How To: Guild Wars & Steam

This illustrated guide is intended to help both new and old players manage their Guild Wars account on Steam, and is applicable to players who have either purchased Guild Wars outside of Steam or through the Steam Store.

Introduction

The original Guild Wars has three main stand-alone campaigns. Its one shared expansion is available from (but requires) any of these three campaigns. The campaigns can be purchased in any order, from any source, and (via story progression) accessed by any character on the same account. These campaigns, and their store pages on Steam, are:

• Prophecies: Guild Wars® Game of the Year Edition
  
• Factions: Guild Wars Factions®
  
• Nightfall: Guild Wars Nightfall®

You can buy all three with Guild Wars® Trilogy:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/29570/Guild_Wars_Trilogy/
Each Guild Wars product purchased through Steam will provide you an Access Key for that single product. This Key can be used to create a new account, or added to an existing account. All Guild Wars content purchased on Steam is available through a single title in your Games Library called "Guild Wars," and any purchases are listed under it as separate "CD keys."

The expansion content Guild Wars: Eye of the North® is the only item that requires one of the base campaigns to play.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/29700/Guild_Wars_Eye_of_the_North/
Installing Guild Wars through Steam will only install the game client, which in turn will download and install any content needed during gameplay.

If your concern with Guild Wars and Steam is not covered in this guide, please leave a comment. Let's keep going another ten years!

Get Your Access Key

When you purchase any Guild Wars content on Steam, you will need to retrieve your Access Key (called a "CD key" in Steam). You can find your Access Key by right-clicking "Guild Wars" in your Game Library and selecting Manage > CD keys as shown:



A window will appear listing any Guild Wars Access Key(s) purchased through Steam:



Keys listed here are used in the steps that follow for Creating a New Account or Adding a Key to an Existing Account.

Mac Users

If you're using Steam on a Mac, the instructions above may not apply. Steam user nik has you covered:

Originally posted by nik:

You have to look on the app page for Guild Wars, under "LINKS", and halfway down is "CD Key".

The instructions below using the Guild Wars game client remain the same across OSs.

Creating a New Account

Begin by starting Guild Wars and selecting the option to "Create Account or Add Access Key" shown here:


On the following screen, check the box to "Create a new Guild Wars account" and then click the "Next" button in the bottom right-hand corner (leave the Account Name and Password fields on the left blank for now).



Select your region (choose "Americas / Other" if you receive an error) and enter your Access Key, then press "Next" in the lower right-hand corner:



The following screen will show a confirmation screen for the key you entered, and list any bonuses this key will unlock. Click the "Add Key" button in the lower right-hand corner to confirm.


Fill out your full, complete mailing address and then click the 'Next" button.



Finally, you will be asked to create your login and password. Your email address will be used as your Account Name (username). When you've entered your account information, click the "Create" button in the lower right-hand corner to create your account.

Adding a Key to an Existing Account

These steps will apply for existing accounts whether or not you've purchased Guild Wars content on Steam.

Once you've started Guild Wars and logged into your account, you will be at the Character Select screen. Click the button in the lower left that's labeled "Edit Account."



On the Edit Account screen, check the box beside "Manage Access Keys" and click the "Next" button in the lower right-hand corner.



The following screen will show you all the content currently unlocked for your account. To add an additional Access Key, click the "Add Key" button near the bottom of the window, and add the new key as normal.



Please note that adding keys for content you already have will forfeit any duplicate content. For example, if you already own Guild Wars Factions and add the key for Guild Wars Trilogy (which also contains Factions), you will not unbind your existing key, or otherwise still have an extra copy of Factions.

Likewise, there is no way to merge Access Keys between two separate accounts. Any keys added through this screen will become permanently associated with that single account.

Adding a Non-Steam Version

If you have not purchased any Guild Wars content on Steam but want to launch the game from your Steam Library and gain access to the Steam Overlay, you can add it as a "Non-Steam Game" by clicking this option from the "Add a Game" menu at the bottom of your games Library.

You cannot use the "Activate a Product on Steam" option with an existing Access Key.

Note that the non-Steam version is not linked to the Guild Wars store or community pages and will not have the same library features (including screenshot uploads) as the Steam version. You can still access this content, but will need to do so manually via the Guild Wars community hub.

Linking to Guild Wars 2

If your Guild Wars 1 and Guild Wars 2 account logins use the same email address, your accounts should be linked automatically. Unlinked accounts will should have the option to "Link a Guild Wars Account" at the bottom of the Game Content tab of the Guild Wars 2 account page at: https://account.arena.net while linked accounts simply will should not have this option. (Note that the status listed at the bottom of the the initial Overview page for Guild Wars 1 is unreliable.)

