Installing, Updating, Repairing and Uninstalling

Nexus is a single file, d3d11.dll, that sits next to the Guild Wars 2 executable. When the game starts, it loads Nexus, and Nexus then loads, updates and manages your addons from inside the game. This guide covers every step of its life cycle: installing it, keeping it up to date, repairing a broken setup and removing it again.

Before you start

• Guild Wars 2 must run with DirectX 11, which has been the only renderer since 2021. Nexus does not work with the old DirectX 9 client.
• You need to know your game folder: the folder that contains Gw2-64.exe. Typical locations are C:\Program Files\Guild Wars 2 for the ArenaNet launcher and C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Guild Wars 2 for Steam. On Steam, right-click the game, then choose Manage and Browse local files.
• Close the game before installing or removing Nexus.

Installing with the Nexus Installer

The installer is the easiest option, and it takes care of addons you already have.

1. Download NexusInstaller.exe from the Nexus page.
2. Run it. It finds your game through the Windows registry. If it cannot, select Gw2-64.exe manually.
3. Check the list of detected modifications, then click Install Nexus.
4. Start the game.

If another tool already uses d3d11.dll, the installer moves it out of the way instead of deleting it:

See Compatibility and Integrations for how chainloading works.

Installing manually

1. Download d3d11.dll from the latest release.
2. If your game folder already contains a d3d11.dll from another tool, rename that file to d3d11_chainload.dll first. If it is ArcDPS, you can instead move it to the addons folder and rename it to arcdps.dll, so Nexus manages it.
3. Copy the downloaded d3d11.dll into the game folder, next to Gw2-64.exe.
4. Windows may block files downloaded from the internet. Right-click the file, open Properties and tick Unblock if the option is shown.
5. Start the game.

First launch

On the first start, Nexus shows its license agreement. You have to accept it before Nexus does anything else. Declining closes the game, and Nexus then tries to remove itself from the game folder. If the agreement shows up again on the next start, remove d3d11.dll manually as described under Uninstalling.

After accepting, you will see the Nexus icon in the Quick Access bar in the top left corner of the screen. Click it, or press Ctrl+O, to open the Nexus menu. From there:

• Addons shows your installed addons and the Library, where you can install new ones with one click.
• Options contains language, interface and style settings. See Customizing Nexus.
• Keybinds lists every keybind of Nexus and your addons.
• Log shows what Nexus and your addons are doing, which helps with troubleshooting.

Nexus creates an addons folder in your game folder. Addons live there, and Nexus keeps its own files in addons\Nexus.

Installing addons

Open Addons, switch to the Library tab and click Install next to an addon. Once it is installed, it is listed under Installed. If it is not active yet, click Load. Most addons start right away, without a restart, and Nexus remembers that they are enabled. The library is the same list you can browse on the addons page.

You can also install addons that are not in the library by placing their .dll in the addons folder. Nexus notices new files while the game is running and lists them under Installed, where you can load them. Only do this with files from sources you trust, see Safety, Addon Security and ArenaNet Policy.

Updating

Nexus

Nexus updates itself. On every game start it checks for a new version in the background and downloads it, and the update takes effect the next time you start the game. You do not need to download anything yourself.

Addons

Addons are checked for updates every time they are loaded, which includes every game start. Updated addons are reloaded automatically. Addons that cannot be unloaded while the game is running (for example ArcDPS) are updated on the next start instead, and Nexus tells you when that is the case.

You can also click Check for Updates on the Addons page at any time. Right-click an addon to turn off automatic updates for it, or to opt into pre-release versions if its developer publishes them.

After a game update

Some addons depend on game internals that can change with a patch. Their developers mark them as volatile. When Nexus detects a new game build, it disables volatile addons until they receive an update, and re-enables them automatically once the update is out. Everything else keeps running. You can re-enable a disabled addon manually if you know it still works.

Repairing a broken installation

Most problems are caused by a single addon, not by Nexus. Work through Troubleshooting first. If Nexus itself appears to be damaged, reinstall it while keeping your settings:

1. Close the game.
2. Delete d3d11.dll from the game folder. Leave the addons folder alone.
3. Download a fresh copy and install it as described above.

If you want to start from a clean configuration instead, rename addons\Nexus to something like Nexus.backup before starting the game. Nexus creates a new configuration folder and shows the license agreement again. Your addons remain installed, but all of them start disabled, and you can enable them one by one from the Addons page. You can copy individual files back from the backup later.

The most important files in addons\Nexus:

Uninstalling

Removing a single addon

Right-click the addon on the Addons page and choose Uninstall. Addons that cannot be unloaded while the game is running are removed on the next start. Alternatively, close the game and delete the addon's .dll from the addons folder. Many addons also keep settings in a subfolder of addons with their name, which you can delete as well.

Removing Nexus

Nexus does not install anything outside of your game folder and does not change the registry, so removing its files removes it completely.

1. Close the game.
2. Delete d3d11.dll from the game folder. The game now starts without Nexus and without any Nexus addons.
3. If you had another tool chainloaded, rename d3d11_chainload.dll back to d3d11.dll.
4. Optionally delete the addons folder. Keep anything in it that other tools still use, for example ArcDPS settings.

To start the game once without Nexus, without uninstalling it, add -ggvanilla to the game's launch options. See Troubleshooting.

Linux and Steam Deck

Nexus runs inside the game process, so it works under Wine and Proton. Install it the same way as on Windows, then tell Wine to prefer the native d3d11.dll in the game folder over its built-in one:

• Steam: set the game's launch options to WINEDLLOVERRIDES="d3d11=n,b" %command%.
• Lutris and other launchers: add a DLL override for d3d11 set to native, builtin (n,b).

If you also chainload or use a dxgi.dll, add an override for dxgi as well, for example WINEDLLOVERRIDES="d3d11,dxgi=n,b" %command%.