diff --git a/.azure-pipelines/windows-visual-studio.sh b/.azure-pipelines/windows-visual-studio.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c1c26eb429
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.azure-pipelines/windows-visual-studio.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -euxo pipefail
+
+CURL_USER_AGENT="DMD-CI $(curl --version | head -n 1)"
+DMD_DIR="$PWD"
+
+download() {
+    local url="$1"
+    local path="$2"
+    curl -fsSL -A "$CURL_USER_AGENT" --connect-timeout 5 --speed-time 30 --speed-limit 1024 --retry 5 --retry-delay 5 "$url" -o "$path"
+}
+
+clone() {
+    local url="$1"
+    local path="$2"
+    local branch="$3"
+    for i in {0..4}; do
+        if git clone --depth 1 --branch "$branch" "$url" "$path" "${@:4}" --quiet; then
+            break
+        elif [ $i -lt 4 ]; then
+            sleep $((1 << $i))
+        else
+            echo "Failed to clone: ${url}"
+            exit 1
+        fi
+    done
+}
+
+################################################################################
+# Download LDC
+################################################################################
+
+ldc() {
+    LDC_DIR="ldc2-${LDC_VERSION}-windows-multilib"
+    LDC_INSTALLER="${LDC_DIR}.7z"
+    LDC_URL="https://github.com/ldc-developers/ldc/releases/download/v${LDC_VERSION}/${LDC_INSTALLER}"
+
+    if [ ! -e "$LDC_INSTALLER" ] ; then
+        download "$LDC_URL" "$LDC_INSTALLER"
+    fi
+
+    7z x "$LDC_INSTALLER" > /dev/null
+    if [ ! -e "$LDC_DIR/bin/ldmd2.exe" ] ; then
+      echo "Unexpected LDC installation, $LDC_INSTALLER/bin/ldmd2.exe missing"
+      exit 1
+    fi
+}
+
+################################################################################
+# Download VisualD
+################################################################################
+
+visuald() {
+    local VISUALD_INSTALLER="VisualD-${VISUALD_VER}.exe"
+    local VISUALD_URL="https://github.com/dlang/visuald/releases/download/${VISUALD_VER}/${VISUALD_INSTALLER}"
+    if [ ! -e "$VISUALD_INSTALLER" ] ; then
+        download "$VISUALD_URL" "$VISUALD_INSTALLER"
+    fi
+}
+
+################################################################################
+# Download DigitalMars Make
+################################################################################
+
+dm_make() {
+    download "http://downloads.dlang.org/other/dm857c.zip" dmc.zip
+    unzip dmc.zip > /dev/null
+    export DMC="$PWD/dm/bin/dmc.exe"
+    export DM_MAKE="$PWD/dm/bin/make.exe"
+    mkdir -p dm/path
+    cp "$DMC" "$DM_MAKE" "dm/path"
+}
+
+################################################################################
+# Download DigitalMars Make
+################################################################################
+
+install_grep() {
+    local tools_dir="${DMD_DIR}/tools"
+    mkdir -p "$tools_dir"
+    cd "$tools_dir"
+    download "http://downloads.dlang.org/other/grep-3.1.zip" "grep-3.1.zip"
+    unzip "grep-3.1.zip" # contains grep.exe
+    #export PATH="${tools_dir}:$PATH"
+}
+
+################################################################################
+# Checkout other repositories
+################################################################################
+
+clone_repos() {
+    local REPO_BRANCH="$SYSTEM_PULLREQUEST_TARGETBRANCH"
+
+    for proj in druntime phobos; do
+        if [ "$REPO_BRANCH" != master ] && [ "$REPO_BRANCH" != stable ] &&