Note also that Guild Wars 2 accounts created via Steam are ineligible for account linking. (Source[help.guildwars2.com])

Manually Linking Accounts

Once your Guild Wars 1 account has been created, you will need to login to your Guild Wars 2 account page at: https://account.arena.net



Click the "Game Content" link near the top of the screen, and then find the option to "Link a Guild Wars Account" at the bottom.



This link will open a dialogue to let you enter your Guild Wars 1 account credentials:



As noted in the dialogue, your existing Guild Wars 2 credentials will be used to login to Guild Wars 1 after linking accounts. Once your accounts have been linked, you should no longer see an option to link your accounts.



That blank space (where the option to link accounts used to be) is the only indication that your accounts have been linked. If you are having issues linking your accounts, you will need to file a support ticket at https://help.guildwars2.com

Please note that only ONE Guild Wars 1 account can be linked to a Guild Wars 2 account. Use caution when selecting a Guild Wars 1 account to link to as this process is permanent and irreversable.

Verifying In-Game

Occassionally ArenaNet has "display issues" with their website which fails to show whether or not accounts have been linked. In all cases, if your Guild Wars 1 and 2 accounts were registered with the same email address, your accounts should be linked automatically.

You can independently verify your accounts have been linked successfully in-game by viewing the "Hall of Monuments" section of the Achievements tab in your Hero Panel in Guild Wars 2, which will show at least 3 points when an account has been linked to Guild Wars 1:



Special thanks to Steam user [TFOD]DoomOfGods for providing this solution and screenshot!

Questions & Answers

I have an old Guild Wars account. Can I buy additional campaigns or expansions through Steam?

Yes. Any Guild Wars content you purchase on Steam will add a "Guild Wars" entry to your game library, and will grant you a single Access Key for the content you purchased. You can follow the instructions above to retrieve your new Access Key and add it to your account. Campaign content (Game of the Year [Prophecies], Factions, Nightfall) does not need to be installed separately through Steam, as this content will automatically be downloaded by the game client when needed.

I bought [campaign name] on Steam but I already have Guild Wars installed elsewhere on my computer.

If you want to continue playing through your existing installation, get your Access Key using the steps above and then add it to your account If you'd prefer to launch with your new Steam version, use the "Install" link on the "Guild Wars" page of your game Library to install the launcher under Steam. Since both installations use the same "Guild Wars" directory in My Documents to store builds, screenshots, and other local files you should not have to copy anything, but if you uninstall one version make sure to back that folder up first just in case! Windows: %UserProfile%\Documents\Guild Wars\

How do I update my old @ncsoft username?

Old school! If you have an ancient account that needs to be updated, it now needs to be managed through the ArenaNet Website. Login here: https://account.arena.net/login and click the "Settings" link on the top. You should be able to add an email address in place of your previous username. Note that your email address will become your new username.

How do I update my email address?

You will need to file a support ticket. According to Support:

Originally posted by GM Tanzun, Guild Wars 2 Support Team:

There is no way to change your account name or e-mail address on your end, in order to do it you need to contact us so that we can make that change on our end. The only suggestions I give you is to fulfill all or as much of the information on the form as you are able to provide when contacting us through the Guild Wars 2 Support Interface. Please be aware that we are unable to help you with a request filed through any other means.

When doing so, please provide the e-mail address you want to use to log in to the game in the future. Please also be aware that the e-mail address that you submit in connection with this request cannot already be associated with a Guild Wars or Guild Wars 2 account. (In fact, for maximum security, we suggest you may wish to use an e-mail address for Guild Wars 2 that is not used anywhere else.)

To access our support interface, please go to the following link: https://help.guildwars2.com/anonymous_requests/new . Once you have opened that page, select "Account Issue" from the drop-down menu and fill in as much of the information on the form as you are able to provide. An agent will reply to your ticket as soon as they are able to do so.

I forgot my email address/password. How do I login?

You will need to file a support ticket. Visit https://help.guildwars2.com and click the "Submit a request" link near the top right. Select "I Can't Log In" and fill out the form as completely as you can.

I get an error when trying to install: "The installer could not write Guild Wars to the specified directory."

Try running the Guild Wars executable directly as an administrator. Go to the folder where you have Steam installed and navigate to \Steam\steamapps\common\guild wars\ and right-click "Gw.exe" and select "Run as an administrator." After successful installation, you will be able to launch Guild Wars from Steam normally.

