Guild Wars 2 is switching to a streaming client, Blizzard is already using it, and League of Legends is opting out. What are the pros and cons?
Usually, you install a client and it first downloads several gigabytes of data. Each time the program starts again, these are checked and any patches installed before you regain access to the game.
However, more and more MMOs are switching to streaming clients. With these, the game can be started after just a few hundred megabytes. The download occurs in the background. Patches can also be installed during the game, so it only needs to be restarted.
Guild Wars already had this technology. When entering a new map, it would be downloaded first. Now its successor also wants to adopt a similar method. But what advantages come from this? And what disadvantages?
Starting the game faster
Instead of downloading many gigabytes, only a few megabytes are enough. Therefore, you hardly have to wait and can start the game much sooner. While creating your character, watching the intro, and playing the tutorial, all other files are installed in the background. Those who just want to test the game or spend a lot of time on character creation have a time advantage. Ideally, you won’t notice the streaming client because the new areas are downloaded faster than the player can complete them.
The slow internet connection
But for this, the internet connection should be fast enough. About 5 Mbit/s or more would be recommended. Otherwise, loading times become too long, and playing in a group becomes problematic. You are in a boss fight and after the wipe, the healer says, “Excuse me, I didn’t see the void zone, its texture hasn’t been installed yet.”
The start of the game is typically characterized by linearity or loading times. The more open the game world is at the beginning, the more likely the player can reach a location whose data is still missing. If an MMO has a streaming client from the start, the beginning of the game is usually very linear. This gives the client important time.
Surrounded by naked players
When entering the capital or another gathering place for many players at the beginning, the characters are displayed without equipment. Because this and other textures are only installed as needed. If you are surrounded by many players, the client can’t keep up.
Alternatively, characters may not be displayed at all. If suddenly 30 players appear in front of you in PvP, that is surely not a pleasant sight. But this is not a real disadvantage for Guild Wars 2. You had your time to get used to it.
You also have to prepare for lower graphics quality. High-resolution textures come last. They require a lot of storage space but have little impact on gameplay. Also, for MMOs with realistic lighting and shadow effects as well as reflections, you shouldn’t expect a streaming client. After all, there is also a larger installation folder because the files are more segmented than usual.
How it will behave in Guild Wars 2
Despite all the disadvantages, the time-saving advantage outweighs. For most MMOs, the streaming client is optional. Thus, it can also be set or disabled in Guild Wars 2 via a menu.
For Guild Wars 2, the 5 starter zones for level range 1-15 are installed at first launch. Afterwards, a priority list can be set. This means the player specifies which map should be prioritized for download. Alternatively, you can also enter and admire the loading screen. Pressing F11 opens the mentioned menu to disable the streaming client.
You can already test this client now. Right-click on the shortcut, properties, and in the field “Target:” at the end (after the quotation marks) enter -StreamingClient.
