Crashing to desktop

Before anything else: back up your save

Elimination order

1. Disable all mods

Not "the ones you think are fine" — all of them. Mod conflicts are the leading cause of crashes that look like game bugs. If a clean build is stable, re-enable one at a time.

2. Remove any trainer, cheat table or memory editor

These attach to the game process. A crash while one is running tells you nothing about the game, and reporting it wastes both your time and the developers'.

3. Verify integrity of game files

Steam → Properties → Installed Files → Verify. Rules out a bad download.

4. Update GPU drivers

Especially relevant on a launch-window build.

5. Reduce settings, particularly for heavy scenes

If crashes cluster in large battles rather than occurring randomly, you may be hitting a VRAM or stability ceiling rather than a logic bug. Lower effects and shadow quality and turn the upscaler on — the performance page covers the settings.

6. Check whether you are in a known scenario

Crashes were reported during the Prologue's Elysia Frostfield decisive battle. If yours is there, you are not alone and it is worth saying so in a report rather than reinstalling repeatedly.

7. File a useful report

Post to the Steam discussion board with: build number, GPU and driver version, whether mods are involved, what you were doing, and whether it reproduces. That is the difference between a report that gets fixed and one that gets lost.

On the locked console

This trips people up, so it is worth stating clearly: the developers lock the standard developer console in public builds to prevent engine crashes. It is a deliberate stability decision, not an oversight and not something to work around. Any guide offering console commands as a crash workaround is describing something you do not have access to.

Frequently asked