Install
The launcher does everything: it downloads the game, sets it up, points it at the realm and starts it. You will not have to edit a config file or type an address anywhere.
Set aside about 20 GB of free disk space and an evening for the first run. After that it starts in seconds.
EQ2Launcher.exe · version 0.0.0 · 00 MB
SHA-256 21d697efe116ca013078f3bd7448f83d5892ed69167eee8bb00ffe364c696380
- Run the file you downloaded. Nothing installs — the launcher is a single file and runs from wherever you put it. Somewhere you will find it again is better than your downloads folder.
- Windows will warn you about an unknown publisher. This is expected. The launcher is not code-signed, because a signing certificate costs several hundred dollars a year and this is a server for six people. Click More info, then Run anyway. Your antivirus may also quarantine it for the same reason.
- Press PLAY. The game is delivered as 53 separate archive parts, so this stage takes a long time and the progress bar will sit on the same number for a while. It has not frozen. Leave it alone until it says Ready to play.
- Press PLAY again. The first press installs and stops. The second press launches the game. This is deliberate, so a long download does not dump you straight into a login screen hours later.
- Make an account at the login screen. Type the username and password you want and log in — the account is created the first time you use it. There is no email, no confirmation, and no recovery, so pick something you will remember.
If extraction fails with "cannot open the file as archive", you have an old build of the launcher. Download it again from this page and delete the old copy.
Nastrond-Launcher.AppImage · version 0.0.0 · 00 MB
SHA-256 289c3146c12c96482370de0b4bfa1f383ca71bd05ae62f5bd625c4faa106c465
- Make it executable. Either tick the box in your
file manager's properties dialogue, or run
chmod +x Nastrond-Launcher.AppImage. - Run it. The game itself is a Windows program and runs through Proton, which the launcher handles for you. The first launch builds a Wine prefix, so give it a moment longer than you expect.
- Press PLAY. The game arrives as 53 archive parts. This is the slow bit — the progress bar will look stuck and is not. Wait for Ready to play.
- Press PLAY again. The first press installs and stops; the second one starts the game.
- Make an account at the login screen. Whatever username and password you type the first time becomes your account. There is no email and no password recovery.
The game window will show a generic Wine icon in your taskbar. Cosmetic, and fixable with a desktop entry — ask and I will send you one.
After the first launch
The launcher checks for updated artwork and settings every time you press PLAY, so the realm can be repainted without sending you a new build. If the server is unreachable it skips the check and starts the game anyway — a download problem should never stop you playing.