If flexible abilities, personal stories, and specializations in an MMO sound intriguing to you, you'll want to check out the incredibly low Guild Wars 2 system requirements that are easily run on just about any modern gaming laptop or PC. If you're just interested in the base game, those requirements are even simpler to meet.
Guild Wars 2 has always reserved a special place in my heart because of its combat, diverse professions, and the ability to switch skills on the fly by changing weapon loadouts. Fortunately, you don't need the best gaming PC from our buying guide to get the game running at its best, and you'll need even less if you just want to dip your toes into one of the best free PC games, and one of the best MMO games of all time.
Here are the Guild Wars 2 system requirements:
Minimum (base game) | Minimum (all DLC) | |
OS | Windows 7 64-bit | Windows 7 64-bit |
GPU | Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT |
Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 AMD Radeon HD 7970 |
VRAM | 512MB | 2GB |
CPU | Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4GHz Intel Core i3 AMD Athlon 64 X2 |
Intel Core i3 3.4GHz AMD Athlon X4 3.8GHz |
RAM | 4GB | 8GB |
Storage | 70GB | 70GB |
When you compare the Guild Wars 2 minimum requirements to just about any modern game, there's barely any bite to them. Assuming you only want to play the base game, just about any gaming PC or laptop will easily surpass the Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS or ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT GPU requirement, considering both were released nearly 20 years ago. The Intel Core 2 Quad or Intel Core i3 series and AMD Athlon 64 X2 are similarly easy to meet, in addition to the 4GB of RAM.
However, the likelihood that you'll be playing just the base game of Guild Wars 2 without any of the DLC options seems pretty slim. If you're on a budget, the DLC goes on sale fairly often, particularly if they're the older expansions. Assuming that you want to play on the Guild Wars 2 End of Dragons expansion from 2020 or the Secrets of the Obscure, Janthir Wilds, or the upcoming Visions of Eternity DLC, you'll need a much more powerful setup than the base game's demands.
Said rig will need an Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 or AMD Radeon HD 7970 GPU, an Intel Core i3 or AMD Athlon X4 CPU with 3.4GHz or higher, and 8GB of RAM to get the game running with the latest Guild Wars 2 expansions. Of course, these requirements are still pretty low by modern standards, but we could see an increase in a future DLC.
There are no official Guild Wars 2 recommended specs, but you'll want to secure the most stable and best internet connection you can in order to enjoy the game without any lag or connection issues, whether you pick up the game via Steam or directly via the game's launcher.
Of course, if you do pick up the game via Steam, you'll need to be running Windows 10 64-bit onwards due to the Steam Client's requirements. Of course, if you are still on Windows 7 or any other OS older than Windows 10 (bearing in mind that Windows 10 will lose support from October 14, 2025), you should seriously consider an upgrade to keep your device safe and compatible with other modern games.
As for the Guild Wars 2 download size, the base game and all the latest expansions call for 70GB of space, but the base game alone only needs about 35GB. Of course, the game's storage demands could well increase as additional expansions arrive. So, if you need an upgrade or just want some extra space, check out our buying guide for the best gaming SSD.
With any MMO, comfort and custom hotkeys are a top priority for anyone who wants to top the Guild Wars 2 leaderboards, so outfit your setup with the best gaming keyboard and the best gaming mouse from our buying guides.
Take our Guild Wars 2 system requirements benchmark test to answer the question… Can I run Guild Wars 2?
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