Last Updated on August 25, 2023
Armored Core 6 Crashing: As a hardcore FromSoftware fan, I’ve eagerly awaited the launch of their latest game – Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon. The Armored Core series holds a special place in my heart, as it was one of the first mech combat games I fell in love with as a kid. So you can imagine my excitement when I finally got my hands on AC6 on launch day. However, that excitement quickly turned into frustration when my game kept on crashing, no matter what I tried.
If you’ve been facing the same issue, don’t worry – I’ve figured out some fixes that finally got the game running for me. Here are the steps I followed to get Armored Core 6 working after it refused to work:
The Crashing Nightmare
Read: How To Fix AC6 Game Won’t Launch
Shortly after launching Armored Core 6 for the first time, my game kept freezing and abruptly crashing to the desktop without warning. Some crashes showed the generic “ArmoredCore6.exe has stopped working” error, while others gave no indication at all.
I scoured Armored Core forums and Reddit and found many other gamers facing the same problem. Clearly, this was a wider issue, not just something wrong with my PC.
Troubleshooting the Potential Causes
Before attempting fixes, I first had to diagnose the root cause. Based on the error messages and symptoms, these are the potential culprits I identified:
- Outdated GPU drivers: As gamers reported on the Armored Core subreddit, crashes often pointed to GPU issues. Outdated graphics drivers are a common source of game crashes.
- Overheating hardware: My GPU and CPU run hot, especially on new graphically intensive games like Armored Core 6. Thermal throttling could cause crashes.
- Corrupted game files: Verifying the integrity of game files is standard troubleshooting. Corrupted files may fail to load properly.
- Software conflicts: Running apps like Discord, Razer Synapse, and Overwolf in the background has been known to cause conflicts.
- Missing dependencies: Games depend on DirectX and Visual C++ packages being installed, make sure they are up to date.
Attempting Every Potential Fix
With possible causes identified, I systematically tried every troubleshooting solution I could find to fix Armored Core 6 crashes:
Update Device Drivers & Windows
From time to time, I have seen people reporting crashes, and it turns out they haven’t updated their Graphics drivers for a while. You can easily update your graphic drivers by heading to the official websites:
Shut down conflicting applications
This is a community recommendation; users have reported that the following software can lead to crashes:
- iCUE
- Razer Synapse
- Armory Crate
These applications are unimportant to me, so I uninstalled them.
Disable Overclocking
In the game crashing fiasco, overclocking is the culprit most of the time. Some players were able to fix this issue by bringing their GPU and CPU to default frequencies. MSI Afterburner and Zotac Firestorm are two popular tools used to overclock GPUs; both of these are known for creating problems for newer titles.
While it is unclear how many players are affected by the crashes, it is a good reminder that overclocking can be dangerous if not done correctly. It’s also worth noting that even if you don’t experience any crashes.
Tone Down Armored Core 6 Game Settings
The game is a demanding title that won’t run well on most PCs; that’s a fact. You can view the complete system requirements on the official Steam Page.
If the tweaks mentioned didn’t work, you should tone down your game settings. I will write about the best settings for the game shortly, which should help you out.
Disable Overlays from Third Party Applications
Third-party applications tinker with the game and can make it unresponsive. If you’re facing problems, disable Discord and Windows Game Bar, to name a few.
Discord
If you use Discord like me, I recommend changing a few things. One such thing is discord overlay; it’s not something you always need. I use a two-monitor setup, so the overlay is useless for me. It is known for causing FPS-related issues.
Disable Hardware Acceleration in Discord
- Open Discord
- Click on User Settings > Appearance
- Click on the Hardware Acceleration radio; this will turn it off.
Disable in-game Discord Overlay
- Open Discord
- Go to Overlay under App Settings
- Click on the “Enable in-game overlay” to turn it off.
Windows Game Bar
- Click Start > Settings > Gaming
- On the Game Bar, set “Record game clips, screenshots, and broadcast using Game bar” to off.
- Now head to the Captures tab and set the “Record the background while I’m playing a game” to Off.
- You can also test turning Game Mode on or off, one by one.
Scan & Repair Game Files
The last savior is the Scan & Repair module from our favorite Steam Launcher. This can be used to rule out that the game installation is error-free.
For Steam Users:
- Open Steam and click on the Library tab.
- Right-click on Star Wars and select Properties.
- Click on the Local Files tab > click on the Verify Integrity of Game Files… button.
- Steam will start verifying the game files and fix any corrupted ones.
After trying every applicable fix with no success, I finally resorted to completely uninstalling and deleting every trace of Armored Core 6, then redownloading and reinstalling a fresh copy. The things I did before might have also contributed to fixing the problem; that is why I recommend you follow every step.
After the clean install, Armored Core 6 finally ran perfectly with no crashes whatsoever! Some files had become corrupted on my original install, leading to constant crashes. A fresh start fixed it.
If things still don’t work out for you, you can either wait for a hotfix from the devs or refund the game and purchase it later.
You can check more Armored Core 6 Guides here.
