The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.
Although this product has been released, it remains under active development - information may change frequently and could be outdated or irrelevant.
Warnings
- This game requires a constant internet connection for all game modes.
General information
- Guild Wars 2 Wiki - official wiki for Guild Wars 2 - accessible in-game using the
/wiki
command.
- Guild Wars 2 Forums - the official Guild Wars 2 forums, hosted by ArenaNet (multiple languages available).
- r/GuildWars2 Subreddit
- Guild Wars 2 setion on MMOChampions (formerly Guild Wars 2 Guru) - a large community and active forum.
- Guild Wars 2 Support
Availability
Source |
DRM |
Notes |
Keys |
OS |
Retail |
|
|
|
|
Official website |
|
The core game is free to play but free accounts have some limitations. |
|
|
Official website |
|
Heart of Thorns + Path of Fire, End of Dragons, Secrets of the Obscure |
|
|
Amazon.com |
|
Guild Wars 2 core game with full account (this version is included in the expansions). |
|
|
Amazon.com |
|
Heart of Thorns. |
|
|
Steam |
|
Running the launcher outside Steam defaults to logging into a non-Steam account. |
|
|
(unavailable) |
|
Heart of Thorns. Path of Fire also available. |
|
|
Humble Store (unavailable) |
|
Heart of Thorns. Heart of Thorns Deluxe Edition also available. |
|
|
- All versions require an ArenaNet Account and a constant internet connection for all game modes.
- For other stores Guild Wars 2 Retailers.
- Mac versions were discontinued on February 18, 2021.[2]
Monetization
Type |
Notes |
Expansion pack
| Game is primarily supported through expansion packs and microtransactions. |
Free-to-play
| Originally requiring a game purchase, the game went free-to-play on August 29, 2015.[3] The free-to-play version allows for full access to the core game with some restrictions to prevent disruptive actions.[4] |
DLC and expansion packs
Name |
Notes |
|
Heart of Thorns |
Purchase includes unrestricted access to the core game and the Heart of Thorns expansion pack.[5] |
|
Path of Fire |
Purchase includes unrestricted access to the core game and the Heart of Thorns and Path of Fire expansion packs.[6] |
|
End of Dragons |
Purchase includes unrestricted access to the core game and the End of Dragons expansion pack.[7] |
|
Secrets of the Obscure |
Purchase includes unrestricted access to the core game and the Secrets of the Obscure expansion pack.[8] |
|
Living World |
Series of missions, maps and equipment which can only be purchased with in-game currency from within the in-game journal. Further information on the official wiki page. |
|
- Each purchase or expansion gives different levels of access to the game, including content, character slots, professions, etc, see the comparison table to compare Free, Core, Heart of Thorns, Path of Fire and End of Dragons account levels.
Microtransactions
Type |
Notes |
Boost
| Experience Boosters and Item Boosters give a 50% bonus for a limited time, a limited amount can be earned as in-game reward. Black Lion Instant Level 80 Ticket takes the character to max level. |
Cosmetic
| Outfits, Skins for armors, weapons, gliders and mounts, miniature-pets, toys. |
Currency
| Gem currency is a real money purchase, and is used to unlock microtransactions or converted to gold (in-game currency). Information and exchange rates are posted on the official wiki page. |
Free-to-grind
| Gold (in-game currency) can be grinded and exchanged for Gem. Level boosters can be earned in-game. |
Infinite spend
| Gem can be purchased with real money over and over again without a practical limit. |
Loot box
| Mount Adoption License drops a random mount skin, but you cannot drop duplicates and the single skin can be bought directly. Black Lion Chest Key used to open Black Lion Chest that contains random skins and other items. |
Unlock
| Various account upgrades, for example Bank Tab Expansion, Character Slot Expansion. |
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
Video
Input
Keybindings settings menu
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
|
Master, music, environment, effects, dialog, UI, player instrument. |
Surround sound |
|
Supports 5.1 output |
Subtitles |
|
|
Closed captions |
|
|
Mute on focus lost |
|
Configured via sound settings. |
Royalty free audio |
|
|
Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
|
|
|
|
French |
|
|
|
|
German |
|
|
|
|
Spanish |
|
|
|
|
Network
Multiplayer types
Connection types
Ports
Protocol |
Port(s) and/or port range(s) |
TCP |
80, 443, 6112, 6600 |
- Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.