The game won't run or get past the launcher after installing Guild Wars on a new PC.

Try running either Steam or the Guild Wars executable directly as an administrator. Right-click the file at \Steam\steamapps\common\guild wars\Gw.exe and select "Run as an administrator." After successful installation, you will be able to launch Guild Wars from Steam normally.

I get an error when trying to create an account: "Network error. Please check your connection to the internet and try again (code = 4294967)"

This happens when you are trying to create an account using a Guild Wars: Eye of the North CD key. Eye of the North is expansion content that requires the base game to play. You must purchase one of the core game campaigns to play, as stated in the product notice on the Eye of the North store page: "Guild Wars: Eye of the North requires an existing paid account for Guild Wars, Guild Wars Factions, Guild Wars Nightfall, or Guild Wars Trilogy."

I get an error when trying to create an account: "Network error. Please check your connection to the internet and try again (code = 3006)"

This happens when you are trying to create an account using an email address that has already been registered to Guild Wars 2. You will need to use a different email address when registering Guild Wars 1. If you wish you may then link your accounts using the steps described above.

I get an incorrect password error when I try to create an account (code = 011)

Use the same password you use for Guild Wars 2 or try using a different email address.

I get an error when trying to log in: "The email address "" was not found... (Code=244)"

This happens when you try to login using a Guild Wars 2 account that has not been linked to a Guild Wars account. If you want to log in using your Guild Wars 2 credentials, you must first link your accounts using the steps described above.

Why do I get an error when I try to confirm my account from email?

This is normal and can likely be ignored. Upon account creation, you will be emailed a link at the address you specified to confirm your account, but the page it links to is no longer active. Instead, you see a message saying, "We're sorry, but the web page you seek appears to have disappeared in the mist." I assume the link you receive is still active, but the confirmation page you are supposed to see is not.

What do I do if my Access Key/CD Key is missing in Steam?

If you know you purchased Guild Wars content on Steam and it will not display your Key using the steps described above, try restarting Steam or rebooting your computer. If the problem persists, contact Steam support to troubleshoot.

Can I play non-Steam Guild Wars with friends who purchase on Steam?

Yes. All players use the same servers.

Account Linking FAQ

What do I do if I don't see an option to link my accounts?

Real answer: Try again later. Very often, the ArenaNet Website does not give an option to link eligible accounts, and may even indicate that you have done so already by listing Guild Wars as "Active" on the account Overview page. If refreshing the page doesn't work, just try again in a few hours. You can file a support ticket instead if you prefer, but the issue will likely resolve itself before they have time to reply.

How do I link my Guild Wars 1 account to my Steam Guild Wars 2 account?

Guild Wars 2 accounts created via Steam are ineligible for account linking. According to GW2's official Steam FAQ:[help.guildwars2.com]

Guild Wars 1 accounts cannot be linked to a Guild Wars 2 account that was created via Steam. If your Guild Wars 2 account was created via Steam, you will not have the option to link a Guild Wars 1 account within the Account Management page of your ArenaNet account.

However, if you have a Guild Wars 1 account that was created via Steam, you will be able to link it to an existing [non-Steam] Guild Wars 2/ArenaNet account that was created via the Guild Wars 2 website.

I have a non-Steam Guild Wars 2 account and want to buy Guild Wars on Steam. How do I make sure the accounts are linked?

Create a new Guild Wars account as normal using the instructions above, but use your Guild Wars 2 login details on the last step when asked for your email address and password. Your accounts should then be linked automatically.

Update History

2025-03 Clarified some instructions.

2024-04 I've been maintaining this guide for 10 years!! Simplified the introduction and cleaned up the Q&A to celebrate.

2023-12 Updated Questions & Answers.

2023-11 Replaced a few older screenshots, edited some content for clarity, moved Update History to its own section.

2023-10 Added a second Q&A section for questions pertaining to account linking.

2023-08 Added a more prominent note above about Steam Guild Wars 2 accounts being ineligible for account linking.

2023-01 The Account Linking feature for Guild Wars 2 is no longer reliably available. Added a new item to the Q&A addressing this, as the steps to link accounts are still correct when this feature is working properly. If it isn't, just try again later.

2022-11 Added a note about Guild Wars 2 accounts created via Steam being ineligible for account linking. (Source[help.guildwars2.com])

2020-09-30 Character names are no longer required to login to Guild Wars. Per build notes, "Players are encouraged to add two-factor authentication to their accounts[help.guildwars2.com] if they have not already done so." The content above has been updated to reflect this change.

