Guild Wars 2

Hey, I have been getting a black screen crash every time I play, between every 5 minutes up to 1 and a half hours. The Gw2 cursor is still visible/movable, I can also Alt-Tab in and out. I can Alt+F4 out and immediately start the game again.

They started right after I got a Netgear D6300 and I have tried disabling “SIP ALG” (as other forums suggest) to no avail.

I have an i7 870 and an FGX560 all with the latest drivers (I did a clean Windows 7 64bit install yesterday onto a brand new drive, noticed the black-screen before clean install though). I am also confident that my computer isn’t the issue because my mate had exactly the same issue when he brought his laptop around. He has played before and after at his house without issue.

Does anyone have a solution to this?

Im having the same exact problem. Im on a macbook pro running 10.8.2. Im able to play about 20 mins max before loading screen freezes, or the screen goes black randomley with music still playing in the backround. alt+f4 works to quit.

Yes, sounds like my problem. I love this game when it’s running properly, but I’ve had a few troubles with it in the past, it’s a shame it won’t just work.

Note: I sent in a support ticket (pretty much worded exactly like this) and got a reply:
“As this issue has occurred after you have switched to a new router and appears to be the cause of the issue, you will need to contact the router manufacturer for further assistance with configuring the router to resolve this issue”
I feel like they’ve just hand-balled me on and would’ve liked a little more attention than this from customer support, since this problem is present across several branded routers and only with their game.

Update on question: Using a static IP and port forwarding hasn’t helped at all. Other people have apparently fixed this problem by disabling SPI on their router. However my router (Netgear 6300 using Netgear genie) has no such option available.

They also managed to fix this problem by connecting directly to the modem rather than through a router. I also can’t do that because I have a router-modem in one and I have to share the internet with family members.

My father paid quite a bit of money for this router and it instantly improved out internet connection reliability and speed tenfold, so I will not be replacing the router soon.

I suggest looking for that option on your router’s settings, at least then the problem will potentially be solved for you.

I have this since halloween.
You are lucky, that you have got the answer to your ticket.
I tried to disconnect my router and it seems better, but I will not buy other router because of someones kittenty programming. My computer is higher than recommended and NEW ROUTER WAS NOT counted in when I bought this game. In my country this price is 1/10 of average month salary, so for me it´s quite a lot money.

I say again, if everything was fine before halloween and right after patch started to blackout, it´s not problem on my side.
Other games are without problem.

I’ve had this since I brought it.. I can’t see the game, I just open to a black screen, and I can move the mouse and everything, no music, no picture, nothing, just a black screen. I’m starting to believe it could be a router based thing, but I don’t see any way to disable my router’s SPI Firewall and I cant connect directly to the modem… because the cable doesnt reach my pc… hmmm.

The netgear 6300 does have SPI feature. If you can’t find a way to disable it, try using dd-wrt to replace the router’s firmware.

dnszf…move the whole PC..just for the test?

^^ that seems like it could be a whole lot of effort, and disruption just to get a game working.. but i guess i’ll give it a try…

kirito.4138:

The netgear 6300 does have SPI feature. If you can’t find a way to disable it, try using dd-wrt to replace the router’s firmware.

My Netgear TL-R402M is not supported and I don´t have SPI in my router visible in settings. But again, behind this router is only antenna and my provider and I have still this issue, only not so often.

Alright, I’ve tried Disabling my Firewall, Allowing the program to bypass the firewall, plugging my pc directly into the modem (via ethernet cable, unplugging the main wireless router) and it still isnt working… Although I think i’m getting further… I can now select options, but still cant see the game or hear any music.

I created a shortcut to Gw2 with the argument ‘/clientport80’ and haven’t gotten a black-screen since. HOWEVER the game does lag a bit with this setting, and if I launch it without the shortcut it black-screens again.

My next step is to try things like /clientport6600 to try and see if I can find the faulty port.

Alright, I tried all the /clientportsXXX

Worked:
/clientport80
/clientport6112

Didn’t:
/clientport6600
/clientport443

Hey Peteie – forgive the noob question but where exactly do I add that argument to the shortcut? inside the inverted commas or afterwards? Could you paste exactly what you’re using?

Remember to get the drive and folder location right.

Target: “E:\Program Files (x86)\Guild Wars 2\Gw2.exe” /clientport80

Cheers – turns out I guessed it right, but thanks for confirming… also, dunno if it’s blind luck or your awesome suggestion, but I’m not getting the black screen any more since I’ve done the clientport 80 thing… fingers crossed.

