Battle.net Arch Linux Install Guide

A guide for installing the Battle.net launcher on Arch Linux (2026).

Note on this revision: This guide has been substantially rewritten and scoped to Arch Linux. The original targeted Wine 5.x, DXVK 1.7.1, Ubuntu 20.04 "focal", and Debian 10, and relied on winetricks recipes (dotnet48, vcrun*, manual DXVK copy) that are no longer necessary or recommended. Modern Battle.net runs well out of the box with Proton-GE or a recent wine-staging, without .NET, manual DXVK, or DirectX redistributable hacks.

---

TL;DR — Which method should I use?

Method	Best for	Effort
umu-launcher (standalone Proton, no Steam)	Scripting, minimal installs, homelab. Recommended.	Low
Steam + Proton-GE (non-Steam shortcut)	People who already run Steam.	Low
Lutris (official installer script)	People who want a GUI game manager.	Low–Medium
Bottles (Flatpak, Gaming environment)	Flatpak-first setups.	Low
Manual wine-staging prefix	Pure-Wine purists, non-Proton setups.	High

If you just want it to work: use Method 1 (umu). It gives you Proton-grade compatibility without Steam, and the upstream protonfix for Battle.net automatically applies the workarounds you'd otherwise have to remember.

---

Prerequisites

Enable [multilib] in /etc/pacman.conf if you haven't already. Uncomment these two lines:

[multilib]
Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

Then:

sudo pacman -Syu

You do not need [testing], [core-testing], or [multilib-testing] enabled. The old guide told you to enable those — don't. Testing repos are for people actively helping test Arch itself and will periodically break your system.

Install the common 32-bit graphics and audio libraries most Wine/Proton setups want:

sudo pacman -S --needed \
  wine-staging winetricks \
  giflib lib32-giflib \
  libpng lib32-libpng \
  libldap lib32-libldap \
  gnutls lib32-gnutls \
  mpg123 lib32-mpg123 \
  openal lib32-openal \
  v4l-utils lib32-v4l-utils \
  libpulse lib32-libpulse \
  alsa-plugins lib32-alsa-plugins \
  alsa-lib lib32-alsa-lib \
  libjpeg-turbo lib32-libjpeg-turbo \
  sqlite lib32-sqlite \
  libxcomposite lib32-libxcomposite \
  libxinerama lib32-libxinerama \
  ncurses lib32-ncurses \
  opencl-icd-loader lib32-opencl-icd-loader \
  libxslt lib32-libxslt \
  libva lib32-libva \
  gtk3 lib32-gtk3 \
  gst-plugins-base-libs lib32-gst-plugins-base-libs \
  vulkan-icd-loader lib32-vulkan-icd-loader \
  cups samba

For an NVIDIA GPU, also install lib32-nvidia-utils. For AMD/Intel, lib32-mesa and lib32-vulkan-radeon or lib32-vulkan-intel.

---

⚠️ Before you start — things the old guide got wrong

• Do not run Wine, winecfg, winetricks, or game launchers with sudo. Wine prefixes are designed to live in your user's home directory. Running Wine as root corrupts ownership, creates a /root prefix, and is a real security risk since you're executing untrusted Windows binaries as root. Every command in this guide runs as your regular user.
• You do not need dotnet48, vcrun2003/2005/2008/2012/2013, or directplay. Modern Battle.net ships its own CEF runtime.
• You do not need to manually install DXVK into system32. Proton-GE bundles a current DXVK and VKD3D.
• You do not need the 2010 DirectX End-User Runtime redist. Battle.net doesn't need it, and games that do will install their own D3DX DLLs.
• win64 prefixes are now the default and correct choice. No WINEARCH=win32 needed.
• Don't enable Arch testing repos unless you're specifically helping test them.

---

Method 1 — umu-launcher (recommended)

umu-launcher is the Open Wine Components project (from the GE-Proton maintainers) that makes Proton usable outside Steam. It manages Proton versions, runs games inside the Steam Runtime container, and automatically applies protonfixes — including the upstream fix for Battle.net that handles the WINE_SIMULATE_WRITECOPY=1 workaround for you.

1. Install umu-launcher

sudo pacman -S umu-launcher

Verify:

umu-run --help

2. Download the Battle.net installer

curl -L -o ~/Downloads/Battle.net-Setup.exe \
  "https://downloader.battle.net/download/getInstaller?os=win&installer=Battle.net-Setup.exe"

3. Run the installer through umu

export WINEPREFIX="$HOME/Games/battlenet-umu"
export GAMEID="umu-battlenet"
export PROTONPATH="GE-Proton"   # auto-downloads latest GE-Proton

umu-run ~/Downloads/Battle.net-Setup.exe

umu will:

• Download the latest GE-Proton into ~/.local/share/Steam/compatibilitytools.d/ if it isn't there.
• Create the prefix at ~/Games/battlenet-umu.
• Look up umu-battlenet in the protonfixes database and pre-apply the needed env vars and tweaks.