VR support
Issues fixed
Error codes
- Error codes starting with 7, 42, or 58 pertain to an inability to log in.
- Troubleshooting steps for these errors and others can be found on this support page.
Crashing on startup
- RivaTuner Statistic Server causes crashes with d3d9.dll on launching the game. The error message does not mention anything other than the game crashed, but if you check event viewer it will notify the user of the error.
Add a profile for Gw2.exe and configure RivaTuner to Stealth Mode for it[citation needed]
|
Reducing texture shimmering on Nvidia graphics cards
- Use the anti-aliasing flag
0x084012C0
with Antialiasing fix
set to On
.
Using anti-aliasing flag 0x084012C0 [citation needed]
|
- Download and run Nvidia Profile Inspector.
- Under
Profiles select Guild Wars 2 .
- Under
Antialiasing compatibility insert the flag 0x084012C0 .
- Under
Antialiasing fix select On .
- Under
Antialiasing - Behavior Flags select None .
- Under
Antialiasing - Mode select Override any application setting .
- Under
Antialiasing - Setting select 2x Multisampling .
- Under
Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling select 2x Sparse Grid Supersampling .
- Click
Apply changes .
Notes
- Higher anti-aliasing can be used, but both anti-aliasing setting and anti-aliasing transparency supersampling must match the number of samples that are being used.
|
White in-game artifacts
- Can occur with AMD graphics cards when trying to override application AA/AF settings.
Change Catalyst Control Center settings[citation needed]
|
- Open Catalyst Control Center and enter 3D Application Settings.
- Set anti-aliasing and anisotopic filtering to use appliation settings.
|
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
11 |
DirectX 9 support was completely deprecated as of an update from February 6, 2023, which gradually rolled out to all players by April 18, 2023.[11] |
Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
|
|
|
macOS (OS X) | |
|
Support being discontinued from February 18, 2021.[2] |
Parameter |
Description |
-autologin |
If client is set to remember account information, the game will login on launch. |
-bmp |
Overrides the game's default format for screenshots to use lossless .bmp files instead of .jpg files. |
-diag |
Creates a detailed logfile at game start at %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Guild Wars 2\NetworkDiag.log . |
-fps <number> |
Renders the game at <number> frames per second. |
-image |
Forces the game to download all known updates. |
-mapLoadInfo |
Displays loading percentages and the amount of time that has passed while loading. |
-mce |
Start the client with Windows Media Center compatibility, switching the game to full screen and restarting Media Center (if available) after the client is closed. Likely deprecated after Microsoft's retirement of the Media Center application. |
-noui |
Disables the user interface, producing the same effect as when one pushes Ctrl+Shift+H in-game to toggle it. |
-nosound |
Disables the audio system completely. |
-perf |
Displays performance indicators such as; Triangles, memory usage, frames per second and transfer rate in bytes per second are displayed in multi-colored text in the middle of the right side of the Guild Wars 2 window. |
-repair |
Starts the client and checks game files for errors and repairs them if needed. |
-useOldFov |
Changes the FoV back to how it was originally. |
-windowed |
Forces Guild Wars 2 to run in windowed mode. |
-clientport <port> |
Forces the game to run through a specific port, useful when your ISP is throttling certain ports and causing lag. Port 80 is recommended when using this switch. |
Enabling HBAO+ for Nvidia graphics cards
- Use the Ambient Occlusion flag
0x0000002E
with Quality
or High Quality
.
Using Ambient Occlusion flag 0x0000002E [citation needed]
|
- Download and run Nvidia Profile Inspector.
- Under
Profiles select Guild Wars 2 .
- Under
Ambient Occlusion compatibility insert the flag 0x0000002E .
- Under
Ambient Occlusion usage select Enabled .
- Under
Ambient Occlusion setting select your quality of preference, but in order to use HBAO+ you must use Quality or High Quality .
- Click
Apply changes .
Notes
- Introduces Ambient Occlusion "bleeding".
|
System requirements
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
7 |
10 |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Core i3 3.4 GHz AMD Athalon x4 3.8 GHz | |
System memory (RAM) |
8 GB |
24 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
70 GB | |
Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 AMD Radeon HD 7970 DirectX 11.0 compatible | |
- A 64 bit operating system is strongly recommended for quality of experience.
Notes
- ↑ Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
References