When Nexon Games released their latest third-person shooter game, The First Descendant, fans were really excited about it. A new shooter title on the Unreal Engine 5 seemed like a great option to most. However, that excitement has eventually died down as players have now faced a host of issues in the game that kill the experience. Upon release, crashes and glitches have been constant occurrences in The First Descendant. As frustrating as it is, players are continually looking for fixes to help save their gaming experience. In this guide, we’ve focused on one particular issue. Multiple players have reported that The First Descendant is crashing while compiling shaders. If you’re troubled by this issue as well, we’re here for you. Continue reading this guide till the end to find out all the potential workarounds for the problem.
The crashing issue isn’t really a new thing in Nexon Games’ The First Descendant. You’d expect a new game to be more successful performance-wise, but this one is truly a headache for the players. The rating for the game on the Steam store page shows mixed, although it may have been more tilted towards negative reports. As things stand for multiple players, The First Descendant keeps crashing while compiling shaders, and that makes the complete experience poor. If you’re searching for potential workarounds to counter the problem, we understand your concern. So, without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the problem and find out how to fix it.
The First Descendant Crashing While Compiling Shaders: How to Fix?
Now, if you’re wondering what exactly is causing these issues in The First Descendant, we do have an answer for it. It appears that it is being triggered by certain issues that lie with the Intel processors. Due to this, Unreal Engine 5 Games are having quite a hard time on the Intel processors, especially on i9s. As Intel shared, they’re indeed still searching for the root cause of this problem on the i9 CPUs. Meanwhile, you can try the workarounds listed below and see if those help you fix your problem.
Adjust Your Graphics Settings
Steam user Exaler shared on the game’s Steam Discussion forum that adjusting the graphics settings to the lowest worked wonders for them. They have also shared the optimum settings that you can use to run the game.
- So, if you are able to launch the game, go to the Settings menu, and under Graphics Settings, disable Ray Tracing. Also, turn off the Additional Options tab and Nvidia Reflex Low Latency. Turning off Ray Tracing is a helpful step as it helped Steam user |Z.Marz.Z| and Steam user Ted to overcome this problem.
- Next, turn on VSync and limit the frame rate to 60 FPS. Then, set Anti-aliasing, Post Processing, and Shadows to low.
- Lastly, under the Display tab, reduce the screen resolution to the lowest setting possible. 1280×720 would be perfect.
- After you’ve changed the settings, check whether the shaders compiling initiates. After the shaders compilation, you can go back to the settings that you prefer.
Lower the Performance Core Ratio
For i13 and i14 generation CPUs, the crashes are quite frequent with Unreal Engine 5 titles. Apparently, this happening because the CPU is drawing too much power. You can use the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility app to lower the Performance Core Fatio. Steam user Five Toes [MG] shared that this has fixed the issue on their part. You can set the performance core ratio down to 54x from 55x and see if it solves the problem. If the issue persists, follow the next workaround.
Underclock Your CPU
If your CPU is a little old, overclocking it can be problematic. So, you will have to either resort to default settings for the CPU or underclock it. Here’s how:
- You have to open your BIOS to underclock your CPU. For this, you have to restart your device and before it boots up, press the relevant key. Depending on your motherboard manufacturer, this is often the F2, Del, or Esc key on your keyboard.
- Then, in the BIOS, go to the tab that says Advanced, Performance, or Frequency.
- Now search and try to see if you have an option that says “CPU Frequency“. Depending on your motherboard manufacturer, it can also be listed as CPU Clock Speed or Base Clock.
- Here, find the Default Settings option, and select it. You can also try lowering the base clock frequency on your own, but do this only if you have experience with tinkering BIOS settings.
Update Your BIOS
You might be able to fix the problem by updating your BIOS. In fact, according to Steam user Smashbound, updating their system’s BIOS is what helped them bypass the issue. Now, the steps to download the latest version of your BIOS and then install it vary based on your motherboard manufacturer. Thus, you have to check their website or search for the particular methods to download the BIOS update, and install it. Once you’ve updated your BIOS, boot up your PC and open The First Descendant. Check if the issue persists.
Change Your Windows Power Plan
Steam user A SoloQ Adventure™ shared that changing the Windows Power Plan to Balanced or Power Saving mode can help you fix the problem. Here’s how to do so:
- Press the Windows + R keys together to open the Run Command Box and use the “ms-settings:System“ prompt to open Windows settings.
- Here, select the Power & Battery option.
- Select the Power mode option, and set it to Balanced or Power Saver mode.
- Save the changes and then run the game.
- See if it still keeps crashing while compiling shaders.
Limit Max Process Power in Windows Power Management
According to Steam user Zdenka, limiting the Max Process Power in your Windows Power Management tool can help you fix this crashing while compiling shaders issue in The First Descendant. Follow the steps for the same:
- Open the Run Command Box as shared in the previous workaround. Now, use the powercfg.cpl command to bring up the Power Management window.
- Here, go to the “Change plan settings” option.
- Then, open the “Change advanced power settings” option.
- Scroll down and locate the “Processor power management” option. Then, expand it.
- Now, set the “Max Processor State” to 99% instead of 100%.
- Then, run the game, and see if the issue persists.
Change CPU Power Parameters
Intel says that players should opt for Intel Default Settings while updating their BIOS profiles. Setting the CPU Power Parameters based on Intel’s recommendations can help you fix the problem with ease.
Update Graphics Drivers
Sometimes, outdated GPU drivers can make your game run into issues like crashing while compiling shaders. To fix this, try to update the GPU drivers and see if it works.
- Press the Windows + X keys together to open the Quick Link Menu.
- Open Device Manager and go to Display Adapters.
- Now, find the dedicated GPU, right-click on it, and select the “Update Drivers” option.
- Opt for “Search automatically for drivers“.
- Wait until the updates are installed. Then, run the game and see if the issue is resolved.
Reinstall the Game
Steam user Ungwe Lianti fixed the problem by reinstalling the game and then optimizing the graphics settings using the Nvidia app. Try this out and see if it works for you.
Well, these are all of the workarounds you can try to prevent The First Descendant from crashing while compiling shaders. Did the workarounds work for you? Let us know! And for more such interesting and detailed guides, stay tuned to DigiStatement.
