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This installation guide was created because installing and getting Wakfu to run on Linux is a real pain, especially if you have a 4K display. Though it can also be equally difficult on Windows at times. There is very limited information in getting the game to work on Linux and with multiple methods for installation, the process can be very confusing. This guide is my attempt at making this game accessible to anyone using Linux. The steps should be exactly the same for anyone using Ubuntu, Mint or Debian etc.
Anyway, hopefuly this guide will make it easy for you to get playing Wakfu.
Quick note: Wakfu was written in Java. Depending on how you try to install the game, it will either try to use its own bundled version of Java, or it will look in your device's PATH for an appropriate version. Before installing Wakfu you should make sure that you have Java installed for compatibility sake, see below for instructions on doing this.
Do not use Lutris, the install scripts are ancient. It is also not necessary to use Wine at all.
Additional steps should be taken if you want proper HiDPI (4K 3840x2160) support. You have two choices:
- Just play in fullscreen which will increase the UI size automatically but make game textures blurry on a 4K display.
- If you want to play in Windowed mode and/or don't want to suffer full screen blurry textures do the following:
Update the Wakfu launch script ("/zaap/wakfu/zaap-start.sh" by default).
Look for line: java_options=$6
If it is empty, replace it with (if not empty, add the part with the dash '-' to the end):
java_options="$6 -Dsun.java2d.uiScale.enabled=false"
Additionally you could just do this in the launcher which is safer. From the Launcher main screen > Click "Options" (Cog Button) > Check "Display Advanced User Settings" > Scroll down to "Java Options" > Add -Dsun.java2d.uiScale.enabled=false to the end (with a space before the dash '-').
Now run the game, select Windowed graphics mode and drag the window to the size that you want. Notice that now the UI and text size actually increases with the size of the Window. Texutres in-game should also not become blurry unless you make the window too large on your 4K screen.
Which of the following methods you pick, or which one works the best for you depends on many different factors.
Such as:
- How much effort do you want to put into getting the game to work?
- How well does the game run for you?
- Do you want to use Steam and/or get Steam Achievements? (protip: They've been broken for years and almost never work)
- Do you only want to play Wakfu or do you want the ability to install other Ankama games e.g. "Dofus"?
- Are you going to use the Ankama store to buy premium items?
All of these questions are relevant when using Linux because the game often won't run out of the box and when it does run, you will still encounter certain problems like the premium store not working, Steam achievements not unlocking and the Steam overlay not working et cetera.
For people who know very little about Linux, but who are not going to be buying things from the Ankama store, I recommend the 1st (Steam) option below. For everyone else, I recommend option 2.
Fastest install option (least compatibility, highest chance of issues, limited to only playing Wakfu)
If you don't care about notes 3, 4 and 5 above. You can just install the game via Steam. Download the launcher using Steam and install in the default directory. If the game refuses to run when you click "Play" then run the following in a terminal:
sudo apt install openjdk-8-jdksudo update-alternatives --config javaPick the number for the jdk you just installed (usually option 2) and press Enter. The game should now launch when you press Play. Note that the Steam overlay and premium store almost certainly will not work this way OOTB on Linux.
The next option is to download the Ankama Launcher .appimage here: https://download.ankama.com/launcher/full/linux/x64
Make the .appimage executable and run it. Then install the game(s) as normal via the launcher. Pick a good easy location such as /home//Games/wakfu
Install the game and if necessary use the HiDPI 4K resolution fix explained above. This launcher will allow you to install Dofus the same way. Also, the Ankama store works this way.
I do not recommend this method as it involves messing around with file permissions and has the least amount of compatibility. I would only attempt it if nothing else works.
Download wakfu.zip from here: https://support.ankama.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017472154-Install-the-Ankama-Launcher#other-games
Extract the .zip somewhere. Open wakfu/bin/en and make linux64.sh executable (Properties > Permissions > Allow Executing as a Program).
Then, from inside the directory and in a terminal run:
./linux64.shFollow in the instructions, make sure to change relevant file user permissions if necessary. Java must also be correctly installed on your system.
That's it, enjoy the world of twelve and if you haven't already, check out the Anime!