Bypass Patcher, Direct-Start Client

It seems like Sword 2 patch server is currently down. However, the login/game servers are online. Since failure to connect to patch server results in error of the patcher, you can bypass the patcher (for now until G1 fixes the problem) in order to login to the game. Do the following:

1. Go to Sword2\release folder, and right-click on ge.exe to create a shortcut. (Note: This ge.exe is inside release folder, not the one in the main Sword2 folder.)
2. Right-click on the shortcut and select Properties.
3. In the Target field, add [space]-SERVICE[space]-WINDOWMODE[space]1 to the end of the line. So that it reads something like "C:\Program Files\Sword2\release\ge.exe" -SERVICE -WINDOWMODE 1. Note: Do not miss out on the space characters.
4. Click OK, then double-click on the shortcut to start the client without patcher. If you are using Windows 7 (and maybe Vista as well), remember to allow it to run with administrator rights (under Properties - Shortcut - Advanced).
   

Note that doing so will start the client without updating the client with the latest patch (if any). You should always try to start normally with the patcher first. Use the above method only when the patch server is having connection problems, but login/game servers are fine.

Full Screen Mode
As above, but change WINDOWMODE from 1 to 0. Personally, I'm always in Window mode, so I didn't test this myself. Thanks to Yoshinkan for verifying that it works.

Also, see Window Mode Resolution if your client window crops out the bottom skill bar.