+                ! git ls-remote --exit-code --heads "https://github.com/dlang/$proj.git" "$REPO_BRANCH" > /dev/null; then
+            # use master as fallback for other repos to test feature branches
+            clone "https://github.com/dlang/$proj.git" "${DMD_DIR}/../$proj" master
+            echo "[GIT_CLONE] Switched $proj to branch master \$(REPO_BRANCH=$REPO_BRANCH)"
+        else
+            clone "https://github.com/dlang/$proj.git" "${DMD_DIR}/../$proj" "$REPO_BRANCH"
+            echo "[GIT_CLONE] Switched $proj to branch $REPO_BRANCH"
+        fi
+    done
+}
+
+echo "[STEP]: Downloading LDC"
+ldc
+
+echo "[STEP]: Downloading VisualD"
+visuald
+
+echo "[STEP]: Downloading DigitalMars make"
+dm_make
+
+echo "[STEP]: Downloading grep"
+install_grep
+
+echo "[STEP]: Cloning repositories"
+clone_repos
diff --git a/.azure-pipelines/windows-visual-studio.yml b/.azure-pipelines/windows-visual-studio.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..55847cb7f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.azure-pipelines/windows-visual-studio.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+steps:
+  - script: |
+      :: Use Windows CRLF line endings for checked-out text files
+      git config --global core.autocrlf true
+      set
+    displayName: Print environment variables
+  - checkout: self
+    fetchDepth: 1
+  - script: |
+      bash --version
+      sh --login .azure-pipelines/windows-visual-studio.sh
+    displayName: Download requires binaries
+  - script: |
+      @echo on
+      call "%VSINSTALLDIR%\VC\Auxiliary\Build\vcvarsall.bat" %ARCH%
+      set LDC_DIR=ldc2-%LDC_VERSION%-windows-multilib
+      set VISUALD_INSTALLER=VisualD-%VISUALD_VER%.exe
+      set DMD_DIR=%cd%
+      set DMD=%DMD_DIR%\generated\Windows\Release\Win32\dmd.exe
+      set DMD_TESTSUITE_MAKE_ARGS=-j3
+      set DM_MAKE=%DMD_DIR%\dm\path\make.exe
+
+      FOR /F "tokens=* USEBACKQ" %%F IN (`where cl.exe`) DO (SET MSVC_CC=%%~fsF)
+      FOR /F "tokens=* USEBACKQ" %%F IN (`where lib.exe`) DO (SET MSVC_AR=%%~fsF)
+      REM this returns two lines (GNU's link.exe is on the second line)
+      REM Just take the first one
+      FOR /F "tokens=* USEBACKQ" %%F IN (`where link.exe`) DO (SET MSVC_LD=%%~fsF
+        GOTO :Next)
+      :Next
+      FOR /F "tokens=* USEBACKQ" %%F IN (`where make.exe`) DO (SET GNU_MAKE=%%~fsF)
+
+      REM WORKAROUND: move files to a directory without spaces
+      copy "%MSVC_AR%" "%DMD_DIR%\dm\path\lib.exe"
+      copy "%MSVC_LD%" "%DMD_DIR%\dm\path\link.exe"
+      copy "%MSVC_CC%" "%DMD_DIR%\dm\path\cl.exe"
+      set MSVC_AR=%DMD_DIR%\dm\path\lib.exe
+      set MSVC_CC=%DMD_DIR%\dm\path\cl.exe
+      set MSVC_LD=%DMD_DIR%\dm\path\link.exe
+
+      REM expose dm_make as default make
+      set PATH=%DMD_DIR%\dm\path;%DMD_DIR%\tools;%PATH%
+      dir "%DMD_DIR%\tools"
+      "%DMD_DIR%\tools\grep.exe --version
+      echo %PATH%
+      grep --version
+      exit 1
+
+      .\%VISUALD_INSTALLER% /S
+      REM configure DMD path
+      REM reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\DMD" /v InstallationFolder /t REG_SZ /d "%DMD_DIR%\dmd2" /reg:32 /f
+      REM configure LDC path
+      reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\LDC" /v InstallationFolder /t REG_SZ /d "%DMD_DIR%\%LDC_DIR%" /reg:32 /f
+
+      REM build via VS projects with LDC
+      cd src
+      REM unfortunately, multilib version of LDC and Visual D don't work together seamlessly (anymore?)