Complete the installer at the default path.

4. Create a launch script

~/.local/bin/battlenet:

#!/bin/sh
export WINEPREFIX="$HOME/Games/battlenet-umu"
export GAMEID="umu-battlenet"
export PROTONPATH="GE-Proton"
exec umu-run "$WINEPREFIX/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Battle.net/Battle.net Launcher.exe" "$@"

chmod +x ~/.local/bin/battlenet

Make sure ~/.local/bin is on your PATH (it is by default on most Arch shells). Now battlenet in any terminal starts the launcher.

5. (Optional) Desktop entry

~/.local/share/applications/battlenet.desktop:

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Battle.net
Exec=/home/YOUR_USERNAME/.local/bin/battlenet
Icon=battlenet
Type=Application
Categories=Game;

6. (Optional) Pin a specific Proton version

If a GE-Proton release ever regresses Battle.net, pin a known-good one instead of tracking latest:

export PROTONPATH="GE-Proton9-20"

It needs to exist in ~/.local/share/Steam/compatibilitytools.d/.

---

Method 2 — Steam + Proton-GE (non-Steam shortcut)

Good if you already have Steam installed.

1. Install Steam and ProtonUp-Qt

sudo pacman -S steam
# ProtonUp-Qt is on the AUR:
yay -S protonup-qt    # or use paru, or grab the Flatpak

Log into Steam at least once. Open ProtonUp-Qt, point it at your Steam install, and install the latest GE-Proton. Restart Steam.

2. Download the Battle.net installer

Get Battle.net-Setup.exe from https://download.battle.net/?product=bnetdesk.

3. Add it to Steam as a non-Steam game

1. In Steam: Games → Add a Non-Steam Game to My Library → Browse and select Battle.net-Setup.exe.
2. Right-click the new entry → Properties → Compatibility → tick Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool → select the latest GE-Proton.
3. Under Launch Options, paste:

   WINE_SIMULATE_WRITECOPY=1 %command%
   

   This works around a CEF/login-screen issue that Blizzard periodically reintroduces with launcher updates. Cheap insurance.
4. Launch it from Steam and complete the installer at the default path.

4. Point the shortcut at the installed launcher

After installation, the Battle.net launcher lives inside the prefix Steam created. Find the compatdata folder:

• Native Steam: ~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/<APPID>/pfx/
• Flatpak Steam: ~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/<APPID>/pfx/

The <APPID> is a numeric folder; sort by modification date to find the one you just created.

Right-click the Steam shortcut → Properties and change:

• Target: "…/compatdata/<APPID>/pfx/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Battle.net/Battle.net Launcher.exe"
• Start In: "…/compatdata/<APPID>/pfx/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Battle.net/"

Launch — you should now get the real launcher, not the installer.

---

Method 3 — Lutris

Modern Lutris uses umu-launcher under the hood when you pick a Proton runner, so protonfixes apply automatically.

sudo pacman -S lutris

1. Open Lutris → + (Add game) → Search the Lutris website for installers.
2. Search Battle.net and pick the current maintained installer.
3. Follow the prompts.

Known issue (early 2026): the default Wine-GE runner bundled with some Lutris versions is too old for current Battle.net. If installation hangs or the launcher refuses to start, open Lutris → Preferences → Runners → Wine and install a newer lutris-GE or wine-ge runner, then set it on the Battle.net entry.

Add the environment variable (belt-and-suspenders)

Right-click the Battle.net entry → Configure → System options → Environment variables:

Key	Value
WINE_SIMULATE_WRITECOPY	1

---

Method 4 — Bottles (Flatpak)

flatpak install flathub com.usebottles.bottles

1. Open Bottles → + → choose the Gaming environment.
2. Under Preferences → Runners, install the latest caffe or soda runner (or GE-Proton if supported).
3. In the bottle → Run Executable → pick Battle.net-Setup.exe.
4. After install, in the bottle's Settings → Environment Variables, add:
   • WINE_SIMULATE_WRITECOPY=1
   • Optionally: WINEDLLOVERRIDES=locationapi=d

The launcher shows up in the bottle's Programs list.

