How To Fix Lost Ark Crashing On PC | Steam | Easy Solutions

Lost Ark is one of the most played games on Steam at the moment so it’s safe to say that it’s hugely popular. This is not just a testament to how interesting the game is but is also a sign that the current build is stable and working properly. However, despite these positive things about the game, many Lost Ark players are also reporting crashing and stuttering issues with it from  time to time. This is the main reason why we decided to do this guide.

If you’re experiencing crashes, lagging, or slow performance issues with Lost Ark,  check out the solutions below.

How to fix Lost Ark crashing on Steam?

If Lost Ark does not work normally and it keeps on crashing on you, one of these solutions might help you.

Fix #1: Ensure that your PC can run the game.

Before purchasing a game, you should verify your computer’s hardware to confirm that it can run it without issues. This is especially true if you’re using an older computer or laptop with outdated hardware.

To see if your computer has the essential hardware components, take a look at the minimum and recommended hardware specifications for Lost Ark:

Minimum system requirements of Lost Ark (Steam)

• CPU: Intel i3 or AMD Ryzen 3
• RAM: 8 GB
• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit only)
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 / AMD Radeon HD 6850
• DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 1024 MB

Recommended system requirements of Lost Ark (Steam)

• CPU: Intel i5 or AMD Ryzen 5
• RAM: 16 GB
• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit only)
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
• DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 2048 MB

If your computer barely hits the minimum and the game suffers from other issues such as poor performance, low FPS, and random crashes, you should consider upgrading your hardware first.

Fix #2: Check the Lost Ark server status.

At this moment, there are no problems with the Lost Ark servers. 

You may verify the current status of the Lost Ark Servers by visiting the Official Lost Ark website.

Alternatively, you can follow the official Lost Ark Twitter account

to see if other players have reported that the game is down, or if there’s a new piece of advice from the developers themselves.

We recommend utilizing third-party websites like ServicesDown or DownDetector if you want to check the game’s current and historical server status. Players may report outages and discuss the current state of the game’s servers here.

Fix #3: Refresh the game files.

Corrupted game files may result to issue even with the best-built games. Verifying game files can fix a wide range of problems, from missing graphics or objects to crashing or freezing while playing. Use the Verify integrity of game files utility tool in Steam to check for bad files. 

You may check the integrity of game files to see whether there’s any missing or corrupted files. This is done by Steam client scanning the Steamapps folder to analyze the game files fully.

If Steam detects any issues, it fixes them instantly or downloads the missing or damaged game files. The game files are restored in this manner, and additional troubles are avoided.

Verifying game files is, in fact, a basic solution if you encounter any issue with your game purchased from Steam.

If you have any difficulties with your game, like if it’s not starting, crashing or displaying an error, you may use this built-in Steam utility to fix the problem.

Here’s how it’s done:

1. Launch Steam.
2. Go to the Games Library.
3. Highlight Lost Ark and right-click on it.
4. Choose Properties.
5. Select Local Files.
6. Choose Verify Integrity of Game Files.
7. Wait for the system to validate the game files.
8. Restart Steam and run Lost Ark to check for the problem.

Fix #4: Close other running apps.

If Lost Ark keeps crashing even after you’ve validated the game files, the next thing that you should try is to close other applications.

Sometimes, background running processes or apps can consume a significant amount of system resources such as CPU and Memory, resulting in a significant reduction in system performance. This can result to a wide range of issues such as random crashes, poor performance, low FPS, and, in some situations, failure  for the game to load. 

What you can do in this case is to simply close all of the apps that are operating in the background. You can open Task Manager for this end. Just press the CTRL+SHIFT+ESC keys together to open Task Manager and close the applications from there.

Fix #5: Check for the latest graphics drivers.

Updating graphics drivers can be overwhelming for some PC users because it’s not always straightforward how to do it but it’s one of the important things that you must do, especially when you’re gaming.

The things that you see on your monitor are controlled by your graphics drivers. Think of the drivers as a mini-OS that facilitates the interaction of your computer’s hardware with the operating system. And just like any operating system or software, drivers must be updated from time to time in order to work flawlessly.

Updating your graphics driver allows you to take advantage of the latest performance enhancements from your GPU manufacturer. AMD and Nvidia continue to provide new updates with performance enhancements, bug fixes, and new features.

If Lost Ark keeps crashing, updating the graphics drivers of your PC might help.

