Guild Wars 2

As of October 26 Microsoft has launched windows 8, I’d like to upgrade to it.
Will Guild Wars 2 still work after the upgrade or will I have to re-download everything?

A friend of mine at work has been using the early release version of Windows 8 for a couple months with GW2 installed. He is very picky about game quality and told me the game has been playing just fine.

I use Windows 8 64 and have had no issues at all related to GW2.
You also should not need to change or reinstall GW2.

Just make sure you choose to preserve your settings and files rather than do a clean install (which will wipe everything).

I did not want to pollute the topic, but I was curious what Windows 8 using gamers think?

I have used almost every version of Windows they put out, and I hate change as it frustrates me to re-learn just for the sake of change. I can see I will instantly hate the start screen and probably be angry about it for months until I assimilated it. So knowing this, is there actually anything positive about Win 8? (You may love the new start screen, and I might learn to like it, just saying I KNOW I will hate it because it’s a change, and I hate change unless there’s compelling reasons for it)

Loved Windows 7, by the way. But this seems too different for no good reason, and it seems like you can’t set the setting to boot to the desktop. I STILL hate the new control panel, as I can’t find something in 2 seconds like I could with the old one (to give you an idea of how much I hate change, as the “new” control panel has been around quite a long time now.)

Windows 8 has a notably faster boot time. Or so I’ve been told. The new metro interface is the new desktop. Microsoft really let the unicorns loose on this one. I felt the design was styled with tablets in mind; and really, that’s where the majority of the market is going these days. Microsoft has some catching up to do with folks like Apple and Samsung continuously verging ahead in the mobile industry.

The only advice I offer is learn to adapt. I’m not trying to sound malicious in any way but change is happening, whether we want it to or not.

I have this theory…for awhile the even numbered Star Trek movies are better. Lately, the odd numbered Windoze released have been better. I may be able to wait for Windoze 9, on this one, but as you say, sometimes you are forced into a change.

michaeljhuman.3940:

I did not want to pollute the topic, but I was curious what Windows 8 using gamers think?

I have used almost every version of Windows they put out, and I hate change as it frustrates me to re-learn just for the sake of change. I can see I will instantly hate the start screen and probably be angry about it for months until I assimilated it. So knowing this, is there actually anything positive about Win 8

I’v been told that as for performance you got the super fast startup and turnoff. And apparently Windows 8 got much better handling of multicore CPU’s.. something about the handling of the modules handling the cores that was a little fail in windows 7.. but please, correct me if im wrong.

Just ordered Win8 myself, i did try it out a couple of months ago too, and like you i don’t like changes. BUT i got used to it and that metro screen when configured to your preferences is sooo much faster and better than using the win 7 start menu.

Can’t honestly see anything wrong with it. So im looking forward to upgrade..

Going from win7 64 to win8 64 im getting on average 2-5 fps higher than on 7 build. nothing huge but it is there. Also like above said feels some what smoother could be placebo but I’ve been told multi core is handled better like poster above stated.

z77-g55
i5 2550k 4.7ghz h80
8gb 2133mhz
120gb intel ssd
7870 2gb 12.11 drvs

I am definitely seeing a gaming performance increase on Windows 8. Guild Wars 2 seems to be getting somewhere between 10 and 15 more frames per second on Windows 8 than it did on Windows 7. Also it seems to be stuttering less and having fewer frame drops.

I Just upgraded from 7 to 8 and GW2 is fine. The only annoyance so far is that I cannot enable any other language in Windows but this has nothing to do with the game.

I have also just upgraded to Windows 8 Pro (great price) and my GW2 runs just as well as it did in Windows 7. In fact, it feels ever so slightly smoother.

Some articles re: Win8 have indicated that a handful of games run slightly better.

P.S. Sorry, realised I didn’t even answer your question. Yes, GW2 will still run (assuming you upgrade from 7 to 8. Obviously if you do a clean install of Windows, you will have to reinstall GW2).

I installed Windows 8 64 bit yesterday from scratch while keeping my GW2 installation on my separate drive intact. Zero problems. At some point I thought my fps had gone down a little but after a while I stopped noticing anything strange so might have been a fluke (or a DE happening nearby).

What comes to installation I would actually recommend a clean install if possible as a good way to get rid of all kinds of kittens that creep into your pc over time.

rezonate.6291:

I Obviously if you do a clean install of Windows, you will have to reinstall GW2).

This is not true unless you have GW2 on the same disk partition with your Windows installation and you reformat the drive when installing Win8. If Gw2 lives in a different partition or you don’t format the disk you only create a new shortcut to gw2 and off you go.

If you need to format the partition where you install you can even take a copy of gw2 folder (eg. into DVD) and copy it back after installation, make a new shortcut and jump right back to Tyria where you left off.

Thanks you all for the input. I’ll be doing the upgrade soon.
I need to upgrade a total of 4 Window 7 PC/laptops.

As far as re-install goes, I noticed its not necessary if you have downloaded the game client. I made a backup of the directory (Approx. 16.3Gb currently) and have re-installed Windows 7 a couple of times. Just copied the directory over from my external HDD back onto the PC and simply made a shortcut to the GW2.exe file. Runs perfectly fine. Doesn’t need any in-game running DLLs it seems like other games that install such files and have dependencies in the Windows registry. After reading the feedback I’m going to give Windows 8 a try and do some before and after comparison and post video/feedback….

I just update from Windows 7 Ultimate to Windows 8 Pro for $15 only + Media Center Pack.

You read it right. $15 upgrade. Everything snappy fast and smooth despite about the Start Metro UI is kinda awkward to get used to.

GW2 on Windows 8 has no major differences in performances from Windows 7 BUT loading time ingame is definitely faster!

Both OS tested and ran on the same SSD (Vertex 4 256GB). Windows 8 has better ram and CPU management as far I tested.

windows 8 is a fantastic os, the start menu was designed for touch screens, or devices like the leap motion which do away with touch entirely. with that in mind don’t expect to enjoy it without it.

give it some time as well, don’t right it off right away, patches and bug fixes will come thick and fast if they are needed.