How to play DS2 (v2.3) with friends! Online/Lan - FIX! STILL WORKS: May 2024

Hello everyone.

This guide is dedicated to the legacy of this game and the player base that must be granted availability to play this game online and offline.
Unfortunately, Steam does not offer proper support.
This guide does NOT include all possible fixes, such as the weird mouse-glitch or how to run the game in full-screen mode.
If you need support with other subjects regarding the games functionality, ask in the comments, search around the community forums and guides, or help others on their way!

I figured that there is no sufficient guide to cover this topic in its entirety. There are some that help on the way, but none is able to bundle up all the information for this specific setup which i suppose many others have!

Setup:
- You want to play Dungeon Siege 2 with your friends online or LAN

See? You WANT this guide! Give it a thumbs up if it helped, comment what went right or wrong with your configuration and let me know your success.
Questions? Just write a comment! I try to help out where i can!

How to play Dungeon Siege 2 with friends //Configuration guide

System: Win10
Date of Creation: 25.07.2020
EDIT DATE: 15.05.22 - STILL WORKS

1.) Setting up the Host-File for Network-Play

1.1 - Search for "notepad"
1.2 - Right click and run as administrator
1.3 - Go to: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc
1.4 - Open the file host (make sure to display all file formats, not just .txt otherwise it won't show up)
1.5 - Copy & paste BELOW the LAST LINE: 127.0.0.1 dsiege2.available.gamespy.com (this is NOT a link to click on in this guide you currently read. The formatting just plugs it that way...)
1.6 - Save with the editor (only works if you ran it as administrator)

2.) Relocate the Dungeon Siege 2 folder

2.1 - Go to your steam library here: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\
2.2 - Copy the ENTIRE Dungeon Siege 2 folder!
2.3 - Go to: C:\Program Files (x86)\ and create a folder with THIS NAME: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games
2.4 - Paste the ENTIRE Dungeon Siege 2 folder from your steam library into "Microsoft Games"

3.) DS2.exe replacement (makes the grey "Multiplayer" button clickable)

3.1 - Go to: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-CVu62vFAlkKYirjs0we66b_rKzbwMWO/view?usp=sharing (I am hosting this Download from my personal GoogleDrive now, because the original went down and is unavailable.)
3.3 - Extract the DungeonSiege2.exe from this extracted .rar
3.4 - Copy & Paste the extracted DungeonSiege2.exe into C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Dungeon Siege 2
3.5 - You must replace the DungeonSiege2.exe with the old one!

4.) Admin + Win XP SP3 the DS2.exe

4.1 - Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Dungeon Siege 2
4.2 - Right click on the (already replaced!) DungeonSiege2.exe
4.3 - Open the properties
4.4 - Enable: Run as administrator with every launch
4.5 - Enable: Windows XP Service Pack 3 (Win XP SP3)
4.6 - APPLY the properties and close out with OK.

5.) GameRanger - Tool to connect and play in a virtual network (absolutely required. Does not work otherwise well)

5.1 - Download GameRanger here: https://www.gameranger.com/
5.2 - Follow the basic and easy installation instructions
5.3 - You are required to set up an GameRanger account, verify it and ultimately log in
5.4 - Open and run Gameranger
5.5 - Click on "Host"
5.6 - GameRanger might have not found Dungeon Siege 2! Search for it in the by scrolling down in the selection
5.7 - Select Dungeon Siege 2 and help GameRanger finding the corresponding .exe to inject the Network-Magic
5.8 - Host the Game and set up a lobby name, password, etc.
5.9 - Get your friends to join you! They can find you via the GameRanger search function or if you are already friends!
5.10 - Wait until your players have all joined your GameRanger lobby and then hit "Start"
5.11 - The game will start in a SMALL WINDOW! If you have set up the launch options for DS2 with the .ini file, no worries!
5.12 - Click on "Multiplayer"
5.13 - Click on "Local Network"
5.14 - Set up your ingame lobby name, password, etc.
5.15 - Host the game via the "host" button (You are required to create or import an character to host the game properly)
5.16 - Now you are in the hosted game lobby. GameRanger will DETECT this process and will make every party member in the GameRange lobby launch the game after you are done setting up!
5.17 - If you join a game as a regular player, create a player name, import or create a new character. Done.
5.18 - When all players are ready, as the host, start the game in the games lobby
5.19 - After the loading screen for the host, everyone else will load in. (The game can now be MAXIMIZED! But it will ALWAYS be in windowed mode)

6.) WORK IN PROGRESS: Playing DS2 in FullScreen Mode!