+      set LDC_ARGS="/p:ExternalLinkerOptions=phobos2-ldc.lib druntime-ldc.lib"
+      set LDC_ARGS=%LDC_ARGS% /p:DCompiler=LDC
+      msbuild /target:dmd /p:Configuration=Release /p:Platform=Win32 %LDC_ARGS% vcbuild\dmd.sln
+
+      %DMD% --version
+      grep --version
+
+      REM Check: run druntime unittests
+      cd "%DMD_DIR%\..\druntime"
+      "%DM_MAKE%" -f win64.mak MODEL=32mscoff DMD="%DMD%" VCDIR="%VCINSTALLDIR%." CC="%MSVC_CC%" SDKDIR=unused MAKE="%DM_MAKE%" target
+      echo "[DRUNTIME] running tests..."
+      "%DM_MAKE%" -f win64.mak MODEL=32mscoff DMD="%DMD%" VCDIR="%VCINSTALLDIR%." CC="%MSVC_CC%" SDKDIR=unused MAKE="%DM_MAKE%" unittest32mscoff
+
+      REM build zlib first (to workaround DigitalMars's whitespace limitations)
+      cd "%DMD_DIR%\..\phobos\etc\c\zlib"
+      "%DM_MAKE%" -f win64.mak "zlib32mscoff.lib" MODEL=32mscoff DMD="%DMD%" VCDIR="%VCINSTALLDIR%." CC="%MSVC_CC%" LIB="%MSVC_AR%" LD="%MSVC_LD%"
+
+      REM Check: build phobos unittests
+      cd "%DMD_DIR%\..\phobos"
+      "%DM_MAKE%" -f win64.mak MODEL=32mscoff DMD="%DMD%" VCDIR="%VCINSTALLDIR%." CC="%MSVC_CC%" "MAKE=%DM_MAKE%" CFLAGS="/C7" SDKDIR=unused
+
+      REM Build DMD VERSION + string imports (not built by VisualD)
+      copy "%DMD_DIR%\VERSION" "%DMD_DIR%\generated\Windows\Release\Win32\VERSION"
+
+      REM Run DMD testsuite
+      cd "%DMD_DIR%\test"
+      cp %DMD_DIR%\..\phobos\phobos32mscoff.lib .
+      "%GNU_MAKE%" -j1 all MODEL=32mscoff ARGS="-O -inline -g" OS=win32 DMD="%DMD%" DMD_MODEL=win32
diff --git a/.azure-pipelines/windows.yml b/.azure-pipelines/windows.yml
index 191e578786..16cc506d69 100644
--- a/.azure-pipelines/windows.yml
+++ b/.azure-pipelines/windows.yml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ steps:
   - checkout: self
     fetchDepth: 1
   - script: |
-      echo on
+      @echo on
       call "%VSINSTALLDIR%\VC\Auxiliary\Build\vcvarsall.bat" %ARCH%
       FOR /F "tokens=* USEBACKQ" %%F IN (`where cl.exe`) DO (SET MSVC_CC=%%~fsF)
       FOR /F "tokens=* USEBACKQ" %%F IN (`where lib.exe`) DO (SET MSVC_AR=%%~fsF)
diff --git a/appveyor.sh b/appveyor.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index 1b818319a8..0000000000
--- a/appveyor.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,85 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-
-set -e -v
-
-clone() {
-    local url="$1"
-    local path="$2"
-    local branch="$3"
-    for i in {0..4}; do
-        if git clone --branch "$branch" "$url" "$path" "${@:4}" --quiet; then
-            break
-        elif [ $i -lt 4 ]; then
-            sleep $((1 << $i))
-        else
-            echo "Failed to clone: ${url}"
-            exit 1
-        fi
-    done
-}
-
-echo "C_COMPILER: $C_COMPILER"
-echo "D_COMPILER: $D_COMPILER"
-echo "D_VERSION: $D_VERSION"
-
-cd /c/projects/
-
-if [ ! -f "gnumake/make.exe" ]; then
-    mkdir gnumake
-    cd gnumake
-
-    appveyor DownloadFile "https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/make/make-4.2.tar.gz" -FileName make.tar.gz
-
-    7z x make.tar.gz -so | 7z x -si -ttar > /dev/null
-    cd make-4.2
-
-    # usr/bin/link overriding VS's link.exe, give priority to VS's in PATH
-    export PATH="/c/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0/VC/bin/amd64/:$PATH"
-    ./build_w32.bat > /dev/null
-
-    cp WinRel/gnumake.exe ../make.exe
-    cd ../..
