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@"Cragga the Eighty Third.6015" said:

@"Marco.6324" said:Hi, i've logged into the game after 2 years of not playing bought the expansions and downloaded the 64 bit client because the 32 bit version is not running at all.I am experiencing very slow loading screens, get killed by invisible enemies and bump into invisible objects at lowest settings making the game extremely unplayable and really frustrating.mac pro 13 20122,9 GHz Intel Core i78GB 1600 MHz DDR3Intel HD Graphics 4000I know this mac is kinda outdated but with the 32 bit version I never had problems and could play even with medium settings.I really hope that we will get some feedback soon.

Not sure how much you've read back on the thread, but if you can get hold of an external SSD drive, the game runs much better off that than off a regular HD.

I appreciate your suggestion. However, it is very unpleasant that one has to spend 50 bucks to get back into GW2 and than been told to spend more money just to upgrade a mac for a game that was once running smoothly without any problem. This 64 bit client has been a kind of disgrace for people that at the moment cannot afford a ssd or a better computer you know. Many others are unsatisfied with the decision of shutting down the 32 bit client and we do not even know the reason behind this. I just hope that we will get an answer soon and know how "us", owners of old macs can play this game.

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@Marco.6324 said:

@"Cragga the Eighty Third.6015" said:

@Marco.6324 said:Hi, i've logged into the game after 2 years of not playing bought the expansions and downloaded the 64 bit client because the 32 bit version is not running at all.I am experiencing very slow loading screens, get killed by invisible enemies and bump into invisible objects at lowest settings making the game extremely unplayable and really frustrating.mac pro 13 20122,9 GHz Intel Core i78GB 1600 MHz DDR3Intel HD Graphics 4000I know this mac is kinda outdated but with the 32 bit version I never had problems and could play even with medium settings.I really hope that we will get some feedback soon.

Not sure how much you've read back on the thread, but if you can get hold of an external SSD drive, the game runs much better off that than off a regular HD.

Many others are unsatisfied with the decision of shutting down the 32 bit client and we do not even know the reason behind this. I just hope that we will get an answer soon and know how "us", owners of old macs can play this game.

Well, when my 32-bit app died, this is what someone told me, for what it's worth:

@Figlilly.3907 said:It's probably because the 32 bit client uses Cider and I believe it is no longer a thing having been bought by Nvidia. ArenaNet probably no longer have a license to develop or improve it.

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@DrMORO.4627 said:Sooooo, What's going on 'up there', Jon?

There's not much that's interesting to tell you all right now. We've been investigating the previously mentioned problems.I posted in the AMA yesterday that we have reproduced some of the performance issues and we believe we've eliminated asset loading as the source. We are exploring other possible sources now.

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  • ArenaNet Staff

For anyone having issues who is still using the Mac 32 bit client, the fix will be to switch to the 64 bit client. We changed the min spec with the release of Path of Fire to the 64 bit client for both Mac and Windows. This new min spec applies to all of Living World Season 4 as you need to own PoF to play.

You can download the client here: https://account.arena.net/welcome

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Hi! I meet the min specs for playing Guild Wars 2 on Mac but scenery does not load in most maps on the 64-bit client. See pics below:Zbtplr8.pnghKhMDTN.pngNotice the near 10 minute break between screenshots. More than enough time to make a cup of tea but I thought I'd be able to play the game when I got back, LOL.For people who use an external SDD, do you think purchasing one will fix my issue?

& to help:Processor: 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5Memory: 4 GB 1600 MHZ DDR3Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536 MB

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@Jon Olson.8439 said:

I posted in the AMA yesterday that we have reproduced some of the performance issues and we believe we've eliminated asset loading as the source. We are exploring other possible sources now.

@Ester Sauter.7694 said:For anyone having issues who is still using the Mac 32 bit client, the fix will be to switch to the 64 bit client.

There's no point telling people to switch to the 64-bit client when it doesn't run on their systems well enough to play it. We've been waiting an awfully long time for a fix. Many of us who can run the 64-bit game have to run it off (rather expensive) SSD add-ons, and even then it's not ideal. The fact is, if the 32-bit client is now dead for everyone, you are going to lose a sizable chunk of your Mac players.

After all these months, the only thing you can tell us is that you've eliminated one possibility of what might be the problem. I'm sorry, but from this end, it doesn't feel like there's much effort going into it, or much reason to believe in a solution coming anytime soon. Or at all.

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What!? Really? switch clients? I kept the 32-bits Client because the 64-client crashes every 10-15 minutes, the sound and models takes way longer to load and the maps load sometimes without terrain... and it's been almost a year and no solution appears for that in the 64-client, I feel like I'm moving from a problem into another. It's kinda unfair for Mac users, but I understand that there's some problems you just can't fix.

