In the MMORPG sphere, RuneScape still boasts a sizable active player base. In fact, it’s one of the few classic MMORPGs that has continued to not only survive but thrive throughout the years. Furthermore, with the release of OSRS in 2013, its popularity has only gone up. And RuneLite has also played a major part in that. Plus, with the Steam Deck also becoming mainstream, some OSRS players have shifted to playing the game on it. However, it seems like RuneLite has a major crashing issue on the Steam Deck. Well, if you are facing a similar issue, read this guide to learn how you can get rid of it.
For the uninitiated, RuneLite is a community-made, free, and open-source client for Old School RuneScape, or OSRS. While Jagex has its own client too, a lot of players prefer using RuneLite. But for whatever reason, it seems to be crashing a lot on the Deck. Why? Well, that’s a tough question to answer. Anything from the Deck not being updated to the latest version to something with the storage could be the cause of this issue. So, is there a fix for this? Consider reading to find out.
Runelite crashing on Steam Deck: How to fix it
Players will have to make do with the following workarounds, as there are no official ones available for this issue. So, try these and see which ones are of help to you.
Update –
Before trying any workaround, we highly recommend that you check whether there’s an update available for Runelite and the Steam Deck itself. If there’s indeed one, download and install the update. Once it’s done, launch OSRS through Runelite and see if the issue is still there or not.
Move the game to internal storage –
This is mainly for users who have Runelite installed on the Steam Deck’s microSD card. Move Runelite from your microSD card to the internal storage and then launch the client. If there’s no crash, then enjoy. But if there is, then check out the next method.
Switch to Desktop Mode –
For a lot of crashing-related issues on the Steam Deck, some users had success dealing with them by simply switching to Desktop Mode and then accessing the client from there. As such, we suggest you give this method a try if Gaming Mode gives you a lot of crashes.
Add Runelite as a Non-Steam Game –
In case you haven’t added Runelite as a non-Steam game, you should go ahead and do so. Now, if you don’t know how to do that, just switch to Desktop Mode and open Steam. Then, click on the Add a Non-Steam Game option, and add Runelite. After that, launch it from there, and check if the issue persists or not. If it does, switch to the next workaround.
Reinstall –
If none of the previously mentioned workarounds are of help, try reinstalling the client. This might or might not work, but we still recommend you give it a try. However, if it doesn’t, join the official Runelite Discord server and communicate with fellow community members for additional help.
Well, for now, this is all we have on this topic. Coincidentally, if you are facing the same kind of issue with BattleBit Remastered on your Steam Deck, check out this guide. And for more guides like this, keep following DigiStatement. Also read: Rust crashing & not working on Steam Deck: How to fix it
