I've been working on a patch that allows you to host games without port forwarding (nor change any settings).
To be able to use it you'll have to download the wsock32.dll file below and place it into your game folder while the game is not running.
Both, the host and the player that likes to join the game will need to have the file in their game folder, it doesn't work if only one of them got the file.Note: The patch is also included in
War2Combat 46 in case you don't know how to copy a file into your game folder:
http://en.war2.ru/downloads/Even if you've already forwarded your port and you can host games, you can still download the file (It will allow you to join games hosted by those that didn't forward the port).
It should work for around 80% of the players. It does very highly likely not work for those that often cause "conflicts" (Symmetric NAT), but you can give it a try anyways if you like.
To verify that you've installed the patch correctly go to
https://server.war2.ru/status/ and check if you got the green dot next to your name:
Edit 2025:
Still cannot join each others games? The latency to the game creator is too high? Waiting for response? Games connect but they are very laggy/unplayable? It's probably because one of the following reasons:1. Bad internet provider or bad VPN (Symmetrc NAT) - use the port test tool to check:
https://github.com/FunkyFr3sh/Warcraft-II-Port-Test/releases2. Broken port forward in your router - Log in to you router and remove the port forward (you don't need it anymore with the patch)
3. You are trying to play with someone who is connecting from the same internet connection. This doesn't work, you need to use a VPN or play LAN/IPX games instead (Go to Multiplayer->Enhanced->IPX network)
Important: For playing LAN/IPX games you'll also need to download the wsock32.dll below, the file has been updated in january 2025 to add proper support for LAN games as well.