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@inkhorn.3409 said:Hi! I meet the min specs for playing Guild Wars 2 on Mac but scenery does not load in most maps on the 64-bit client. See pics below:(screen shots removed for repost...)Notice the near 10 minute break between screenshots. More than enough time to make a cup of tea but I thought I'd be able to play the game when I got back, LOL.For people who use an external SDD, do you think purchasing one will fix my issue?

& to help:Processor: 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5Memory: 4 GB 1600 MHZ DDR3Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536 MB

Is your internal storage drive a 'spinning' Hard Disk Drive (HDD), or a 'non-spinning' Solid State Drive (SSD)?If the former, I would say Yes, an external SSD will 'improve' your playability of the Mac GW2 64-bit app, from my own experience, and possibly as mentioned by a few others here. Not cheap, yet it does not have to be a big SSD drive, and even a 128 GB SSD should do a good job.If already have a SSD inside, then I would say your issue is possibly not from a slow storage drive, and probably from something else within the app itself or other specs of your Mac. Adding memory will also help your Mac feel snappier, yet a HDD to SSD exchange is quite a big speed improvement to make your Mac feel 'like new' speedy, kinda.

Then again, I have not experienced such prolonged delay of reading and displaying the game environment.Your situation is definitely 'unplayable'. Feel sorry for you.Let's all hope that 'up there' has some great improvements waiting to be released, and (most) all Mac GW2-ers play happily on their beloved Macs soon.Hope...

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@inkhorn.3409 said:For people who use an external SDD, do you think purchasing one will fix my issue?

& to help:Processor: 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5Memory: 4 GB 1600 MHZ DDR3Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536 MB

If I were to guess I would say your problem is the memory as it looks like the characters are there but the background textures are not. The minimum you can get with an iMac now is 8 GB so I am guessing it is an older machine? If the plan is to solve it with money go to someplace like OWC and see if you can up the ram . An SSD would mainly affect slow load speeds, check if you are maxing out your memory or something in the activity monitor. That will also give you an idea how your network pipe is doing as that is what things looked for me in one online game that I tried via dialup.

Hmm, intel graphics .... maybe a mac mini?

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@DrMORO.4627 said:

@inkhorn.3409 said:Hi! I meet the min specs for playing Guild Wars 2 on Mac but scenery does not load in most maps on the 64-bit client. See pics below:(screen shots removed for repost...)Notice the near 10 minute break between screenshots. More than enough time to make a cup of tea but I thought I'd be able to play the game when I got back, LOL.For people who use an external SDD, do you think purchasing one will fix my issue?

& to help:Processor: 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5Memory: 4 GB 1600 MHZ DDR3Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536 MB

Is your internal storage drive a 'spinning' Hard Disk Drive (HDD), or a 'non-spinning' Solid State Drive (SSD)?If the former, I would say Yes, an external SSD will 'improve' your playability of the Mac GW2 64-bit app, from my own experience, and possibly as mentioned by a few others here. Not cheap, yet it does not have to be a big SSD drive, and even a 128 GB SSD should do a good job.If already have a SSD inside, then I would say your issue is possibly not from a slow storage drive, and probably from something else within the app itself or other specs of your Mac. Adding memory will also help your Mac feel snappier, yet a HDD to SSD exchange is quite a big speed improvement to make your Mac feel 'like new' speedy, kinda.

Then again, I have not experienced such prolonged delay of reading and displaying the game environment.Your situation is definitely 'unplayable'. Feel sorry for you.Let's all hope that 'up there' has some great improvements waiting to be released, and (most) all Mac GW2-ers play happily on their beloved Macs soon.Hope...

Actually, prices are not that bad out there if you do not buy from apple. More expensive than a HDD still, but reasonable. I picked up a 1/2 TB enterprise grade external SSD and put it in a USB3 case, which is approximately the same speed (more or less depending on the test) as a thunderbolt 2.

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@"Cragga the Eighty Third.6015" said:

I posted in the AMA yesterday that we have reproduced some of the performance issues and we believe we've eliminated asset loading as the source. We are exploring other possible sources now.

@Ester Sauter.7694 said:For anyone having issues who is still using the Mac 32 bit client, the fix will be to switch to the 64 bit client.

There's no point telling people to switch to the 64-bit client when it doesn't run on their systems well enough to play it. We've been waiting an awfully long time for a fix. Many of us who can run the 64-bit game have to run it off (rather expensive) SSD add-ons, and even then it's not ideal. The fact is, if the 32-bit client is now dead for everyone, you are going to lose a sizable chunk of your Mac players.

After all these months, the only thing you can tell us is that you've eliminated one possibility of what might be the problem. I'm sorry, but from this end, it doesn't feel like there's much effort going into it, or much reason to believe in a solution coming anytime soon. Or at all.