-
-    gnumake/make.exe --version
-fi
-
-if [ $D_COMPILER == "dmd" ]; then
-    appveyor DownloadFile "http://downloads.dlang.org/releases/2.x/${D_VERSION}/dmd.${D_VERSION}.windows.7z" -FileName dmd2.7z
-    #appveyor DownloadFile "http://nightlies.dlang.org/dmd-master-2017-12-22/dmd.master.windows.7z" -FileName dmd2.7z
-    7z x dmd2.7z > /dev/null
-    export PATH=$PWD/dmd2/windows/bin/:$PATH
-    export DMD=/c/projects/dmd2/windows/bin/dmd.exe
-    dmd --version
-fi
-
-for proj in druntime phobos; do
-    if [ $APPVEYOR_REPO_BRANCH != master ] && [ $APPVEYOR_REPO_BRANCH != stable ] &&
-            ! git ls-remote --exit-code --heads https://github.com/dlang/$proj.git $APPVEYOR_REPO_BRANCH > /dev/null; then
-        # use master as fallback for other repos to test feature branches
-        clone https://github.com/dlang/$proj.git $proj master
-        echo "+++ Switched $proj to branch master (APPVEYOR_REPO_BRANCH=$APPVEYOR_REPO_BRANCH)"
-    else
-        clone https://github.com/dlang/$proj.git $proj $APPVEYOR_REPO_BRANCH
-        echo "+++ Switched $proj to branch $APPVEYOR_REPO_BRANCH"
-    fi
-done
-
-# build via makefile
-cd /c/projects/dmd/src
-make -f win64.mak reldmd DMD=../src/dmd
-
-cd /c/projects/druntime
-make -f win64.mak DMD=../dmd/src/dmd
-
-cd /c/projects/phobos
-make -f win64.mak DMD=../dmd/src/dmd
-
-cp /c/projects/phobos/phobos64.lib /c/projects/dmd/
-
-export OS="Win_64"
-export CC='c:/"Program Files (x86)"/"Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0"/VC/bin/amd64/cl.exe'
-export MODEL="64"
-export MODEL_FLAG="-m64"
-
-cd /c/projects/dmd/test
-DMD_TESTSUITE_MAKE_ARGS=-j3 ../../gnumake/make -j1 start_all_tests MODEL=$MODEL ARGS="-O -inline -g" MODEL_FLAG=$MODEL_FLAG LIB="../../phobos;$LIB"
diff --git a/appveyor.yml b/appveyor.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 5f0a830782..0000000000
--- a/appveyor.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,85 +0,0 @@
-
-os: Visual Studio 2015
-
-environment:
-  matrix:
-    - ARCH:                x64
-      D_COMPILER:          dmd
-      D_VERSION:           2.079.1
-      C_COMPILER:          MSVC
-      VISUALD_VER:         v0.45.1-rc2
-      LDC_VERSION:         1.8.0
-
-cache:
-  - C:\projects\gnumake\make.exe
-  - C:\projects\VisualD-v0.45.1-rc2.exe
-  - C:\projects\ldc2-1.8.0-windows-multilib.7z
-
-skip_commits:
-  # Avoid retesting the merged PR on `master` or `stable`
-  message: /^Merge pull request/
-
-artifacts:
-  - path: src/dmd.exe
-    name: dmd 64-bit
-  - path: generated/Windows/Release/Win32/dmd.exe
-    name: dmd 32-bit built with LDC
-
-init:
-  - git config --global core.autocrlf input
-
-build_script:
-  - cd c:/projects/
-  - call "c:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\vcvarsall.bat" amd64
-
-  - set LDC_DIR=ldc2-%LDC_VERSION%-windows-multilib
-  - set LDC_INSTALLER=%LDC_DIR%.7z
-  - set LDC_URL=https://github.com/ldc-developers/ldc/releases/download/v%LDC_VERSION%/%LDC_INSTALLER%
-  - ps: |
-        If (-not (Test-Path $Env:LDC_INSTALLER)) {
-            Start-FileDownload $Env:LDC_URL -FileName $Env:LDC_INSTALLER
-        }
-        7z x $Env:LDC_INSTALLER > $null
-        If (-not (Test-Path $Env:LDC_DIR/bin/ldmd2.exe)) {
-            echo "Unexpected LDC installation, $Env:LDC_INSTALLER/bin/ldmd2.exe missing"
-        }
-
-  # Download & install Visual D (needs admin rights?)
