How to Fix Helldivers 2 Keeps Crashing on PC

Helldivers 2 is one of the most popular co-op shooters on PC, but it can also be one of the most frustrating when technical problems strike. Many players report that Helldivers 2 crashes or freezes randomly, gets stuck on a black screen, or even causes the entire PC to become unresponsive. The problem may start after a game update or appear after installing a new graphics driver.

The good news is that these issues are usually fixable. In this guide, we’ll walk through the most effective fixes for Helldivers 2 crashing on PC.

Try these fixes for the Helldivers 2 crashing on PC problem

You don’t have to try all the following fixes: simply work your way down the list until you find the one that does the trick to fix the Helldivers 2 crashing on PC problem for you.

1. Force Helldivers 2 to use the dedicated GPU
2. Verify the game files
3. Update your graphics driver
4. Disable Steam Input
5. Turn off Screen-Space Global Illumination for AMD GPUs
6. Whitelist Helldivers 2 in Windows Firewall and your third-party antivirus program
7. Delete corrupted shader cache
8. Reinstall GameGuard (nProtect)
9. Reset the Helldivers 2 configuration

1. Force Helldivers 2 to use the dedicated GPU

Many gaming laptops and some desktops have both integrated graphics (Intel) and dedicated graphics (NVIDIA or AMD). If the game bypasses your powerful graphics card and tries to run on your CPU’s weak integrated graphics, performance issues and crashes can occur. 

To ensure Helldivers 2 is using the dedicated GPU:

1. Press the Windows Key, type Graphics settings, and press Enter.
2. Under Custom settings for applications, select Add desktop app. 
3. Navigate to your Steam folder (usually C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Helldivers 2\bin) and select helldivers2.exe.
4. Once added, click on Helldivers 2, select the drop-down menu next to GPU preference, and click High performance (which lists your dedicated GPU).

2. Verify the game files

Game files can often get corrupted after frequent hotfixes and game patches. You can always run a game file scan and let the game launcher repair it.

1. Launch Steam. In the LIBRARY, right-click Helldivers 2 and select Properties from the drop-down menu.
   
   
2. Select the Installed Files tab and click on the Verified integrity of game files button.
   
   

Steam will automatically replace missing or damaged files. Wait for the process to complete, launch Helldivers 2 again to see if it still crashes. If so, please move on.

3. Update your graphics driver

Helldivers 2 places a heavy load on modern GPUs. If your graphics driver is outdated, corrupted, or partially installed, you may experience random crashes or freezes, black screens, or monitor signal loss during gameplay. Many users assume the game itself is broken when the actual problem is a graphics driver conflict.

One of the easiest and fastest ways to update your graphics driver is by using Driver Easy. Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct drivers for it. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to be troubled by the wrong driver you would be downloading, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing. Driver Easy handles it all.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to automatically updating your drivers with Driver Easy:

1. Download and install Driver Easy.
2. Run Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
   
3. Click Update All to automatically download and install the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system. (This requires the Pro version. Driver Easy Pro includes one-click driver installation, high-speed downloads, and full technical support. If you’re not ready to buy the Pro version, Driver Easy offers a 7-day free trial that unlocks all the Pro features. You won’t be charged until the trial ends.)
   
4. Restart your PC for the changes to take effect.

You can also download the graphics driver directly from the manufacturer’s website and install it manually. If your driver is already updated but Helldivers 2 still crashes, a clean reinstall may help. A clean installation removes damaged driver components and replaces them with fresh files.

Launch Helldivers 2 again and see if the latest graphics driver helps to stop it from crashing. If this fix doesn’t work for you, try the next fix, below.

4. Disable Steam Input

Steam Input comes in handy when you have different controllers, but as per the community gamers, this feature is somehow in conflict with Helldivers 2, and thus with the game crashing problem. To see if this is also the case for you, you can disable Steam Input in this way:

1. Launch Steam.
2. In the LIBRARY, right-click Helldivers2 and select Properties from the drop-down menu.
   
3. Select the Controller tab and select Disable Steam Input from the drop-down menu.
   

Try to launch Helldivers 2 again to see if it still crashes. If so, please move on.

