Installation, files & settings

This page covers arcdps from the operator’s side: how it gets into the game process, every file it reads and writes, and how its configuration is stored. Facts are sourced from the official site (https://www.deltaconnected.com/arcdps/, fetched 2026-08-08) and, where marked binary evidence, from strings in the arcdps DLL itself (build 1.2026.718.905 / FileVersion 1.2026.718.905).

Install, update, uninstall

Verbatim from the official site:

to install, place d3d11.dll next to gw2-64.exe while the client is not running, optionally can be renamed to dxgi.dll. addons and arcdps config directory will be created alongside client exe after launch. to update, replace arcdps dll. to reset, delete the config directory above while the client is not running. to remove, delete the arcdps dll while the client is not running. some client updates may change components used by arcdps, requiring an arcdps update. most errors will disable logging and extension data sharing features.

The download is https://www.deltaconnected.com/arcdps/x64/d3d11.dll, alongside d3d11.dll.md5sum and d3d11.dll.version. Binary evidence: the DLL’s built-in updater fetches exactly those three URLs (plus an x64-beta/ variant when beta updates are enabled) and refuses updates on “version mismatch” or “hash mismatch” against the published .version/.md5sum files.

Load modes

Binary evidence — arcdps logs its own load mode at startup as info: as <mode>, where mode is proxy or addon:

Proxy mode — the documented install: the DLL is named d3d11.dll (or dxgi.dll) next to Gw2-64.exe, and Windows’ loader pulls it in instead of the system DirectX library. See DirectX proxy exports for how the forwarding works.
Addon mode — arcdps loaded by a third-party addon manager through its gw2addon_* exports rather than as the proxy DLL. The binary contains an options note “Unsupported when running in addon mode” for at least one feature, so expect minor feature differences here.
Chainloading — arcdps in proxy position can itself load a further wrapper: binary evidence shows it probing <name>_chainload.dll (i.e. d3d11_chainload.dll / dxgi_chainload.dll) and logging info: chainloading active. The official troubleshooting advice mentions chainloads only to say: when crashing, “remove all arcdps extensions and chainloads, and try to repeat the crash.” An options warning in the binary notes “Updating may fail or crash in chainload or external load environments.”
Wine/Proton — binary evidence: arcdps calls wine_get_version and logs info: detected wine %s. It runs under Proton; note that on typical Linux/Steam setups the d3d11.dll in the game root is DXVK’s, and arcdps is loaded by other means (e.g. an addon manager in addons/).

Extensions

place next to gw2 exe or in gw2 install dir/bin64/.

Extension DLL names must include arcdps to be logged (per the API README). arcdps can also self-update extensions that export get_update_url: binary evidence shows staged *.dll_update files and the message “extensions: retrieved update for” — updates download to a .dll_update file and are swapped in via the c_closeandupdate rundll32 helper. A safemode INI switch (binary evidence: “Restart required. Prevent loading of extensions, do not accept imgui contexts”) disables extension loading entirely — useful when bisecting a crash.

Files arcdps creates

All per-install files live in <GW2 dir>/addons/arcdps/ (binary evidence for each name):

File	Purpose
`arcdps.ini`	main settings file (see below)
`arcdps.log`	diagnostic log — first place to look when something breaks
`arcdps_lastcrash.log`	crash report from the built-in crash handler
`arcdps_imgui.ini`	ImGui window layout state
`arcdps_font.ttf`	optional user-supplied custom font (“Custom fonts can be loaded by placing arcdps_font.ttf in config directory”)
`arcdps_lang.ini`	optional translation file (community French/Chinese translations exist; see the official site’s translations page)
`icons/`	optional custom icons: `001.png`–`009.png` for professions and `e101.png`–`e904.png` for elite specializations

Combat logs go to Documents/Guild Wars 2/addons/arcdps/arcdps.cbtlogs/ by default (configurable), grouped per encounter — see the EVTC log format page.

Crash handling

Binary evidence: arcdps installs an unhandled-exception filter — “Intercepted unhandled exception in GW2 process. Game will terminate when this box is closed” — and writes a structured report (exception code/address, game build, map and position, OS version, CPU, RAM, GPU, VRAM, driver version) to arcdps.log/arcdps_lastcrash.log. The crash dialog is shown via the c_exceptionerrormsg rundll32 entry point. An INI-facing option can skip the handler when the game build matches a known-crashing value (“Skip arc crash handler if value matches game build number”), and ueh_filter appears among the INI keys.

Using it

From the official site:

by default, holding alt and shift is required for hotkeys, t is the hotkey for options. right click on windows to bring up their context menu options if available.

Settings storage (`arcdps.ini`)

The options UI writes to arcdps.ini in the config directory. Extensions can locate the file via the e0 export. The key names below were extracted from the DLL’s string table (binary evidence; the INI schema is not officially documented, so treat names as informative, not a stable API):

Session/behavior: safemode, session, log_max_scrollback, no_warn_nonessential_patterns, ignore_error_log, ueh_filter
Window behavior: always_draw_windows, hide_in_combat, show_in_combat, hide_in_cinematic, movelock_altui, clicklock_altui, window_fastclose, font_size, font_raster
Keys: global_mod1, global_mod2, global_hide, global_options, global_self, global_selfstats, global_selfskills, global_metrics, global_close
Logging: boss_encounter_ids2, map_encounter_ids, map_encounter_ids_asblacklist, boss_encounter_path, boss_encounter_saving, boss_encounter_npc_dirs, boss_encounter_player_dirs, boss_encounter_savewvw, boss_encounter_savemap, boss_encounter_minsq, boss_encounter_maxsq, boss_encounter_pctsq, boss_encounter_minenemy, minimum_log_duration, minimum_log_duration_pve, minimum_log_duration_map, minimum_fight_duration
Updates: check_version3, check_version3_beta, check_version3_ext, check_version3_lang
Stats behavior: reset_on_partychange, reset_on_mapchange, wvwinactive, ignore_wvw_conditions_historical, disconnected_history_time, normalized_rolling_minutes, target_mb_usage, slowva, no_obl_combattext, no_obl_alltext
Appearance: appearance_imgui_style192, appearance_imgui_colours192 (and _180 variants from the pre-1.92 ImGui era), appearance_arc_colours, appearance_proft_colours, appearance_profb_colours, appearance_sqt_colours, appearance_sqb_colours, plus per-panel panel_* keys

The logging keys map directly onto the “why wasn’t my log saved” diagnostics.

Troubleshooting

From the official site’s “something isn’t working” section, condensed:

Check <GW2 dir>/addons/arcdps/ for arcdps.log or arcdps_lastcrash.log.
Nothing draws → check the DLL name and placement.
Crashes at character select or “image modified” errors → another overlay app is interfering; repair the client, remove all arcdps extensions and chainloads, and try to reproduce.
Hotkeys not working → another app may hold a global hook.
File-creation errors → missing read/write permission on the directories above.
Known issues and support: the Elite Insights Discord (https://discord.gg/RaZ5myp).