2017-08 The Account Linking feature for Guild Wars 2 will no longer indicate that accounts have been linked successfully. Instead you can verify your accounts have been linked successfully by the absence of an option to link them. You can also verify in-game by checking for at least 3 points in the Achievements tab under Hall of Monuments in your Guild Wars 2 Hero Panel.

2017-06: The Account Linking feature for Guild Wars 2 is working correctly again. The guide has been updated to provide manual instructions for both times when this feature works and times when it does not.

2017-04: The Account Linking feature for Guild Wars 2 will no longer indicate that accounts have been linked successfully. Instead you can verify your accounts have been linked successfully if you have at least 3 points listed in the Hall of Monuments section of your Achievements tab in your Guild Wars 2 Hero Panel.

2014-12-11 All Guild Wars accounts now need to be managed through the Guild Wars 2 account management page (accessible at: https://account.arena.net), even if you don't have a Guild Wars 2 account. (Source[help.guildwars2.com])

Disclaimer & Acknowledgement

The author of this guide, M. Doucet, is not an employee of ArenaNet (Guild Wars) or Valve (Steam), and is providing this content only for player reference. If you are having problems with your purchase on Steam you should contact Valve directly, and problems with Guild Wars or your Guild Wars account should be officially directed at ArenaNet. You can contact Valve at: http://www.valvesoftware.com/ and ArenaNet here: http://www.arena.net/

Use of this guide is at the player's own risk, and the author hereby disclaims any and all liability for issues that may arise from your use of information contained within this guide. This guide may not be displayed elsewhere without express consent from its author, and may be modified or removed at the discretion of ArenaNet, Valve, or the author at any time, without advance notice. The author assumes no obligation to maintain this guide or ensure the accuracy of its content.

The Steam logo and all screenshots of Steam software are copyrights of Valve Corporation. Screenshots of the game Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 Website are copyrights of ArenaNet. No ownership of the assets presented here is intended to be implied by the author, and each copyright holder retains full ownership over any reference image.

Acknowledgement

Special thanks to Steam users TerrorBite, Xens, [TFOD]DoomOfGods, Ze4lex, Chantellabella, and Eala Dubh for providing updated information on account linking and helping to keep this guide up-to-date!

Thanks also to Neotropic2023, Pow Meow, and MxFM for reporting new error codes.

Finally, thanks to Steam user nik for insight into the Mac Steam client.

The Steam community is lucky to have users like you!

[M. Doucet]

@Rage Kage - No simple way to do what? If there is something I am missing here, please share as I do not have access to a Steam Deck

@PandaKittenFace - Correct, they should be . What did you end up doing?

[PandaKittenFace]

"In all cases, if your Guild Wars 1 and 2 accounts were registered with the same email address, your accounts should be linked automatically."

Well this doesnt happen.

[Rage Kage]

dang no simple way to do this with a steam deck huh, gotta install it on the linux machine then add it to the steamdeck's local library

[RlDennis]

@M. Doucet - Cheers, that was a whole lot faster than loading them one by one

[M. Doucet]

@RlDennis - The downloads should only be triggered the first time you enter an area -- as in the game client only needs to download once for each piece of content. The speed is based on your connection speed and ArenaNet's servers - sometimes it can be slow!

But you can trigger the whole download manually if needed when you're not playing, perhaps overnight, but this is for advanced users only! Create a shortcut to the game executable and add the -image parameter (eg. "gw.exe -image"). The client will exit after all the updates have downloaded, so don't forget to remove the -image parameter when you are done or simply remove the shortcut. (Source: https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Command_line_arguments )

[RlDennis]

Is there a way to download the files for all the maps quickly? In-game download is going at around 10-200 KB/s. Is this just something you have to do as a first time thing or would you have to do it for every map?

[M. Doucet]

@EXPERIMENTONGOD - Thank you for sharing your experience! As you saw, the systems are always a little in flux with what works and what doesn't, so I try to cover all scenarios and am glad you found the answers you were looking for

[EXPERIMENTONGOD]

Great guide! I can confirm the following:

If you try to create a GW1 account using the same email address you have on a GW2 account it will give you an "incorrect password error". You need to use a different email address for the GW1 account and then link your GW1 account to your GW2 account on ArenaNet.

I didn't try using the GW2 credentials during GW1 account creation (I tried to login into GW1 with the GW2 credentials, as it was more intuitive), but that should also work according to your guide.

[Artwolf]

Worked, thanks!

[Valamir]

@M. Doucet - Good to know. I do have 👁️ of the North.