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Q:How do I contact ArenaNet with a technical problem?
A: ArenaNet has an official technical support forum at https://forum.guildwars.com/forum/
Q: I want to upgrade my video card. But my computer only has a PCI slot. What are my options?
A: The PCI bus is really, really old as a video interface. You're not going to get any cards with high performance out of it. Your best bet is a PCI GeForce 6200, or a 128-bit Radeon 9550 or 9250 (avoid the 64-bit versions, their performance is terrible). Avoid the budget GeForce FX and MX cards. They are poor performers. By n-bit, I mean the memory interface the cards have. Crudely, think of it as a highway: a 128-bit interface can handle much more traffic than a 64-bit one, and performance increases considerably as a result.
Q: What's the sound slider in Guild Wars do?
A: See this thread posted by Gaile.
Q: What command line parameters can I use with Guild Wars?
A: Here's a list I previously posted with rather terse descriptions.
Q: How will my computer perform in Guild Wars?Code:-dx8 Forces DirectX8 renderer -perfs Shows framerate, traffic, triangles -password Put your password after the switch so you don't need to log on at GW startup -email Put your email address after the switch and it will appear as login -nosound Disables sound altogether -noui Disables the GUI -heapsize Put the amount of memory you want to GW to use after the switch, in kB -repair Repair GW registry entries -uninstall Uninstalls GW -windowed Forces GW to start in windowed mode -diag Launches Anet's GW diagnostic utility -fps Specifies maximum framerate to draw -image Downloads all updates before you zone ingame -noshaders Disable DirectX8 and 9 shaders -mute Disables sound output, but not driver and DirectSound overhead -bmp Save screenshots in BMP format instead of default JPG (The following sound flags are mutually exclusive) -sndasio attempts to use an ASIO driver in software mode -sndwinmm attempts to use the Windows Multimedia audio driver in software mode -dsound forces use of old DirectSound software mixer.
A: See this thread for a couple reference points. It's old and we haven't gotten many new posts in it yet, but for a quick idea, there you go. For comfortable play at 12801024 maximum settings (4xAA, post-process on), I suggest a Pentium 4/D at 2.8 GHz or above (any Athlon 64 or Core 2 will do) with at least a GeForce 6600 GT/Radeon X800 GTO.
Q: I'm getting a "Connecting..." window and can't zone anywhere ingame or even login.
A: Chances are there's a problem on the route between you and the GW server you are trying to reach. Check the Network News, since there's not much you can do about it. Others are probably getting the same problem, so the world doesn't hate you. If this is the first load after a client update, verify that you do not have a popup from a personal firewall or other security program requesting permission for the application (gw.exe) to access the internet.
Q: I'm lagging in Guild Wars. The game is unplayable. /ragequit
A: Again, there's probably some issue between you and the Guild Wars server. You may also wish to check whether some other programs are eating up bandwidth. Problems like this are usually temporary and clear up within a day, if not a couple hours.
Q: Why does your Guild Wars look different than mine?
A: You can edit the interface. Open the options window and click to the Interface tab, where you can muck around with the UI to your heart's content. Note that you can also drag buttons off the expanded Menu for clickable alternatives to your keyboard shortcuts. To get rid of them, simply drag them back onto the Menu button.
Q: I'm getting intermittent, random crashes/freezing in Guild Wars, but I know I'm not overheating and my memory has checked out fine. What's going on?
A: The problem could lie in a weak power supply. Insufficient power causes the most capricious of errors, ranging from what looks like faulty memory to reboots to freezing. Alternatively, if you've been poking inside your case recently, dust it out and check the seating of your components.
Q: There's this awful display corruption and corruption on my screen. Is something overheating?
A: Generally, display corruption or "artifacts" like checkerboarding mean that something is wrong with your graphics card. CPU overheating will tend to throttle performance into the single-digits and not cause crashes unless it's an extreme problem. Clean up the innards of your case with a compressed air container, or for a band-aid fix, open up the side of your case and blow a floor fan inside. If the display corruption goes away, the problem is definitely overheating. Either install a new cooler on the GPU (not recommended, usually voids warranty) or get an RMA for the unit.
Note: If anyone has any suggestions for further questions and answers that might help the community, please PM them to me so they can be added to this list.
Many thanks to Seef II who contributed the FAQ for the forum!
