I’m getting a weird variant of this problem. Since the patch last week I also get a CTD, sometimes randomly at loading screens, but I just tried to make a new character (a half hour ago) and discovered that I get a CTD whenever I try to play the new character. I skipped the intro animation for a new toon and should have been deposited in the Norn starter instance, but instead, loading screen→CTD, and CTD ever since.
By the way, these CTDs are weird CTDs, where GW2 appears minimized or completed closed, but the cursor remains onscreen, but won’t interact with my desktop or background software. ALT+Tab doesn’t work. I have to CTRL+ALT+DLT and restart from there.
If this is affecting new characters for people other than me, I can imagine a particularly frustrating experience for new players.