-  - set VISUALD_INSTALLER=VisualD-%VISUALD_VER%.exe
-  - set VISUALD_URL=https://github.com/dlang/visuald/releases/download/%VISUALD_VER%/%VISUALD_INSTALLER%
-  - ps: |
-        If (-not (Test-Path $Env:VISUALD_INSTALLER)) {
-            Start-FileDownload $Env:VISUALD_URL -FileName $Env:VISUALD_INSTALLER
-        }
-  - .\%VISUALD_INSTALLER% /S
-  # configure DMD path
-  - reg add "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\14.0\ToolsOptionsPages\Projects\Visual D Settings" /v DMDInstallDir /t REG_SZ /d c:\projects\dmd2 /reg:32 /f
-  # configure LDC path
-  - reg add "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\14.0\ToolsOptionsPages\Projects\Visual D Settings" /v LDCInstallDir /t REG_SZ /d c:\projects\%LDC_DIR%\ /reg:32 /f
-  # disable link dependencies monitoring, fails on AppVeyor server
-  - reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\14.0\ToolsOptionsPages\Projects\Visual D Settings" /v optlinkDeps /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /reg:32 /f
-
-  - bash --version
-  - sh --login /c/projects/dmd/appveyor.sh
-
-  # build via VS projects with LDC
-  - cd c:\projects\dmd\src
-  # unfortunately, multilib version of LDC and Visual D don't work together seamlessly (anymore?)
-  - set LDC_ARGS="/p:ExternalLinkerOptions=phobos2-ldc.lib druntime-ldc.lib"
-  - set LDC_ARGS=%LDC_ARGS% /p:DCompiler=LDC
-  - msbuild /target:dmd /p:Configuration=Release /p:Platform=Win32 %LDC_ARGS% vcbuild\dmd.sln
-
-  # check: build druntime unittests and dmd test suite
-  - cd c:\projects\druntime
-  - set PATH=c:\projects\dmd2\windows\bin;%PATH%
-  - make -f win64.mak MODEL=32mscoff DMD=..\dmd\generated\Windows\Release\Win32\dmd.exe VCDIR="%VCINSTALLDIR%." "CC=%VCINSTALLDIR%/bin/cl.exe" SDKDIR=unused clean
-  - make -f win64.mak MODEL=32mscoff DMD=..\dmd\generated\Windows\Release\Win32\dmd.exe VCDIR="%VCINSTALLDIR%." "CC=%VCINSTALLDIR%/bin/cl.exe" SDKDIR=unused target unittest32mscoff
-  - cd c:\projects\phobos
-  - make -f win64.mak MODEL=32mscoff DMD=..\dmd\generated\Windows\Release\Win32\dmd.exe VCDIR="%VCINSTALLDIR%." "CC=%VCINSTALLDIR%/bin/cl.exe" SDKDIR=unused clean
-  - make -f win64.mak MODEL=32mscoff DMD=..\dmd\generated\Windows\Release\Win32\dmd.exe VCDIR="%VCINSTALLDIR%." "CC=%VCINSTALLDIR%/bin/cl.exe" SDKDIR=unused
-  - cd c:\projects\dmd\test
-  - set CC=c:/"Program Files (x86)"/"Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0"/VC/bin/cl.exe
-  - set DMD_TESTSUITE_MAKE_ARGS=-j3
-  - ..\..\gnumake\make -j1 start_all_tests MODEL=32mscoff ARGS="-O -inline -g" "OS=win32" DMD=..\generated\Windows\Release\Win32\dmd.exe LIB="../../phobos;%LIB%" RESULTS_DIR=test_m32mscoff
-
-test_script: true
diff --git a/azure-pipelines.yml b/azure-pipelines.yml
