How to Fix Avowed Crashing When Compiling Shaders

If you're getting crashes while Avowed is compiling shaders, often accompanied by a "LowLevelFatalError," welcome to the club! This issue appears to be super common at the moment, particularly among users with Intel 13th and 14th gen processors and NVIDIA GPUs. (Thanks Intel!) And since this problem occurs across both Windows and Linux systems there's a good chance it's probably hardware or game patch related. But! There are some things you can manually check and below is a list of those potential fixes and workarounds that might help you get the Avowed running.

How to Fix Avowed Crashing When Compiling Shaders

This seems to work for some stupid reason, so give it a go. It's super easy!

Right-click the Avowed .exe file.
Select Properties > Compatibility.
Check Run this program as an administrator.
Enable Run this program in compatibility mode for Windows 8.
Check Disable full-screen optimizations.
Apply changes and try launching the game again.

Disable DLSS in Game Configuration

A user found that Avowed sets DLSS as default, even for non-NVIDIA GPUs. To manually disable DLSS:

Navigate to C:\Users\[Your Username]\AppData\Local\"gamename" (replace "gamename" with the game's actual configuration folder name if necessary).
Locate the game’s settings/configuration file.
Open the file in a text editor and disable DLSS manually.
Save changes and try launching the game again.

Use the "-dx11" Launch Option

Launching the game with DirectX 11 might help, but be aware of potential graphical issues:

In Steam, right-click Avowed and select Properties.
In the Launch Options field, type -dx11.
Start the game.

Some users report that using "-dx11" still causes crashes after character creation. However, a workaround has been found:

Launch the game on another system that works fine (such as a Steam Deck or another PC).
Play past the character creation stage.
Save the game and transfer the save file via cloud sync.
Load the saved game on your main system.

Make Your Drivers Are Up to Date and Clean Install them!

While updating GPU drivers has not resolved the issue for everyone, it’s still worth ensuring your system is running the latest versions:

NVIDIA Users: Download the latest drivers from NVIDIA’s official site
AMD Users: Check for updates via AMD’s website

Once you have the latest drivers I highly suggest clean installing them with DDU

Download Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) from the official website.
Run the program and choose to remove GeForce Experience (GFE) if prompted.
Restart your PC after the process is complete.
Reinstall the latest GPU drivers, ensuring a stable internet connection to prevent Windows from installing generic drivers.
Reinstall GeForce Experience (if applicable) and update your drivers as needed.

Try Running the Game on a Different Device and Transferring the Save File (Probably Not Possible)

Rumour has it that the crash is tied to the sequence immediately following character creation. So skipping this might solve the problem for some people.

Install and launch Avowed on a device where it runs without issues (e.g., a ROG Ally or another gaming PC).
Play past the character creation scene.
Save the game and sync it via Steam Cloud.
Load the save on your primary PC.

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