Most Common Causes & Working Solutions (PC)
Crashes can happen during:
- loading screens
- raid entry
- large ARC encounters
- extraction points
- high-traffic interiors
- long sessions
Most are caused by performance spikes, memory caps, driver conflicts, or corrupted asset streams.
Below is a structured fix list — start from the top and work downward.
1. Update Graphics Drivers First
ARC Raiders is extremely sensitive to outdated GPU drivers.
• Open NVIDIA or AMD software
• Install latest Game Ready/Adrenalin release
• Restart PC
Players report most crash fixes come from this alone.
2. Enable “High Performance” GPU Mode
Windows sometimes defaults ARC Raiders to low-power.
Windows > Graphics Settings > ARC Raiders
→ Set to High Performance GPU
This prevents:
- sudden FPS dropouts
- VRAM throttling
- crash spikes during combat
3. Disable All Third-Party Overlays
These are known crash triggers:
❌ Discord overlay
❌ Steam overlay
❌ NVIDIA Shadowplay
❌ Xbox Game Bar
❌ MSI Afterburner overlay
❌ AMD/Radeon overlay
❌ GeForce Instant Replay
Overlays cause injection conflicts and memory interruptions during loading or extraction sequences.
4. Verify Game Files
Corrupted texture or geometry assets routinely cause raid-entry crashes.
Steam > ARC Raiders > Properties > Verify Integrity
If the game patched recently, do this first.
5. Switch to Fullscreen or Borderless
Many crashes are tied to Display Mode changes.
Recommended setting:
Borderless Fullscreen
It stabilizes:
- frame swaps
- UI redraws
- alt-tab behavior
- overlay conflicts
6. Reset Graphics Settings to Medium or Lower
ARC Raiders spikes memory during intense raid events.
Lowering select settings stabilizes frame delivery.
Reduce:
- Shadows
- Volumetrics
- Ambient Occlusion
- Foliage density
- Post-processing
- Anti-aliasing (Medium)
Stutter = pre-crash warning.
When the engine struggles, it usually dies next.
7. Cap Your FPS
Unlimited framerates can spike CPU/GPU usage hard enough to crash.
Set cap to:
- 60 or 72 on weaker rigs
- 90 or 120 on stronger systems
The game runs smoother when the renderer isn’t overstressing hardware.
8. Monitor VRAM
If your card runs out of video memory, the game often:
- freezes
- blacks out
- crashes to desktop
Lower:
- texture quality
- model quality
- terrain detail
VRAM starvation is one of the top causes of ARC Raiders crash loops.
9. Disable Ray Tracing (If Available)
Ray tracing massively stresses the engine during particle-heavy fights.
It’s often the FIRST thing to turn off on unstable systems.
10. Close Background Apps
Memory-starving is a silent crash trigger.
Close:
- Chrome/Firefox
- Unused launchers
- Recording software
- RGB control tools
Give ARC Raiders maximum CPU + RAM stability.
11. Turn Off High-Resolution Textures
These dramatically increase VRAM usage during:
- urban interiors
- raid hotspots
- heavy ARC spawns
If raids run fine outdoors but crash indoors, textures are the culprit.
12. Switch to DX11 (If Supported)
Some systems crash less on DirectX 11 due to:
- gentler memory handling
- fewer shader compile spikes
DX12 can produce better visuals but is rougher on borderline rigs.
13. Repair System-Level Redistributables
If the game installed VC++ libraries incorrectly:
- crashes
- failed launch
- asset load errors
can occur.
Look in the game folder for:
vcredist_x64.exe
Run and repair.
14. Remove Undervolt/Overclock Profiles
ARC Raiders hits hardware hard enough to expose unstable GPU tuning.
If you have:
- undervolts
- manual GPU curves
- factory OC profiles
reset to stock.
15. Reinstall if Crashes Began After a Patch
Game updates regularly break cached shader files.
Clean reinstall often works when nothing else does.
Extra Fixes (If You STILL Crash)
Reduce Lighting & Shadow Quality
These are the #1 engine strain settings during interior fights and ARC event spawns.
Set:
- Shadows: Low
- Lighting: Medium/Low
Crashes often disappear immediately.
Disable Depth of Field, Bloom, and Film Effects
Visual post-filters cause GPU recalculations that trigger instability on lower-end machines.
Lower Resolution Scale Slightly (95–97%)
Small change, big stability difference.
It reduces engine load without visibly harming sharpness.
Play Shorter Raid Sessions
ARC Raiders has memory creep in long runs on some hardware.
If crashes happen only:
- late in raids
- after long sessions
- during big fights
Restarting between runs often fixes it.
When Performance Is Fine but Crashes Still Happen
Corrupted Config Files
Delete your ARC Raiders settings folder and let the game rebuild defaults.
Faulty RAM or VRAM
ARC Raiders punishes unstable memory profiles harder than most titles.
Network Instabilities
Some raid loads are sensitive to packet drops.
If Nothing Works:
Manually Lower Engine Load
Reduce:
- resolution
- anti-aliasing
- shadows
- volumetrics
- texture quality
- post-processing
Crashes drop sharply when the renderer isn’t starved.
Quick Checklist
✔ GPU drivers updated
✔ All overlays disabled
✔ Game files verified
✔ FPS capped
✔ Texture quality lowered
✔ Shadows off or low
✔ Borderless fullscreen
✔ Background apps closed
✔ No GPU overclocks
✔ Config folder reset
Apply these one after another — most players find their solution before reaching the end.
Final Takeaway
ARC Raiders pushes both GPU and CPU hard — especially during raids, extraction bottlenecks, and dense ARC spawns.
Most crashes are caused by:
- outdated drivers
- VRAM overshoot
- too-aggressive graphics settings
- overlay conflicts
- corrupted game files
Tune stability first, visuals second, and the game becomes far more reliable.