Actually, I was just reminded yesterday apple plans to completely drop 32 bit support with 10.14 so now is a good time to make sure your 32 bit apps are updated anyway.

As to SSDs being expensive, do not go by apple's prices. Get their standard drive in your machine and use it for data then buy an external SSD from some third party. I had done that well before I even started playing GW2 as it makes your whole system better and faster.

Many apps now, especially ones like games, pretty much require an SSD to get a good experience. I am more concerned with the latest major OS (High Sierra) still giving people problems.

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Hello. I'm playing on a Mid-2012 Macbook Pro 13" with an added SSD and 4GB RAM. Most things worked fine until the last update (I'm not sure the update is the problem, just want to see if someone has the same issues). I had issues when game started and then crashed "Coherent host crashed" etc. but that's not so bad, when it starts after a few tries.

But now, in-game, when I go to another map (whether via waypoint or not) it won't load, and just stay in the loading screen with music.Nothing happens for a long time, then when I click alt+fn+ESC (same as ctrl/alt/del in windows?) the game client closes without error.

Anyone knows what that is about or has the same problem?Thanks!

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@DrMORO.4627 said:Is your internal storage drive a 'spinning' Hard Disk Drive (HDD), or a 'non-spinning' Solid State Drive (SSD)?If the former, I would say Yes, an external SSD will 'improve' your playability of the Mac GW2 64-bit app, from my own experience, and possibly as mentioned by a few others here. Not cheap, yet it does not have to be a big SSD drive, and even a 128 GB SSD should do a good job.If already have a SSD inside, then I would say your issue is possibly not from a slow storage drive, and probably from something else within the app itself or other specs of your Mac. Adding memory will also help your Mac feel snappier, yet a HDD to SSD exchange is quite a big speed improvement to make your Mac feel 'like new' speedy, kinda.

Thanks so much for such an informative breakdown! It is a HDD so I'm gonna have my fingers crossed that an external SDD will help with the problems with loading. Some other people I've talked to have mentioned partitioning as well to avoid using the mac client altogether. Considering I was raiding & pvping with not much issue before (apart from uniquely long loading screens but those weren't even that bad) it is a massive shame but, hey, it's about time I upgraded a little. I'll keep my fingers crossed 'up there' will deliver us some fixes too!

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@Menadena.7482 said:If I were to guess I would say your problem is the memory as it looks like the characters are there but the background textures are not. The minimum you can get with an iMac now is 8 GB so I am guessing it is an older machine? If the plan is to solve it with money go to someplace like OWC and see if you can up the ram . An SSD would mainly affect slow load speeds, check if you are maxing out your memory or something in the activity monitor. That will also give you an idea how your network pipe is doing as that is what things looked for me in one online game that I tried via dialup.

Hmm, intel graphics .... maybe a mac mini?

It's an older Macbook pro. I'll definitely look at my memory too as I try to troubleshoot again later. Luckily, it looks like OWC have a retailer in the UK but the installation help on the US site looks fantastic. Thanks for the tips!

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@"trainoasis.2706" said:Hello. I'm playing on a Mid-2012 Macbook Pro 13" with an added SSD and 4GB RAM. Most things worked fine until the last update (I'm not sure the update is the problem, just want to see if someone has the same issues). I had issues when game started and then crashed "Coherent host crashed" etc. but that's not so bad, when it starts after a few tries.

But now, in-game, when I go to another map (whether via waypoint or not) it won't load, and just stay in the loading screen with music.Nothing happens for a long time, then when I click alt+fn+ESC (same as ctrl/alt/del in windows?) the game client closes without error.

Anyone knows what that is about or has the same problem?Thanks!

It looks like you are still using the 32-bit client like many of us were. Unfortunately, the last update made it impossible to load into new maps. Anet's advice has solely been to download and move to the 64-bit client as they've stopped support for the 32-bit client. See https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/31312/after-yesterdays-pof-download-characters-cant-exit-areas-pc-freeze-using-wp-and-portals-mac#latest this thread for clarification and notes on the similar issues. Sorry. :(

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@inkhorn.3409 said:

@Menadena.7482 said:If I were to guess I would say your problem is the memory as it looks like the characters are there but the background textures are not. The minimum you can get with an iMac now is 8 GB so I am guessing it is an older machine? If the plan is to solve it with money go to someplace like OWC and see if you can up the ram . An SSD would mainly affect slow load speeds, check if you are maxing out your memory or something in the activity monitor. That will also give you an idea how your network pipe is doing as that is what things looked for me in one online game that I tried via dialup.

Hmm, intel graphics .... maybe a mac mini?

It's an older Macbook pro. I'll definitely look at my memory too as I try to troubleshoot again later. Luckily, it looks like OWC have a retailer in the UK but the installation help on the US site looks fantastic. Thanks for the tips!