6.1 - Go to the GitHub of: "Borderless Gaming" here: https://github.com/codeusa/borderless-gaming/release
6.2 - PLEASE NOTE: Get the Version that you need! In this case, you want the "Steam" Version. Current name is: Bordeless Gaming 10.0.0 (Steam) --> Direct link: https://github.com/Codeusa/Borderless-Gaming/releases/tag/10.0-steam
6.3 - Unpack the Zip. There you will find the contents for the programm
6.4 - INSTALLATION & USE GUIDE WORK IN PROGRESS! But i think you can figure it out from here

[Я твой Повелитель]

Не видно курсора. Не могу нажимать на кнопки.

[Snikkas]

@Memich The <title_name>

I think i remember that i have stumbled upon this problem once, too. But its long ago. I dont remember the fix, nor can i reproduce it.
Check every single step for its accuracy, and check especially, if you have overwritten the provided .exe AND (most importantly) the exact path!

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Dungeon Siege 2

I apologize not being able to provide a quick and direct fix or troubleshoot.

[Memich The <title_name>]

I stumbled upon the problem - i changed the exe file, but gameranger can't find it at all. what do i need to do. Thanks in advance!

[Snikkas]

Can you describe your issue a bit more?
I have done this setup for quite some PCs already (my fathers, mine (3x) a friend of mine, and i have tested it some times more).
I never had audio issues so far. And there is a fix for the Windowed-Mode: "Borderless Fullscreen" is the programm called. I may add an tutorial how to use it with DS2 properly on this guide, as well.
It has worked amazingly well in my tests and 2 days gaming session with my father :P

[Snikkas]

I have changed PC and had to reconfigure my Dungeon Siege 2 setup. I used my own documentation (this guide) and it worked perfectly fine.

*Confirmed 19.09.24*

*PS:*
If you download my DS2.exe from my GoogleDrive, just wait a bit after clicking download. GoogleDrive tries to zip together all blobs from the storage AND tries to do a virus-scan but fails anyways.
Also, before you can play, do this:

Go here:
C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\Documents\My Games\Dungeon Siege 2.ini

Added the following lines of text in at the bottom:

fullscreen = false
width = 1920
height = 1080


Thanks to @SuperSilverJnr

[Snikkas]

@irixon

I have downloaded the DungeonSiege2.rar from the link that i provided.
It worked fine!
So you would need to follow the instructions. What exactly do you mean by "It only copies the file name?"
The download link provides a " .rar " file.
You need to extract the folder and replace the .exe as instructed :)

In Russian (sorry if i did the wrong language):

Я скачал DungeonSiege2.rar по предоставленной мной ссылке.
Это сработало нормально!
Поэтому вам придется следовать инструкциям. Что именно вы подразумеваете под «Он копирует только имя файла?»
Ссылка для скачивания предоставляет файл «.rar».
Вам нужно извлечь папку и заменить .exe согласно инструкции :)

[PackerVirus]

+1 This worked.

[SuperSilverJnr]

Just to confirm this works in 2024 so big thanks Snikkas!

Just to note to fix the no cursor bug I just edited the .ini file in C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\Documents\My Games\Dungeon Siege 2

Added the following lines of text in:

fullscreen = false
width = 1920
height = 1080

and cursor came back - just start by hosting the game in the tiny window, then you can maximize screen. Its not perfect but me and my bro tested and can now relive some some nostalgia!

[irixon]

DungeonSiege2.exe НЕ СКАЧИВАЕТСЯ А ПРОСТО КОПИРУЕТЯ ИМЯ ФАЙЛА!! как скачать есть другая ссылка??

[player.rpg]

07\09\2024 gameranger with mods (inventory/upscale windowborder/pets/enchants) working fine