Almost all games go through immense quality assurance stages to make sure that the final product is bug-free, so the players can enjoy it as much as possible. Although the developers try to fix new errors that come up as fast as possible, it can be more difficult during release periods.
Whenever a new content patch gets released in Final Fantasy XIV, it attracts the attention of both new and returning players. More players mean a bigger sample size, meaning errors that may have flown under the radar during development may start surfacing.
When Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker crashes, players will find themselves staring at their home screen with zero clues to work with. Some errors will come with explanatory texts that will help players understand what may have gone wrong, but crashes won’t clarify the reason behind them. Though most of these crashes are likely to get fixed with quick hotfixes that usually roll out within a few hours, there are a few steps you can try out to prevent Final Fantasy XIV from crashing.
Lower your in-game settings
Overloaded systems are the number one reason behind games mysteriously crashing. If you’ve recently increased your graphics settings in Final Fantasy XIV and started experiencing crashing shortly after, your new layout may be the cause of the crashes.
You’ll either need to reset your in-game video settings or lower them manually to find a layout that doesn’t crash your game. If higher graphics settings tend to crash other games on your system as well, it may be time to consider an upgrade.
When you apply higher visual settings, your system will get hotter and if it can’t cool itself down, it can start closing processes that are using too many resources. This means that any fix that reduces the temperatures on your system may have a chance of fixing the crashes.
Alternative cooling methods and removing overclocks are two of the methods that can help cool down your system. Not only can lowering temperatures fix the crashing problem in Final Fantasy XIV, but it can also increase the average frame rate for most players by a little margin.
Keep your drivers updated
Developers use the latest technologies to further improve their games. Whenever there’s a new driver update for your GPU, you should download it since it may come with important bug fixes or features that were implemented into Final Fantasy XIV in its latest patch.
While it’ll be hard to notice the effects of outdated drivers unless your game starts crashing, you can also receive performance upgrades by having the latest drivers on your system. GPU manufacturers always try to optimize the gaming experience of their users, meaning you may average a few frames more by keeping up with your drivers.
Reinstall Final Fantasy XIV
Reinstalling Final Fantasy XIV sounds rough since no one will want to wait for it to install from scratch again. The download process can lengthen based on your internet speed, but it’s one of the most effective ways to troubleshoot your system for corrupted game files.
A corrupted game file can cause your game to crash and reinstalling will make sure that all of your game files are in the best shape possible. Before installing Final Fantasy XIV again, go over your files and make sure that there’s nothing left behind the previous installation of the game to make sure your next installation is a fresh one.
Check in with the community
If Final Fantasy XIV starts crashing for the majority of the player base, it may get picked up by the developers soon. When that’s the case, they may update the fans with a tweet, or you can keep up with other players on community hubs, like Reddit.
Most players often flood into community hubs to communicate with other players to see whether they’re experiencing similar problems. When the issue is fixed, you can also learn it from these platforms, allowing players to carry on with different tasks that don’t include gaming while still keeping up with Final Fantasy XIV’s state.
Send in a support ticket
When there aren’t any other players reporting crashes and everyone else is able to enjoy Final Fantasy XIV without errors, it may be time to contact the game’s support line.
Spare no detail and also mention all the troubleshooting steps you’ve tried to fix the error on your ticket. Providing more explanation in the form of videos and short clips are always welcomed since they can help the support team find the root of your problems faster.
In most cases, you should get a reply back within a few days, which can vary during new releases and holiday periods.