You seem to have been able to figure out what the tech support drones still don’t have a clue about – they just keep hitting me with “send us more diagnostic logs” stalling tactics. Ah well…

That’s good to hear

Gotten noticeable lag (more than without clientport80) ?

Unfortunately this didn’t help me much .. I’m still waiting for a fix (since early December). Happy Wintersday? Not really …

mack.1574:

Unfortunately this didn’t help me much .. I’m still waiting for a fix (since early December). Happy Wintersday? Not really …

In my short experience fiddling with this. I’ve noticed that it seems that
/clientport either doesn’t let you log in or runs fine,unless you’re still getting black screens?

Is this the same bug? have you tried it from a mate’s laptop in your home to confirm that it’s your network or your pc? What are your computers’ specs?

It allowed me to log in and join, but doesn’t fix the black screen and fps shizzle-sticks.

I would share my PC specs but they exceed the requirements by a lot, and also my (almost) month old ticket has got to the ‘shrug’ stage. I’m still not entirely convinced it’s not windows-related, given the influx of issues to do with this.

Oh well

I have absolutely no fps problems, I think you’re issue is different; sorry

I’m Having the same problem, i just finally bought this game, and after playing 10 minutes, the black screen comes and the music still plays, alt + F4 works to close the game. It’s a shame the game be considered the game of the year, and one of the most epic MMORPG, and no one it’s working to resolve this problem with so many peoples suffering the same.

Same prob black sceen and this the 2 time it happon.

Have you tried all the potential solutions mentioned in this thread?

I’ve had the exact same type of issue since fractals came out, tried this port forward thing wich sadly didn’t stop the blackscreens from happening but did actually improve another issue with super long loading screens that’s been annoying the hell out of me I’d say they are cut by 50% or more, so thank you for that.

I’m going to throw this out there: If some of you are having issues with specific router features, and NO ONE ELSE is having those issues, why would ArenaNet try to re-write parts of the GW2 networking to handle your specific routers?

Since a router is simply supposed to hand traffic back and forth, it should be up to the device manufacturer to do that properly. You’re asking ANet to solve a problem they’re not causing.

RvLeshrac.2673:

I’m going to throw this out there: If some of you are having issues with specific router features, and NO ONE ELSE is having those issues, why would ArenaNet try to re-write parts of the GW2 networking to handle your specific routers?

Since a router is simply supposed to hand traffic back and forth, it should be up to the device manufacturer to do that properly. You’re asking ANet to solve a problem they’re not causing.

Well that would depend very much on what is wrong wouldn’t it, the odd thing that seems to apply to everyone having this blackscreen issue is that no other games or applications are affected at all, only GW2, so there might well be something they could, need or should change then. Also it’s far from affecting “no one else”, this seems like a pretty widespread problem.

Manekk.6981:

RvLeshrac.2673:

I’m going to throw this out there: If some of you are having issues with specific router features, and NO ONE ELSE is having those issues, why would ArenaNet try to re-write parts of the GW2 networking to handle your specific routers?

Since a router is simply supposed to hand traffic back and forth, it should be up to the device manufacturer to do that properly. You’re asking ANet to solve a problem they’re not causing.

SPI is a standard firewall found in a lot of common high-end routers designed to protect your computer. Not a “problem” in their router.

Not to mention the game sets off computer’s firewalls (much easier to fix, but still a point)

Every other online game Ive played can run without setting off alarms. ANet should design their game in a way that doesn’t make it look like a security risk.

Peteie.4523:

Manekk.6981:

RvLeshrac.2673:

I’m going to throw this out there: If some of you are having issues with specific router features, and NO ONE ELSE is having those issues, why would ArenaNet try to re-write parts of the GW2 networking to handle your specific routers?

Since a router is simply supposed to hand traffic back and forth, it should be up to the device manufacturer to do that properly. You’re asking ANet to solve a problem they’re not causing.

SPI is a standard firewall found in a lot of common high-end routers designed to protect your computer. Not a “problem” in their router.

Not to mention the game sets off computer’s firewalls (much easier to fix, but still a point)

Every other online game Ive played can run without setting off alarms. ANet should design their game in a way that doesn’t make it look like a security risk.

There are no ‘alarms.’ Firewalls typically block ALL non-web traffic until otherwise instructed.

The Windows Firewall in 8/7/Vista uses SPI. It does not cause issues.

Point is, every other game manages.