As with any online game, the ability to play Guild Wars 2 depends on your computer's ability to connect and communicate with the game servers. Below are some tips that can help improve your connection, as well as understand and troubleshoot the source of many common connectivity problems.
GENERAL TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS
If you start to experience frequent connectivity issues, begin by working through these basic troubleshooting steps:
- Confirm you are using a supported connection (Guild Wars 2 requires at least a broadband connection to ensure the game will run smoothly).
- Reset your router and modem. Rebooting your modem can fix connection problems, improve slow connections, and clear out any issues stored in the memory of your router.
- Reboot your PC. Giving your computer a chance to reset can fix any number of issues that might affect your connectivity to the game.
- Temporarily bypass any routers, hubs, or switches and try connecting directly to your modem. You may need to reboot your modem and/or computer to reestablish your Internet connection after doing so.
- Temporarily disable any security software such as Norton, AVAST, AVG, or McAfee, and then re-launch the game.
If you're still having issues after working through these steps, continue on to the sections below for additional information and troubleshooting steps for your particular problem.
Lag / Latency Issues
When playing an online game, there is constant communication between the game servers and your computer. While the server is sending your computer messages about your location, the world, and everything happening around you, your computer sends signals back to the server with your movement, skill, and other inputs—information that has to be received before the servers know how to respond or communicate your actions to other players.
Most of the time, this communication is seamless over a fast and stable connection. When the signal between the server and your computer is weak or intermittent, however, your character can exhibit a number of signs that suggest a problem with your connection:
- You might begin to teleport or jump back to previous locations—what is known as rubber banding.
- Your skills will no longer fire when prompted, or may not fire for several seconds.
- All of your actions and interactions are delayed.
This article outlines the steps you can take to identify connectivity issues, and relevant steps to remedy the issues you may be facing.
We ask that you do your best to follow these instructions thoroughly before reaching out to support - we've done our best to identify some of the most common causes and their solutions, so we hope you'll be able to address some of the issues you are experiencing using these tips!
Step 1: Run a Traceroute Test to Identify Network Issues
Please follow this guide to running and understanding your Traceroute test: Traceroute Tests – Guild Wars 2 Support
Once you've run the Traceroute, you should have a better idea where the issue is occurring - either at your computer or router, in your Internet Service Provider (ISP)'s servers, or at the Guild Wars 2 servers - and the above article will outline the steps you should take next!
You may also wish to run additional Traceroute tests after performing other troubleshooting steps - you may notice minor improvements that can signal that you are on the right track, or you may identify additional points which need addressing beyond your initial fix - such as lingering problems on your ISP's servers after addressing client-side issues.
Step 2: Resolve Router Problems
Click here to find out the best practices for configuring your router for playing Guild Wars 2.
Step 3: Disable Interfering Programs
Click here to learn how to disable background programs to troubleshoot potential conflicts.
Disconnecting
If your game client loses connection to the server for any reason, you should receive an on-screen error message over the in-game interface. You may also be sent back to the character select screen, or see a blank black or white screen replace the in-game world and interface.
Note that, if your game client is closing completely, you are more likely experiencing a game crash than a disconnect - please see our article on game crashes for additional assistance.
If you are disconnecting entirely, you should always receive some sort of error code - a string of numbers separated by colons (:) such as 7:11:3:202:101. These codes can help us identify what led to the disconnect, and how to proceed to resolve the issue or work around it.
Be sure to take a screenshot of your error code, just in case you forget or are requested one by the support team. Then, see if the code is listed on our Common Error Code Article to find specific instructions for the code you are receiving.
Unable to Connect to the Game Server
If your launcher refuses to launch or the download is stuck at a certain percentage, there may be something blocking your connection to the game servers.
To diagnose this issue, try generating a Networkdiag.log using the -diag command line argument. Locate the “Tracing network paths” section. You should see three trace route results. If all the results show only 1-2 hops, this indicates a potential problem.
Here are some steps to help troubleshoot and fix the issue:
- Ensure all required ports are open: Configuring your Router and Firewall Ports
- Follow the GENERAL TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS
- Switch to a wired connection: If you are using a wireless connection, try connecting directly to your modem with a wired connection.
- Flush your DNS:
- Press the Windows key and search for CMD.
- Right-click CMD and select "Run as administrator."
- Once CMD is open, type: ipconfig /flushdns.
- Use Google’s DNS servers: Follow the steps in the article “Change your DNS servers settings”
If the issue persists, contact your ISP to ensure there haven't been any changes to your DNS configuration.
Can't Find a Solution?
If you still need help, you can submit a request to our support team for assistance.
- If you're experiencing high ping or disconnections, please generate a WinMTR file by following the steps in this article: 'Collecting Diagnostic Information for Support (Reporting Tech Issues)'. Attach this file to your support request for further assistance.