5. Turn off Screen-Space Global Illumination for AMD GPUs

If you’re using an AMD graphics card, you can try to disable the Screen-Space Global Illumination in-game setting to see if helps to stop the crashing with Helldivers 2. To do so:

1. When in-game, press Esc and go to Options.
2. Select Graphics and find Screen-Space Global Illumination to turn it OFF.
   
3. Save the change.

Relaunch Helldivers 2 again to see if it still crashes. If so, please move on.

6. Whitelist Helldivers 2 in Windows Firewall and your third-party antivirus program

Third-party antivirus programs and/or Windows firewall restrictions are another common reason for Helldivers 2 crashing on PC. This is usually because these programs can be a bit sensitive when it comes to detecting possible problematic services, and Steam and games like Helldivers 2 consume a lot of memory and CPU usage when running, which could be mistaken for potential threats.

To see if this is the culprit for you, try adding Steam as an exception to your third-party antivirus application. If you’re not sure how to do it, please refer to your antivirus support page for detailed instructions.

To add Helldivers 2 to the Windows firewall:

1. On your keyboard, press the Windows key and the R key simultaneously to open the Run box.
2. Type control firewall.cpl and hit Enter.
   
3. From the left navigation pane, click Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall.
   
4. Scroll down and check if Steam and Helldivers 2 are on the list.
5. If not, click the Change settings button.
   
6. Click Allow another app….
   
   
7. Click Browse… and go to the installation folder for Steam and Helldivers 2.
   
   
   
   If you don’t know what the installation folder is for your Steam, simply right-click on its shortcut and select Open file location.
   
   
8. Find steam.exe and click on it. Then click Open.
   
   
9. When it’s located, click Add.
   
10. Now make sure Steam and Helldivers 2 are added to the list and tick Domain, Private, and Public. Once you’re done, click OK.

Try to launch Helldivers 2 again to see if it still crashes. If so, please move on.

7. Delete corrupted shader cache

After major updates, the old compiled game shader files can become incompatible, triggering sudden desktop crashes. You can delete the cache to rebuild it from scratch.

1. Navigate to the game folder, usually C:\Users\<your username>\AppData\Roaming\Arrowhead\Helldivers2.
2. Locate the shader cache folder and delete the file in the folder.

Restart the game to see if the crashes stop. You can also clear the DirectX Shader Cache through Windows Disk Cleanup.

8. Reinstall GameGuard (nProtect)

GameGuard, a type of anti-cheat software, is essential for Helldivers 2 to run properly. If Helldivers 2 crashes immediately at startup, the nProtect GameGuard may have failed to initialize correctly. You can reinstall it to see if the issue is solved.

1. Open Steam, and go to the Library.
2. Right-click Helldivers 2 and click Manage > Browse Local Files. This will direct you to the game’s installation folder.
   
3. Open the tools folder.
4. Right-click gguninst.exe and select Run as administrator.
   
5. Click Yes when you’re prompted to proceed.
6. Once the uninstallation completes, right-click GGSetup and click Run as administrator.  
   
   

Relaunch the game to test.

9. Reset the Helldivers 2 configuration

A corrupted configuration profile can cause the game engine to misread your monitor’s native refresh rate or resolution, causing a black screen on startup. 

1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key + R to open the Run command box.
2. Type %AppData%Arrowhead\Helldivers2 and press Enter.
3. Delete the user_settings.config file. You can move it to another folder to back up before deleting it. 

Restart the game and Helldivers 2 will automatically create fresh configuration files during launch.

You don’t need to give up on your squad because of technical issues. By walking through the fixes above, specifically clearing out old shader caches, verifying your local Steam files, and keeping your graphics drivers clean, you can eliminate the vast majority of performance issues.

That’s it for the post. If you have other suggestions that have helped you fix the Helldivers 2 crashing on PC problem, please feel free to share. We’re all ears.

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