What a World of Warcraft build number means
A World of Warcraft build number like 1.15.9.69722 has two parts: a version (1.15.9) and a build id (69722). The version is the patch label; the build id is the specific client Blizzard compiled and shipped. Two builds can share a version and differ only in build id, so ForeverDiff records the full build number plus the exact config hashes Blizzard's patch server reports, and every value on the site traces to one exact build.
- Version (1.15.9): the patch label, shared across many builds.
- Build id (69722): the specific client compile, unique to that build.
- We store both, plus the BuildConfig and CDNConfig hashes, so a value is never ambiguous about which client it came from.
The version and the build id
Read left to right, 1.15.9.69722 is a version (1.15.9) followed by a build id (69722). The version is the human-facing patch label. The build id is an incrementing number Blizzard assigns to each client it compiles, so it climbs even when the version does not change.
Why the build id matters
The same patch can ship as several builds. ForeverDiff currently tracks two Classic Era builds, 1.15.9.69547 and 1.15.9.69722: same version, different build id. If we cited only the version, a value could belong to either. Citing the full build number, and the config hashes below, removes that ambiguity.
How we read it, and what we store
We poll Blizzard's public patch server, which lists, for each product, the current build with its BuildConfig and CDNConfig hashes. We store those hashes verbatim in each build's dataset record, along with the pinned version of the community column definitions we parsed with. That record, re-hashed against the committed data at build time, is what makes every value on the site checkable. See the methodology and any build page for the exact fields.
Frequently asked
Is 1.15.9.69722 the same as patch 1.15.9?
It is one specific build of patch 1.15.9. The patch (the version) can ship as multiple builds, each with its own build id. ForeverDiff always cites the full build number.
Where does ForeverDiff get the build number?
From Blizzard's own public patch server, which advertises each product's current build and its config hashes. We record those hashes so the data traces back to the exact client.