerothcore-wotlk/tree/Playerbot
• Module: https://github.com/mod-playerbots/mod-playerbots
• AC command wiki: https://github.com/mod-playerbots/mod-playerbots/wiki/Playerbot-Commands

Status

This module is being ported in phases. What is present today:

• Integrated into SkyFire's new module system (builds + links automatically).
• Configuration (playerbots.conf.dist) and a PlayerbotMgr that reads it.
• Phase 1 core hooks: socketless bot WorldSession, synchronous character login, and a per-player tick hook (PlayerScript::OnUpdate).
• GM commands and chat orders — full tables in COMMANDS.md.
• Basic bot AI: follow/assist when grouped, combat fillers, LFG role/proposal answers, solo wander, auto-accept trade/duel, corpse loot, and opportunistic free repair near repair NPCs.
• Self-bot mode (.playerbots self): you move, AI casts fillers / Wave-1 per-spec rotations (Ret, WW, BM, Shadow, Affliction, Elemental).
• Per-spec rotation framework under src/rotations/ (Hekili .simc as offline reference).

Self-bot mode

.playerbots self attaches AI to your character without replacing the client session:

• You move and jump as normal.
• In combat the AI picks a target (selection / attackers / attack order) and casts the class filler when you are in range with LoS.
• .playerbots init (or whisper autogear / maintenance to a bot) refreshes gear and spec. On yourself: .playerbots init or .playerbots init self.

Toggle again or .playerbots self off to detach.

Bot auto-creation

The auto-creator provisions dedicated bot accounts and fills them with characters, so you do not have to create bot accounts/characters by hand. It is driven entirely by the Playerbots.AutoCreate.* keys and is incremental and idempotent - existing accounts and characters are reused, only the missing ones are created.

• Accounts are named <AccountPrefix><n> (e.g. RNDBOT1 .. RNDBOTn) up to Playerbots.AutoCreate.AccountCount. New accounts get the realm's expansion so every race/class is available.
• Each account is filled to Playerbots.AutoCreate.CharactersPerAccount characters. For each character the faction is chosen by AlliancePct, the role by TankPct / HealerPct (remainder become DPS), and a class capable of that role plus a valid race for the faction are selected. Characters are created at Playerbots.AutoCreate.Level. Death Knights and neutral Pandaren are skipped.
• If the start level is at least 10, the character is given the specialization matching its rolled role (e.g. a tank Warrior gets Protection) and learns the spells that spec grants for its level, so it can actually fill the role. Use .playerbots init to re-apply this later (after leveling, respec, etc.).

Run it on demand with .playerbots create, or set Playerbots.AutoCreate.OnStartup = 1 to run it once when the world boots. Newly created characters are picked up by the random-bot pool automatically.

Gear and role changes (.playerbots init)

.playerbots init re-gears an active bot for its current level and spec (level is unchanged unless you pass relevel):

• Existing equipment (except shirt/tabard) is cleared and each slot is refilled with the best uncommon-to-epic item the bot can equip, biased toward the spec's primary stat (STR/AGI/INT). Armor slots prefer the heaviest armor type the class can wear at that level; weapons/shields/off-hands/ranged are chosen per class and role. Re-run it after leveling to pull in level-appropriate upgrades (e.g. gear a fresh level-80 bot).
• Optional relevel rolls a new level in AutoCreate.MinLevel–MaxLevel (set Min=Max for a fixed level), then gears for that level.
• Optional tele / teleport scatters the bot to a level- and faction-safe open-world anchor after gear (and after relevel if used), so the destination matches the bot’s final level. Levels 1–5 go to homebind / race spawn instead of a random hub.
• First-time gear on create / first login also scatters when Playerbots.AutoCreate.TeleportOnInit = 1 (default), except levels 1–5 which stay at their normal starting area.
• Learns remaining class trainer spells for the bot's level, plus SkillLine / specialization spells.
• Teaches riding by level (20/40/60/70/80) and one random mount per unlocked tier (normal ground, swift ground, flying, epic flying) from faction pools.
• Add a role token (tank/healer/dps) to change the bot's spec first, then re-gear for the new role - e.g. .playerbots init Arix tank.

What is not implemented yet (tracked in PORTING.md):

• Mounts (learn/use a default ground/flying mount).
• Vendor sell-junk, rest/eat/drink, gossip/quest NPC interaction.
• Deeper per-spec combat rotations.
• Full AC-style co/nc strategy engine, RTSC, loot-lists, item/vendor chat ops.
• The automated LFG/LFR/RBG queue behaviour.

To try it: set Playerbots.Enable = 1, then .playerbots add <charname> for a character that is offline. The bot appears in the world at its saved location.

Building

Nothing special is required. With the SkyFire module system enabled (-DMODULES=1, the default), this folder is compiled into the modules library and linked into worldserver automatically.

Configuration

Copy playerbots.conf.dist to playerbots.conf next to worldserver.conf (the build also stages a copy next to the binary) and set Playerbots.Enable = 1.

Database (SQL)

Module SQL lives under sql/ and is not applied by the core updater. Apply files to the matching database:

Path	Database
sql/characters/playerbots_preferred_mounts.sql	characters

Preferred mounts: the table is also created at runtime with CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS on module load, so a fresh characters DB will not error. Keep the SQL file for tooling, backups, and manual apply.

Why this is a port, not a drop-in

The upstream module targets AzerothCore, which is WotLK (3.3.5a). SkyFire is MoP (5.4.8): the class/spell system, talent trees, LFG internals, packet/opcode layout, and many core APIs differ substantially. Upstream also requires a forked core with extra hooks, so a straight copy does not compile. PORTING.md describes the staged approach used here.