Guild Wars 2

Hey all, ever since the Clockwork Chaos patch I’ve had loading screens that are unbearably long. I know that this is an issue other players have had (including those on Windows) but I recently upgraded my OS X from 10.6.8 to 10.8.4 and, surprisingly, my loading screens are much longer than they were prior to the upgrade.

The first time I load into a map – no exaggeration – I have to wait anywhere from 3-10 minutes, depending on its population (I think; LA takes the longest at 5+ minutes, without fail).

I’ve always had longer loading screens than most people playing (15-forty five seconds [kitten kittens messing up numbers!]) but this has reached the point where it’s nearly unplayable. When in-game things play relatively well, though my MBP is running much hotter – temperature wise – on GW2 with Mountain Lion than with Snow Leopard. Could the heat be related to the issue?

System Specs —
Model: MacBook Pro, 15-inch, Early 2011
Processor: 2 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory: 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6490M 256 MB
Software: OS X 10.8.4 (12E55)

Again, I want to clarify that this loading screen issue was compounded immensely when I upgraded from 10.6.8 to 1.8.4. Although I’m sure that something is server side as loading screens for everyone have been longer this patch, I’d love any suggestions for how to make my system run more smoothly.

Edit: All drivers and OS are up to date. I’ve also reset my SMC/PRAM and nothing has changed.

Thanks in advance!

Ive noticed this as well, and I thought maybe just the amount of people in the map. However while doing map completion on my new toon, and on maps that have very few people it takes a while to load as well.

Anyone else have this problem?

I can only give you a reference of playing within the first two months and now having returned with this patch already active. Personally, I think MacBooks (I have the identical model as you) struggle with this game as-is. On the other hand, I also agree load times seem to be compounded… more like to 1-2 minutes, though. I am to the point of running this game on the lowest video standards, which makes it look like an over-glorified Minecraft.

Yet, I’m not sure there is much they can do about it. Coding can sometimes cause issues like this, especially when events are going on within already highly populated regions. For instance, for whatever reason, in a game called WoW (don’t shun me), “vanilla” areas would load much quicker than areas that were later added in other expansions. Wrath zones were particularly hellish for me. Fundamentally, it’s still the same game, but the content, for whatever reason, demands something more from my computer/RAM.

This may be the case until current in-game events end, or it could be something we have to live with at 4gb of RAM. You might want to check out your computer if you are hitting 3+ minute walls, though. That seems unreal unless you are running on very high graphic settings.

Edit: I also have major problems when shutting the game down. Once again, this may be related to RAM more than anything, as well as graphics switching.

rsq.3581:

Hey all, ever since the Clockwork Chaos patch I’ve had loading screens that are unbearably long. I know that this is an issue other players have had (including those on Windows) but I recently upgraded my OS X from 10.6.8 to 10.8.4 and, surprisingly, my loading screens are much longer than they were prior to the upgrade.

The first time I load into a map – no exaggeration – I have to wait anywhere from 3-10 minutes, depending on its population (I think; LA takes the longest at 5+ minutes, without fail).

I’ve always had longer loading screens than most people playing (15-forty five seconds [kitten kittens messing up numbers!]) but this has reached the point where it’s nearly unplayable. When in-game things play relatively well, though my MBP is running much hotter – temperature wise – on GW2 with Mountain Lion than with Snow Leopard. Could the heat be related to the issue?

System Specs —
Model: MacBook Pro, 15-inch, Early 2011
Processor: 2 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory: 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6490M 256 MB
Software: OS X 10.8.4 (12E55)

Again, I want to clarify that this loading screen issue was compounded immensely when I upgraded from 10.6.8 to 1.8.4. Although I’m sure that something is server side as loading screens for everyone have been longer this patch, I’d love any suggestions for how to make my system run more smoothly.

Edit: All drivers and OS are up to date. I’ve also reset my SMC/PRAM and nothing has changed.

Thanks in advance!

I was taking a look over your Mac’s Specs and the only thing that may be a problem from what I can see based on what you’ve shown is your DDR3 is 4GB now if you look in activity monitor while running the game you can see how much memory is being used meaning you don’t have enough RAM for your MacBook Pro 8GB will get you good performance though your system is upgradable to 16GB which then you’ll be more than ok, also its best to make sure your router is working properly to prevent any Lag or latency issues which may be causing your load screen to take so long

here is a site to get the compatible RAM for Mac at a cheaper price than other providers like Apple inc. themselves also theres a picture so you can simply look at it too
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=MacBook%20Pro%20

Hope this helps in some way

-From the cutest little Quaggan
“oooOOoo”

Topher, his system only supports up to 8gb.

It may help with loading times, but I find that my MBP late 2011 system had long loading times on 4gb, but not too much shorter on 8gb. 8gb just gives me better performance, but I still take longer to load that others on MBPr systems running 16gb. I think processor is more important than RAM in this circumstance.

Long loading times may be helped by a better processor and making sure you don’t have any networking issues. However, this may also be a server/coding issue.

Thanks for the responses, everyone!

I’m definitely thinking that some sort of issue has come up with my computer by switching to Mountain Lion. I’ve noticed when running Activity Monitor that I have CrashReport pretty much always active (despite PRAM/reboots) and it is absolutely eating up my CPU. Any suggestions? Or any other general suggestions as to how to get 10.8 to run more smoothly in general, with or without GW2? Hardware updates would be a last resort.

Something has also changed for GW2, as before I made any changes to my computer the Clockwork Chaos patch caused me to have longer loading times. They were bearable though; the combination of CrashReport/slow Mountain Lion + whatever changed with GW2 has made for pretty unplayable load times, however.
P.S. I timed some – about 2 minutes to load into Heart of the Mists and

Findecano.8124:

snip

Unrelated – but what a small world it is! I played vanilla WoW on a little server called Thunderlord and I more than recognize your name… Feel free to message me anytime for nostalgic purposes :P

Thanks again! Really appreciate all of the help so far.

Rsq, sometimes the act of upgrading your OS can cause odd issues. It’s sometimes best to wipe it all out and install the latest version fresh.

That’s really the only thing I can think of at the moment in regards to your issue other than hardware upgrades.