Solved Blish HUD for Guild Wars 2 - Launched with Proton on ArchLinux

[Shefla]

Hello,

First post here so don't hesitate to tell me if I need to change something.

I am using ArchLinux and I am playing to Guild Wars 2 using Proton (and umu-launcher).
Today, I am trying to install an addon named Blish HUD (I think is is a launcher for Guild Wars 2, it allows to display extra details on screen).

Blish HUD

Blish HUD is a powerful overlay framework designed for Guild Wars 2. Manage numerous modules/addons to bring quality-of-life features and improvements to your gameplay.

blishhud.com

Blish HUD and Guild Wars 2 are launched properly but an icon is supposed to be added in the game (top of the screen) and it is not the case (sometimes it is there for 1s and then it disappears).
I can see errors on screen and in log files.

In terminal_output.txt file, you can see the command I use to launch everything and the different errors (I added some <<...>> lines to mention manual steps).
blishhud.20260427-104410.log is the log file created in /Games/umu/umu-default/drive_c/users/steamuser/Documents/Guild Wars 2/addons/blishhud/logs

Here are some details on used version.

$ uname -a
Linux arch-bureau 6.19.12-arch1-1 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Sat, 11 Apr 2026 22:36:29 +0000 x86_64 GNU/Linux

$ lsb_release -a
LSB Version: n/a
Distributor ID: Arch
Description: Arch Linux
Release: rolling
Codename: n/a

$ ls /usr/share/steam/compatibilitytools.d/ 2>/dev/null || ls ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d/ 2>/dev/null || ls ~/.local/share/Steam/compatibilitytools.d/
LegacyRuntime UMU-Proton-10.0-4 UMU-Proton-9.0-3.2 UMU-Proton-9.0-4e

Do you have any idea what is going on ? And what should I do to fix it ?

Thanks in advance

 

[AlphaObeisance]

I don't play Guild Wars personally but I can tell you that you've got a unique challenge I've not personally experienced before.

You're trying to run a mod that, on windows, is a secondary application that runs in the background as an .exe. It works well on windows because the mod understands the windows hierarchy; but it doesn't understand Linux at all.

The reason you're finding this difficult on linux is because you have to find some way to share the game's compatability environment within linux with the mods exe. And you're essentially going to have to share the that environment with two applications.

I don't actually know how to do this off hand without some study; but I can tell you that's effectively what you're going to have to do.

While I'm sure it can be done, somehow. It may prove a bit difficult as you're asking the translator (linux) to translate the conversations of two speakers simultaneously within the same conversation. I'm afraid I can't help any further, but this is my attempt to better help you understand your situation.

Linux could likely run both of them individually without an issue. But I'm not sure how to address the unique shared environment nature of this unique circumstance.

It's going to boil down to figuring out how to share the guild wars environment with the mods exe simultaneously. Maybe someone more experienced than I can enlighten you as to how to achieve this.

 

[CaffeineAddict]

Log file says some method is not implemented but doesn't say which one, I'd create an issue on github and ask the devs for details:

GitHub - blish-hud/Blish-HUD: A Guild Wars 2 overlay with extreme extensibility through compiled modules.

A Guild Wars 2 overlay with extreme extensibility through compiled modules. - blish-hud/Blish-HUD

github.com

 

[Shefla]

Thanks AlphaObeisance for the explanation. I know I'm venturing into uncharted territory here . I managed to run Bartender4 from CurseForge in WoW from linux using proton so I thought I could try it with GW2.

Thanks CaffeineAddict for the suggestion. I have opened an issue on GitHub. Let see what happen next.

 

[AlphaObeisance]

Thanks AlphaObeisance for the explanation. I know I'm venturing into uncharted territory here . I managed to run Bartender4 from CurseForge in WoW from linux using proton so I thought I could try it with GW2.

Thanks CaffeineAddict for the suggestion. I have opened an issue on GitHub. Let see what happen next.

I used to run quite an extensive list of mods and UI overhauls back in the wow days myself haha. If you figure it out let me know. I'd be curious to know!

 

[Shefla]

I had an answer to my issue in GitHub.

First of all, we should not use GitHub issues but the discord channel to raise problems : https://discord.gg/FYKN3qh

There is another repo for Linux :

external-dx11-overlay/Simple-User-Guide.md at master · SorryQuick/external-dx11-overlay

Allows an external overlay to render inside a game as a DX11 render hook. Originally made for BlishHUD and Guild Wars 2, - SorryQuick/external-dx11-overlay

github.com

I followed steps 1, 2 and 3 (with Steam) and it worked.

$ find /mnt/linuxapp/umu_proton/Guild\ Wars\ 2/
/mnt/linuxapp/umu_proton/Guild Wars 2/Gw2-64.exe
...
/mnt/linuxapp/umu_proton/Guild Wars 2/addons/LOADER_public
...
/mnt/linuxapp/umu_proton/Guild Wars 2/addons/LOADER_public/Gw2-Simple-Addon-Loader.exe
...

I didn't managed to make it work with umu-run directly.