How to update graphics drivers manually

There are more than one method to update graphics drivers but we recommend that you go under Device Manager to do it. Here’s how:

1. Open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows key + R on your keyboard.
2. In the Run dialog box, type devmgmt.msc to launch Device Manager.
3. Click OK.
4. Expand the Display adapters option
5. Select  the graphics card you’re using (if you have multiple cards) and right click on it.
6. Select Update Driver.
7. Select Automatically search for drivers. Windows will look for and download any available driver updates.

Once the download and installation of drivers is finished. You can then restart the PC and check if Lost Ark is still crashing at this time.

Update graphics drivers using OEM websites

Nvidia’s GeForce Experience is a free add-on for its GTX and RTX graphics cards. AMD’s Radeon Software works in a similar way, including driver updates, game optimization options, and more. You may use these tools to check for and install available driver updates.

Fix #6: Install Windows OS updates.

Keeping Windows OS up-to-date  is a simple and efficient approach to ensure that your system functions properly. When you upgrade Windows 10, your computer will have the most recent features, bug fixes, and (most importantly) security updates.

The good thing is, Windows will scan for and apply the most recent system updates on a regular basis. Once the update is done, you simply have to restart your computer to guarantee that the updates are properly installed. Even while automatic updates are helpful, there are instances when you’ll want to manually check for updates, such as when a critical security patch is being rolled out or if you’ve discovered a severe flaw.

To ensure that your PC is running the latest Windows OS version at this time, follow these steps:

1. In the bottom-left corner of the screen, click the Start (Windows) button.
2. Open the Windows Settings.
3. From the left sidebar, select the Windows Update tab.
4. To check for updates, click the Check for Updates button.

Fix #7: Disable your antivirus temporarily.

Your antivirus software might occasionally cause conflicts with certain apps and games. It normally happens when your antivirus application finds something resembling a “virus” in your game files and shuts it down. This means that your antivirus software has been triggered by a “false positive”

You can try adding the Lost Ark game executable and Steam client to your antivirus software’s whitelist/exception list. You may also temporarily disable your antivirus application to test the problem. If the crashing problem goes away after the antivirus product is turned off, you know it was the culprit. Consider using a different antivirus application, or report the problem to the software provider or game creators for assistance.

It’s also possible that your default Windows Defender protection or a third-party antivirus software is preventing ongoing connections or game files from operating properly. For the time being, you may turn off Windows Defender real-time protection and firewall. Then, restart the game to see whether the Lost Ark crashing issue is fixed.

Here’s how to disable Windows Defender real-time protection:

1. Press the Windows key + I buttons to access Windows Settings.
2. Go to Privacy & security on the left. 
3. Click Windows Security.
4. Click on Virus & threat protection.
5. Click on Manage settings below Virus & Threat protection settings.
6. Toggle the switch for Real-time protection to OFF.

If you think that you’re experiencing connectivity problems with the Lost Ark game, you can also try to temporarily turn off the Windows Firewall.

Fix #8: Do not overclock.

Overclocking can sometimes lead to crashes in games. We recognize that overclocking the CPU/GPU may have a significant influence on gaming, but it can also create bottlenecking or compatibility difficulties.

If Lost Ark keeps crashing at this time, consider restoring the GPU clocks to normal and see if it resolves the problem.

Fix #9: Turn off overlays.

Some popular gaming apps have their own overlay feature that can may sometimes interfere with other apps when used on an incompatible system. As a result, they can run in the background and create problems with game performance or cause random crashes.

Some of the known gaming apps that might lead to this problem includes, but are not limited to Steam and Discord apps.

As you can see these are pretty popular apps, with Steam being a first party app in this case, and they’re being used by millions of users everyday. 

Don’t get me wrong. These apps work normally for most people and only a tiny portion of PC gamers have issues with them. However, if you’ve reached this far in your troubleshooting and Lost Ark continues to crash on you, it’s worth checking if any of the other software you’re using is causing the issue.

Below are the easy steps  to disable overlay on each of the mentioned apps. Keep in mind that there are other software that may have overlay features on them as well so if you’re running them, consider disabling the feature as a troubleshooting step.

How to disable Steam overlay

1. Open Steam.
2. Click Steam at the upper left then select Settings.
3. Choose In-Game.
4. Make sure that you remove untick the box beside  Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game.
5. Click OK.

