I had this problem with the last major patch as well. It turned out to be a conflict with my anti-virus. I had to disable it just long enough to get the launcher to work. Turned it back on as soon as I reached the login screen, and everything was fine. They deconflicted it after a few days last time.
I am unable to load anything pass the main {play} screen. I use Webroot. Normally, I can shut the Webroot down and bypass any hiccups and log into game. Today, with this newest patch, that has not been the case. Sadly, I just can sit here and do nothing. I hope we can find some answers soon.