No probs, I go to them all the time when setting up a new machine. I was not even thinking a mbp .... I use one for my dailies when on vacation but would not recommend it at all if you are expecting desktop performance in the game. You might want to look at your graphics settings and see if there is anything you can turn down.

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@inkhorn.3409 said:

@"trainoasis.2706" said:Hello. I'm playing on a Mid-2012 Macbook Pro 13" with an added SSD and 4GB RAM. Most things worked fine until the last update (I'm not sure the update is the problem, just want to see if someone has the same issues). I had issues when game started and then crashed "Coherent host crashed" etc. but that's not so bad, when it starts after a few tries.

But now, in-game, when I go to another map (whether via waypoint or not) it won't load, and just stay in the loading screen with music.Nothing happens for a long time, then when I click alt+fn+ESC (same as ctrl/alt/del in windows?) the game client closes without error.

Anyone knows what that is about or has the same problem?Thanks!

It looks like you are still using the 32-bit client like many of us were. Unfortunately, the last update made it impossible to load into new maps. Anet's advice has solely been to download and move to the 64-bit client as they've stopped support for the 32-bit client. See
this thread for clarification and notes on the similar issues. Sorry. :(

To be fair, Apple plans to drop 32 bit support anyway with the fall OS update and windows is in the process of getting rid of it too. Yes though, it would have been nice to have more time to kick the tires with the 64 bit client before the 32 bit one was no longer supported but that may not have been an option with the new maps.

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For those of us refusing to leave our 32 bit client: if you try to load a new map, you can force quit the game, and restart it, and it loads you into the new map. I advise not playing pvp, though, because this takes just as much time as it gives you to at the start of the match, and every time I've tried, I come back just as the match is starting. No time to adjust your build or switch your class.

But just to make a point about how much the 64 bit client actually sucks: I would rather have to force quit and restart the 32 bit client just to get into a new map than use the 64 bit client. Seriously. And I'm saying this as someone with a new mac that exceeds all of the minimum system requirements.

Last I checked, I was getting 16 fps, with all of the graphic settings on the lowest possible setting. And I'm having problems with the resolution. If I use 3200 x 1800, DPI scaling off, and the largest interface setting, everything looks how it does in the 32 bit client, but my mouse is so small I can barely even see it.

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The hitching is making me want to not play this game any more. Just try doing a jumping puzzle when the game pauses for sometimes an entire second or more during the middle of jumps because other players come into view...

Today's daily included King Jalis's Refuge jumping puzzle and Sanctum Sprint. Is this some kind of punishment for Mac players?

If this was on Windows, people would be howling in protest at how atrociously stuttery and hitchy the game is. I guess I was stupid to believe that this many months after release this problem might have been given the attention it needs. I guess I should consider myself lucky that I don't have the incredibly long load times that other people are experiencing.

It's funny that the GW2 site says "The Mac version of Guild Wars 2 runs well on" ... "MacBook Pro 13", 15", 17" (Mid-2012)", yet I'm experiencing these performance issues on a top of the line MacBook Pro 15" (TB, Late-2016) with the best available GPU.

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@"sunrun.4521" said:It's funny that the GW2 site says "The Mac version of Guild Wars 2 runs well on" ... "MacBook Pro 13", 15", 17" (Mid-2012)", yet I'm experiencing these performance issues on a top of the line MacBook Pro 15" (TB, Late-2016) with the best available GPU.

That might be marketing speak. The MBP I use when on vacation is later then a 2012 and I can barely do my dailies without screaming. I would NEVER advise using a mbp for any game for the best experience.

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@Xillllix.3485 said:Anyone did a Bootcamp vs Mac client benchmark test? It seems to me that the Mac performance optimization really need some improvement.

40-60 fps in most classic / Hot areas with BootcampC, 15-25 fps on macOS in the same areas. Slower with more characters on screen.

MacPro 2x 2.93Ghz (6 core), 48Gb ram, 2Gb GTX 680. 1920x1200.

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@Menadena.7482 said:

@"sunrun.4521" said:It's funny that the GW2 site says "The Mac version of Guild Wars 2
runs well
on" ... "MacBook Pro 13", 15", 17" (Mid-2012)", yet I'm experiencing these performance issues on a top of the line MacBook Pro 15" (TB, Late-2016) with the best available GPU.

That might be marketing speak. The MBP I use when on vacation is later then a 2012 and I can barely do my dailies without screaming. I would NEVER advise using a mbp for any game for the best experience.

Irresponsible of them to say such a thing any case if it's clearly false. MBPs can run games well in my experience, at the very least far better than how it's gotten with GW2 after they switched from Awsomnium to coherent for the trading post host. Runs well and best experience are two different levels anyhow! I'm fairly patient I can handle low frame rates very well, prolonged loading not so well and instability and crashes get my goat...

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