---

Method 5 — Manual wine-staging prefix (advanced, no Proton)

Use this only if you specifically want pure Wine without Proton.

1. Create a 64-bit prefix

# As your normal user — NOT root
export WINEPREFIX="$HOME/Games/battlenet-wine-prefix"
export WINEARCH=win64

mkdir -p "$WINEPREFIX"
winecfg

In winecfg, set the Windows version to Windows 10 and close.

2. Install DXVK

WINEPREFIX="$HOME/Games/battlenet-wine-prefix" winetricks dxvk

That single command replaces what the old guide did by hand with cp -r into system32/syswow64. Do not copy DLLs manually.

3. Download and run the installer

curl -L -o ~/Downloads/Battle.net-Setup.exe \
  "https://downloader.battle.net/download/getInstaller?os=win&installer=Battle.net-Setup.exe"

WINEPREFIX="$HOME/Games/battlenet-wine-prefix" \
WINE_SIMULATE_WRITECOPY=1 \
  wine ~/Downloads/Battle.net-Setup.exe

4. Launch scripts

~/.local/bin/battlenet:

#!/bin/sh
export WINEPREFIX="$HOME/Games/battlenet-wine-prefix"
export WINE_SIMULATE_WRITECOPY=1
exec wine "$WINEPREFIX/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Battle.net/Battle.net Launcher.exe" "$@"

~/.local/bin/battlenetkill:

#!/bin/sh
export WINEPREFIX="$HOME/Games/battlenet-wine-prefix"
wineserver -k

chmod +x ~/.local/bin/battlenet ~/.local/bin/battlenetkill

---

Troubleshooting

"Battle.net Update Agent went to sleep. Attempting to wake it up… BLZBNTBNA00000005"

The most common 2025–2026 failure mode. In order:

1. Confirm WINE_SIMULATE_WRITECOPY=1 is set (or that you're using umu/Lutris-via-umu, which sets it).
2. Kill everything and wipe the agent cache:

   pkill -9 Battle.net; pkill -9 Agent; pkill -9 Blizzard
   rm -rf "$WINEPREFIX/drive_c/ProgramData/Battle.net/Agent"
   rm -rf "$WINEPREFIX/drive_c/ProgramData/Blizzard Entertainment"
   

   Restart the launcher; you'll have to log in again.
3. Update GE-Proton. Fixes for Battle.net regressions usually land in a new GE-Proton release within days.

Blank login screen / missing login buttons

WINE_SIMULATE_WRITECOPY=1. Specifically the fix for this — Blizzard's CEF launcher depends on Windows write-copy memory semantics that Wine doesn't emulate by default.

Blank window / broken input under Wayland

Wine's native Wayland driver is still rough for the Battle.net launcher in 2026. Either:

• Log into an X11 session (SDDM/GDM login screen → session picker), or
• Make sure you're going through XWayland — Steam/Proton does this automatically.

"X Error of failed request: BadWindow" or X11 root-access errors

Caused by running Wine as root (what the old guide told you to do). Don't. If you're stuck with a root-owned prefix, remove it and start over as your normal user:

sudo rm -rf /home/<user>/Games/battlenet-wine-prefix

Something else is broken

Delete the prefix and start over — this really does fix most weird states.

rm -rf "$HOME/Games/battlenet-umu"            # or battlenet-wine-prefix

---

A note on bans

Blizzard does not ban for running via Wine/Proton/Linux. Their Warden anti-cheat targets cheat software inside the game process, not the compatibility layer. This has been confirmed by Blizzard support as recently as 2025.

---

Changelog for this revision

• Scoped to Arch Linux. Removed the Ubuntu focal and Debian 10 sections — both EOL, and the guide is cleaner focused on one distro.
• Removed sudo from all Wine/winetricks/wine-launch commands.
• Removed obsolete winetricks verbs (dotnet48, vcrun*, directplay).
• Removed manual DXVK 1.7.1 copy-into-system32 procedure.
• Removed manual DirectX June 2010 redist install step.
• Removed advice to enable Arch [testing] repos.
• Added umu-launcher as the recommended method — protonfixes handle the Battle.net workarounds automatically.
• Added Steam + Proton-GE, Lutris, and Bottles methods.
• Added WINE_SIMULATE_WRITECOPY=1 workaround for the modern CEF login/agent issues.
• Replaced /usr/bin/ install of user launch scripts with ~/.local/bin/.
• Set default Wine Windows version to Windows 10 rather than Windows 7.
• Added Wayland/XWayland notes and the Agent-cache wipe fix for BLZBNTBNA00000005.