Info

Getting Started

Welcome to the official Guild Wars 2 Beta Forums.

If you’re reading this, it means you’ve been invited to participate in our upcoming beta weekend event on March 23-25. You’ve successfully created an account, so you’re now ready to download the current beta version of Guild Wars 2.

This thread will provide you with the information you need to get started, but we encourage you to spend some time on the Beta Forums, your source for information and conversation. Please note that you will only be able to browse the forums at this time. Commenting and posting will be enabled during the Beta Weekend Event. As always, if you’re having technical issues, please contact betasupport@guildwars2.com.

A Reminder About the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
In order to play in this private, invitation-only Guild Wars 2 Beta, you agreed to the terms of our NDA. Put simply, this means that you can’t reveal that you are participating in the beta event or talk about the Guild Wars 2 beta in any way.

The Client
Follow the instructions below to download the client. Once you’ve obtained client, we recommend that you allow it to update overnight, as there will still be a large number of files that will need to be downloaded before you can play the game. Make sure that you have at least 18-20GB of space available on your PC, as the game currently takes up 17+GB and continues to grow every day.

If you’d prefer to read the instructions in German or French, use the following links:

Instructions de téléchargement en français
Download-Anweisungen: Deutsch

— Guild Wars 2 Download Instructions —

The first thing you will need to participate in the beta event is the game client, which can be obtained and updated by carefully following the instructions below:

    Download the Guild Wars 2 executable.
    Create a file folder on your computer where you wish to install the game. This is where the exe will write the data file for the game whenever it updates.
    Move the .exe file from the ZIP file into to the folder you just created. This is absolutely critical, as failure to do so will result in your .dat file being stored in a temporary file folder and not being saved.
    Run the exe
    Allow the game to patch the necessary information from our file servers. If possible, please try to download after 6PM PST or on the weekends, as there will be less people accessing the server during those times!
    Enjoy!

    Be sure to keep your client updated throughout the week to ensure that you can participate in the test.* If you want to run the client overnight, you can create a shortcut and have it run with the commandline argument of " -image ", which will tell it to shutdown once it has patched to the latest version. You can do this by right-clicking the shortcut and adding -image to the end of the target location.

F.A.Q.

Q: I moved the .exe to a folder and launched it, but immediately crashed. What’s wrong?
A: This could be caused by a number of issues, but here are a few things to check for:

    Are you an administrator on your computer?
    You may need administrator privileges to run the client or properly access the folder in which your game client is located.
    Is the folder that contains the game “Read Only”?
    The client needs to add files to the folder through patching before it will run properly. If the “Read Only” box is checked when you access the properties of the folder, uncheck it and try again.
    Is the .dat file “Read Only”?
    Once the .exe accesses our servers, it will begin to download a .dat file that contains the information of the game. If your computer sets this as a “Read Only” file, be sure to clear the flag in the properties menu.
    Is the program “Unblocked”?
    Windows 7 will sometimes “block” the .exe or the .dat file. In this case, be sure to “unblock” it on the file’s property menu.

Q: I’ve downloaded the client and now have to patch thousands of files. Is this normal?
A: Yes, this is perfectly normal. These files are the most up-to-date data and content files in the game, and are absolutely required to play.

Q: What is a build and why do they keep interrupting the game?
A: A “build” is the technical term for a particular version of a game. Since Guild Wars 2 is currently being developed, we go through builds like candy—on a typical day, there may be several new builds per hour. Every time we “kick” (distribute) a new build, it will automatically boot you out of the game and download all the new files the next time you launch the client. Basically, if your client is downloading files, it means there have been changes made to the game since the last time you played.

Q: My file “repairs” itself every time I crash…what do I do?
A: The most likely possibility is that your .dat file has somehow been corrupted, either in downloading the game or due to a crash. Try re-downloading the .dat file (by moving or removing the existing file) and see if that fixes the issue. If you’re still having problems, you may have hardware issues with your RAM or hard drive. There are a number of free programs, such as MemTest, to help you diagnose your system if this is the case.

Q: My client gets stuck updating at “Connecting to ArenaNet”; what do I do?
A: This is usually attributed to your firewall, which may be blocking your ability to connect to the ArenaNet servers. We recommend disabling your firewall first and seeing if this fixes the issue. AVG antivirus has also been historically problematic with blocking GW2 from connecting to our servers.

If disabling your firewall doesn’t work and you are able to access the internet through other games or in a web browser, you may need to re-download the client (as it may be outdated) or the .dat file (as it may be corrupted).

Q: Media Center launches every time I launch Guild Wars 2; how do I stop it?
A: Right click the client shortcut and select “Properties.” In the command line, you should see “-mce” tagged onto the end. Delete this tag, then click Apply > OK. That should do it!

Q: A new patch just came through and now I can’t log in. What should I do?
A: After a patch, the server can still take a minute or two longer to update and catch up. If a patch just went through, please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists, you can contact beta support or your ArenaNet / NC contact.