How to disable Discord overlay

1. Open the Discord app.
2. Click the Cog symbol or Gear icon at the bottom.
3. In the left panel, select Activity Status under Activity Settings.
4. Find the Lost Ark game in the Added Games tab and click the red Toggle Overlay button (looks like a monitor symbol).

Fix #10: Run Lost Ark on Clean Boot.

A clean boot will start Windows with only the essential drivers and programs. This will assist you in determining whether there’s a conflict with one of your apps or processes. If Lost Ark continues to crash, try running it after you’ve booted your PC to Clean Boot to see if a third-party software is interfering with it.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Hold the Windows Key and press R.
2. Type msconfig and click OK in the Run dialog box.
3. Choose the Services Tab, then put a check on Hide All Microsoft Services and select Disable All.
4. Click Apply, and Click OK. This prompts you to restart; choose Restart Later.
5. Hold the Windows Key and Press R.
6. Type msconfig and click OK.
7. Choose Start Up and select Open Task Manager.
8. At the last field called Start-Up Impact disable all the ones with High Impact.
9. Reboot your system and it will start up in the clean boot mode.

Check to see if the restarting issue remains. If it doesn’t, the fault might be with your computer’s software. Begin by activating one service at a time in the same manner, then stop when the problem returns. Uninstall the service or software that is causing the problem.

Fix #11: Run Lost Ark as admin.

It’s possible that giving Steam and the game’s executable file enhanced access will fix crashes. This is because both applications may have previously been missing the necessary file access. One of the troubleshooting techniques you might try in this case is to run the game and give the launcher administrator access.

1. Find the Lost Ark installation folder and right-click on the game’s executable file. (The precise path will vary depending on which drive the game was installed on and which launcher you’re using.)
2. Select Properties.
3. Select the Compatibility tab from the Properties menu.
4. Check the box next to Run this application as an administrator, then click Apply to save your changes.
5. To launch the Steam client with greater admin access, follow the same instructions.
6. Run Lost Ark again after checking that both files have admin permissions to see whether it will now launch.

Fix #12: Set High Priority In Task Manager.

Giving the game a higher priority in the Task Manager may make a difference here. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Open Task Manager by pressing CTRL + SHIFT + ESC.
2. Make sure that the Processes tab is selected.
3. Find and right-click on the Lost ARK game process.
4. Select Go to details.
5. Right click on the Lost Ark executable under the Processes tab.
6. Select Set Priority and set  it to High.
7. Close Task Manager and restart Lost Ark.
8. Afterwards, run the game again and check if the Lost Ark crashing issue is  still there.

Fix #13: Install the latest  DirectX version.

You should reinstall the most recent version of DirectX from the Microsoft website on your computer.

All you have to do is download and execute the DirectX setup program. Keep in mind that the Lost ARK game requires DirectX 12.

Fix #14: Use High Performance Setting in Power Options.

Steam customers who changed their Power Option to High Performance were able to resolve issues in Lost Ark. If your Windows system is now set to Balanced mode under Power Options, just change it to High-Performance mode for better results. This method, however, will consume more power or battery life on your laptop.

Follow these steps to change the Power Options:

1. Open Control Panel by clicking the Start button and entering “control panel,” or by going to Windows Settings and searching for Control Panel.
2. Select the Control Panel app in the search result.
3. Select Hardware and Sound
4. Click Power Options.
5. Click on High Performance to select it.
6. Shut down the PC completely and run Total War: Warhammer 3 again.

Fix #15: Delete and install Microsoft Visual C++.

Some Lost Ark players were able to fix unexplained or random crashes by reinstalling the Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime on their machine. To do this, you must:

1. Click the Start button or Windows button on the keyboard.
2. Type in “apps & features” and click on the Apps & Features in the search result.
3. Locate Microsoft Visual C++ in the list.
4. Click on the three dots at the right of Microsoft Visual C++ and select Uninstall. If you have multiple instances of Microsoft Visual C++ in the list, make sure that you uninstall all of them.
5. To redownload the necessary Microsoft Visual C++ runtime, visit the official Microsoft website.

Fix #16: Try playing on another server.

According to some gamers, the crashing problem may be resolved by switching servers and forming a new character. Whether you’re having similar issues, try playing the game on a different server to check if Lost Ark crashes on your PC.

This might be caused by faulty character data on the server. Because this fault has existed and was acknowledged since the beta stage, we can anticipate an official patch that resolves this issue.

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