GemFX is graphics enhancement add-on that allows users to apply a wide range of visual effects and improvements to certain games. It works as a shader injector that overrides a game’s default graphics effects. GemFx works great with Guild Wars 2 and installation is relatively easy, plus there is no risk for getting banned for using this add-on since it doesn’t violate GW2’s terms of service. This guide will show you how to get GemFX up and running with GW2.

Installation

Download the latest version of GemFX from the TWcenter forum.

GemFX Download Page (Version 1.0.9)

For GemFx to run properly you’ll need to make sure that your computer has Visual C++, .Net Framework and DirectX installed.

Run the executable and when prompted, direct the install path to your Guild Wars 2 installation’s “bin” folder (C:\Program_Files (x86)\Guild Wars 2\bin). If you use the 64 Bit GW2 client, then select the “bin64” folder as I have below.

The GemFX installer will then extract the required files to the GW2 bin folder. Navigate to that folder and launch the GemFX Configurator. If you run into configuration errors in the GemFX notification box you may need to run the configurator as an administrator.

Configuration

At this point GemFX is now enabled and will take effect the next time you launch Guild Wars 2. However, the default GemFX settings are less than ideal and you may want to open the GemFX Configurator in order to adjust the settings.

The settings may seem overwhelming at first, but hovering your cursor over the individual options will show a description of the setting in the notification box. If you don’t feel like messing with a lot of settings, you can download a preset GW2 configuration from the SweetFX/GemFX Settings Database. Once you have found a preset configuration that you like, simply download the file, rename it to “GEMFX_settings.cfg” and copy it to the “Guild Wars 2\bin\GEMFX\presets\current” folder, overwriting the default preset file.

GemFX Tips

• Hotkeys
  • Toggle GemFX: “F9”
  • Screenshot: “PrintScreen”
  • Toggle Blur: “K”
  • Reload GemFX: “Pause/Break”
• If you are using the 64 Bit GW2 client, make sure to check the GemFX box for “64Bit Application”
• Turning off FXAA in GemFX may result in a better experience
• Each of the Basic Shaders have settings that can be adjusted individually

Screenshots

These before and after shots were taken using a minimalist GemFX configuration used to sharpen and cleanup the visuals in Guild Wars 2. While it may be hard to tell from screenshots, the textures come through with greater detail and less “blurring” using these GemFX settings. Although the effect I was going for is pretty subtle, GemFX provides a variety of settings that can drastically change how the game looks.

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GemFX

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GemFX