Repairing the Game Client

If you are having problems running Guild Wars 2, the data archive may have become corrupted. This can lead to crashes, disconnects, and other issues that disrupt your ability to play, and which need to be repaired before the game runs properly.

Follow these steps to verify and repair your game archive:

Repair Instructions for Windows®

Follow these steps if you are running the game on a Windows operating system:

Locate your Gw2.exe file.
Right-click on the file and select Create shortcut.
Rename this new shortcut to Guild Wars 2 Repair.
Right-click on Guild Wars 2 Repair and select Properties.
Locate the Target line and add –repair to the end. (Example: "C:\Games\Guild Wars 2\gw2.exe" -repair)
Click OK.

Now double-click the Guild Wars 2 Repair shortcut. This will begin repairing your game client automatically. The game will then launch when it is complete.

NOTE: Keep in mind that the verification and repair process will run each time you double-click the Guild Wars 2 Repair shortcut; if you would like to play the game without repairing the archive, double-click on Gw2.exe or another shortcut without the -repair command in the 'Target' line.

Other Client Issues & Solutions

If you're still having issues launching your client (or having problems during the repair process), try running through the troubleshooting steps below:

I moved the file "GW2.exe" to a folder and launched it, but it immediately crashed. What’s wrong?

This could be caused by several problems with your game client. Here are a few things to check:

Are you an administrator on your computer or on Windows Vista / 7?

You may need administrator privileges to run the client or access the folder in which your game client is located. Try starting Gw2.exe by right-clicking on the file and selecting Run as Administrator.

Is the folder that contains the game set to "Read Only?"

The client needs to add files to the game folder before it can run properly. To ensure that it is able to make changes, right-click on your Guild Wars 2 folder and select Properties. From here, un-check the option for “Read-Only” and left click on Ok to save your changes.

Have you updated your video card drivers recently?

AMD users can find the latest drivers for their video card here.
Nvidia users can find the latest driver for their video card here.

Do you have Windows 7 Service Pack 1 installed?

Guild Wars 2 is not supported without this service pack. In many cases, downloading the service pack has helped resolve issues that prevent the game from launching or cause it to crash.

Please visit http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ to download and install any critical updates you're missing.

Do you have DirectX 11 installed?

Similar to the service pack, Guild Wars 2 requires DirectX 11 to be installed before it will run properly. You can download the latest DirectX drivers here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35

My client is stuck updating at 99% with one file left. What should I do?

First, locate and delete your local.dat file, which can be found in your Documents > Guild Wars 2 folder.
Next, reboot your computer and launch Guild Wars 2 again. After seeing the “1 file remaining” message, a secondary protocol should kick in to download the missing file from the backup system. This process usually takes about 10 minutes.
If after 15 minutes you find that the above process has not resolved the issue—that is, you’re still stuck at a 99% download—please try the following work-around:

Change the language setting for the launcher (in the top right corner of your screen) to a different language; this should force the download should complete. Once that occurs, change the launcher back to your original language and log in normally.

How do I clear my game cache of outdated or corrupt game files?

If repairing your client doesn’t solve your problem, you can also try cleaning up the temporary files in your game cache. You can do this using following these steps:

Open your windows explorer browser.
In the navigation bar, type %temp% to open your temporary folder.
Search for any folders that begin with “gw2cache-“ followed by a string of numbers.
Delete these folders.
Open Guild Wars 2.

While you will need to re-download any files that are necessary to run the game, this process will help replace any corrupted files that might be lingering in your game cache.

I’ve downloaded the client and now have to patch thousands of files. Is this normal?

Yes, this is perfectly normal. These files are the most up-to-date data and content files in the game, and are required to play Guild Wars 2.

What is a build and why do they keep interrupting the game?

A “build” is the technical term for a particular version of a game. Since Guild Wars 2 is updated frequently with new content—as well as the occasional bug fix—there may be several new builds available each month.

Every time we distribute a new build, it will automatically prompt you to exit the game (your progress is saved prior to exiting) and download the latest files. The next time you launch the client, all of the necessary files will automatically download onto your system. In many cases, you will be able to log back in to the game almost immediately, but occasionally you will need to wait a bit before rejoining the game.

You can read the details of what's been changed in every game update over on our official forums.

My client “repairs” itself every time I crash. What should I do?

The most likely possibility is that your Gw2.dat file has somehow been corrupted—either when downloading the game or due to a crash.

First, try re-downloading the game data file by renaming your current Gw2.dat file (located in your installation folder) to Gw2.old and running the launcher again. This will “back up” your file and allow you to download a new working copy of the game.
In addition, you may want to make sure that your GW2 folder is not installed to your Program Files directory. We recommend C:\Games\GW2 or something similar.
If you’re still having problems, you may have hardware issues or background applications may be causing the file to become corrupt. Visit our Technical Support forums to see if you can find a solution to your particular issue, or start a thread while noting the location of your GW2 folder.

Alternately, you may submit a Technical Support ticket so our Support Team can help investigate the problem.

NOTE: If you receive an Error 502 when trying to access the forums, please try again later.

My client gets stuck updating at “Connecting to ArenaNet.” What do I do?

This issue is usually caused by your firewall, which may be blocking your ability to connect to the ArenaNet servers. We recommend disabling your firewall before launching the game to determine if this fixes the issue.
It is also possible that another program or security software program is interfering with your game's connection. Historically, security software programs such as AVG, Norton, and McAfee have been problematic, blocking players from connecting to our servers. Try temporarily disabling your anti-virus software and re-connecting to the game. If this works to resolve your issue, you may need to configure that software to not block Guild Wars 2 in the future.
In addition, please check to make sure that you are running the installation as the administrator.

Media Center launches every time I launch Guild Wars 2; how do I stop it?

Right-click the client shortcut and select Properties. In the Target command line, you should see -mce tagged at the end of the shortcut path; remove the -mce tag and left-click on apply to save your changes. This should fix the issue!

A new game update just came through and now I can’t log in. What should I do?

After a game update, the server can still take a minute or two longer to finish uploading the game files on the server end of things. If an update or patch just went through, wait a few minutes and then try logging in again.

How do I adjust my game language settings?

You can configure your Guild Wars 2 text and audio language settings in the in-game options menu. To make these changes, you will need to log into the game using any character. Once logged in, please do the following:

Press F11 to open the General Options menu.
Change the first two drop-down menus to the language of your choice.

NOTE: Each language setting displays the alternative languages in its native language. For instance—depending on the language setting—the option for English is presented as English, Anglais, Inglés, or Englisch. Selecting any of those settings will enable English text and audio and will change the options menu to English as well.

When I launch Guild Wars 2, the screen goes black but I can still hear the music. Help!

There are a number of different factors that could cause this issue.

First, eliminate the possibility that your router is causing issues by bypassing the router and connecting directly to your modem via Ethernet cable. If you have a router/modem combo unit, please disable the SPI Firewall setting—this has been known to contribute to black screens.
If this does not resolve the issue for you, another factor to consider is your security software. As a temporary troubleshooting step, please disable any security software to see if it is interfering with the client. If this works to resolve your issue, you may need to configure that software to not block Guild Wars 2 in the future.
Beyond this, if you’re still experiencing the black screen issues, please submit a Technical Support ticket for further assistance.