For many Valorant players, the thrill of competitive play can quickly turn to frustration when the game refuses to launch, crashing before they even reach the main menu. This common issue can stem from a variety of factors, ranging from outdated software to hardware conflicts. Understanding these potential culprits is the first step toward troubleshooting and getting back into the action.
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Common Culprits Behind Valorant Crashes
When Valorant crashes on startup, it’s often a sign of underlying system or software conflicts.
Here are the most frequent reasons players encounter this frustrating problem:
- Outdated Graphics Drivers: One of the leading causes of game crashes, including Valorant, is outdated or incompatible graphics card drivers. Game developers constantly optimize their titles for the latest drivers, and older versions can lead to instability.
- System Requirements Not Met: While Valorant is known for its accessibility, running it on hardware that doesn’t meet the minimum system requirements can lead to crashes, especially on launch as the game tries to load its assets.
- Corrupted Game Files: During installation or updates, game files can sometimes become corrupted or go missing. When Valorant tries to access these compromised files, it can result in an immediate crash.
- Background Application Conflicts: Other programs running in the background, particularly those that are resource-intensive or have overlays (like some recording software or other game launchers), can interfere with Valorant and its anti-cheat system, Riot Vanguard, causing crashes.
- Overheating: If your PC components, especially the CPU or GPU, are overheating, the system might automatically shut down or applications might crash to prevent damage. This can occur even on startup if temperatures spike rapidly.
- Riot Vanguard Issues: Valorant’s robust anti-cheat software, Riot Vanguard, runs at a kernel level and can sometimes conflict with other software or drivers, leading to crashes. Outdated Vanguard versions or issues with its service can also be a factor.
- Windows and DirectX Issues: Outdated Windows versions or issues with DirectX can prevent Valorant from interacting correctly with your hardware, resulting in crashes.
- Antivirus or Firewall Interference: Some antivirus programs or firewalls might mistakenly flag Valorant or Riot Vanguard as a threat, blocking essential processes and causing the game to crash.
- Overclocking Instability: While overclocking can boost performance, it can also introduce instability. An unstable overclock on your CPU or GPU can lead to crashes in demanding applications like Valorant.
Steps to Troubleshoot and Resolve Startup Crashes
If Valorant is crashing when you try to open it, consider these troubleshooting steps:
- Update Graphics Drivers: Always ensure your graphics card drivers (NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel) are up to date. Visit your GPU manufacturer’s official website to download and install the latest versions.
- Verify Game Files: The Riot Games client has a “Repair” or “Verify” option for Valorant. This tool checks for and repairs any corrupted or missing game files, which can often resolve launch issues.
- Close Background Applications: Before launching Valorant, close all unnecessary programs, especially web browsers, Discord, streaming software, or other game launchers, to free up system resources and prevent conflicts.
- Check System Requirements: Confirm that your PC meets Valorant’s minimum and recommended system specifications. If your hardware is significantly below these, crashes may be unavoidable.
- Disable Fullscreen Optimizations: Right-click the Valorant shortcut, go to Properties > Compatibility, and check “Disable fullscreen optimizations.” This can sometimes prevent stutters and crashes.
- Run as Administrator: Try running both the Valorant executable and the Riot Games client as an administrator. Right-click the shortcuts and select “Run as administrator.”
- Temporarily Disable Antivirus/Firewall: As a test, temporarily disable your antivirus software or Windows Defender Firewall to see if they are interfering with the game’s launch. Remember to re-enable them after testing.
- Monitor Temperatures: Use monitoring software to check your CPU and GPU temperatures. If they are excessively high, ensure your PC has proper ventilation and is free of dust.
- Update Windows: Ensure your Windows operating system is fully updated. Microsoft frequently releases updates that include bug fixes and performance improvements.
- Reinstall Valorant and Riot Vanguard: As a last resort, a clean reinstallation of both Valorant and Riot Vanguard can resolve deep-seated issues related to corrupted files or problematic installations. Uninstall both, restart your PC, and then reinstall them.
- Check for Overclocking: If you have overclocked your CPU or GPU, try reverting to stock settings to rule out instability as a cause for the crashes.
By systematically working through these potential causes and solutions, you can significantly increase your chances of resolving Valorant’s startup crashing issues and enjoying uninterrupted gameplay. If the problem persists, contacting Riot Games Support with detailed logs of your attempts is the next best step.
Written by:
Christian