index a7e2021d1a..c9c68d4961 100644
--- a/azure-pipelines.yml
+++ b/azure-pipelines.yml
@@ -23,3 +23,20 @@ jobs:
           #D_COMPILER: dmd
     steps:
       - template: .azure-pipelines/windows.yml
+  - job: Windows_VisualD
+    timeoutInMinutes: 120
+    pool:
+      vmImage: 'vs2017-win2016'
+    variables:
+      VSINSTALLDIR: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Enterprise\
+    strategy:
+      matrix:
+        visuald-ldc:
+          OS: Win_32
+          MODEL: 32
+          ARCH: x86
+          D_COMPILER: ldc
+          VISUALD_VER: v0.48.1
+          LDC_VERSION: 1.14.0
+    steps:
+      - template: .azure-pipelines/windows-visual-studio.yml
diff --git a/src/vcbuild/dmd_backend.vcxproj b/src/vcbuild/dmd_backend.vcxproj
index 8ce464a5b5..545e9fc2ae 100644
--- a/src/vcbuild/dmd_backend.vcxproj
+++ b/src/vcbuild/dmd_backend.vcxproj
@@ -59,6 +59,9 @@
     <_ProjectFileVersion>10.0.30319.1</_ProjectFileVersion>
     <OutDir>..\..\generated\Windows\$(Configuration)\$(PlatformName)\</OutDir>
     <IntDir>$(OutDir)\backend\</IntDir>
+    <_DCompilerExe Condition="'$(DCompiler)' == 'LDC' and '$(Platform)'=='x64'">$(LDCBinDir)ldmd2.exe -m64</_DCompilerExe>
+    <_DCompilerExe Condition="'$(DCompiler)' == 'LDC' and '$(Platform)'=='Win32'">$(LDCBinDir)ldmd2.exe -m32</_DCompilerExe>
+    <_DCompilerExe Condition="'$(_DCompilerExe)' == ''">$(DMDBinDir)dmd.exe</_DCompilerExe>
   </PropertyGroup>
   <PropertyGroup Condition="'$(Configuration)|$(Platform)'=='Debug|Win32'" />
   <ItemDefinitionGroup>
@@ -99,7 +102,7 @@
     </ClCompile>
     <CustomBuild Include="..\dmd\backend\optabgen.d">
       <Message>Building and running $(IntDir)%(Filename).exe</Message>
-      <Command>$(DMDBinDir)\dmd.exe -I.. -version=MARS -of"$(IntDir)generated\%(Filename).exe" "%(FullPath)"
+      <Command>$(_DCompilerExe) -I.. -version=MARS -of"$(IntDir)generated\%(Filename).exe" "%(FullPath)"
 if errorlevel 1 exit /B %ERRORLEVEL%
 pushd $(IntDir)generated
 "%(Filename).exe"
@@ -153,4 +156,4 @@ popd</Command>
   <Import Project="$(VCTargetsPath)\Microsoft.Cpp.targets" />
   <ImportGroup Label="ExtensionTargets">
   </ImportGroup>
-</Project>
\ No newline at end of file
+</Project>
diff --git a/test/tools/paths.d b/test/tools/paths.d
index cc6b8e739c..c29d4dee92 100644
--- a/test/tools/paths.d
+++ b/test/tools/paths.d
@@ -60,7 +60,8 @@ string dmdModel()
         return dmdModel;
 
     const prefix = generatedDir.buildPath(os, build);
-    return dmdModel = prefix.buildPath("64", dmdFilename).exists ? "64" : "32";
+    return dmdModel = environment.get("DMD_MODEL",
+        prefix.buildPath("64", dmdFilename).exists ? "64" : "32");
 }
 
 string model()