Mortal Shell 2 Crashing: Every Known Fix
Nineteen documented crash issues, worked through in order of how fast a fix can be applied. Start at Phase 1 — most players are done there. Status labels are honest: Fixed means developer-patched, Workaround means community-proven, Pending means we're waiting on the developer.
Work top to bottom. Each entry lists the symptom, the cause (real error strings, not guesses) and the fix. If a Phase 1 fix solves it, stop — don't apply Phase 3 fixes to a solved problem.
Phase 1 — Quick Wins
30 seconds each · 8 known issues
Shader compilation crash
Symptom: Shader compilation crash — 'Compiling Shaders' freezes or crashes before the main menu
Cause: Oodle decompression error: LowLevelFatalError: Could not decompress shader group with Oodle (ShaderCodeArchive.cpp:499)
Fix / workaround:
- NVIDIA Shader Cache Size → Unlimited (recommended by the Playstack community manager)
- Clear DXCache + GLCache
- Retry compilation multiple times
Death/reload crash
Symptom: Death/reload crash — loading screen freezes after dying, then CTD
Cause: D3D12 GPU crash / render thread crash: EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION reading 0xffffffffffffffff — related to Frame Generation
Fix / workaround:
- Disable Frame Generation (restart required)
- Switch to Fullscreen
- Drop to High preset
- FSR → TSR
DLSS Frame Generation crash
Symptom: DLSS Frame Generation crash — crashing mid-game with FG on, especially on respawn
Cause: FG conflicts with the UE5 render pipeline; 2x/3x auto modes are worst
Fix / workaround:
- Turn off Frame Generation and restart
Burn status crash
Symptom: Burn status crash — 0x0000000000000000 GarbageCollection.cpp:1744
Cause: Lazlo Retribution + Burn status effect interaction
Fix / workaround:
- Avoid using the Burn status effect until patched
Intro cinematic crash
Symptom: Intro cinematic crash — crashing during the torch + wall-break opening cinematic
Cause: FSR upscaling conflicts with that scene
Fix / workaround:
- FSR → TSR
Post-death loading lockup
Symptom: Post-death loading lockup — completely locks up after death
Cause: Shader cache exhaustion / D3D device loss
Fix / workaround:
- NVIDIA Shader Cache Size → Unlimited
Riposte steals enemy weapon
Symptom: Riposte steals enemy weapon — enemies 'steal' your weapon pose during Riposte
Cause: Game logic bug
Fix / workaround:
- Fixed in HF2.0
Slayer Seal UI lockup
Symptom: Slayer Seal UI lockup — equipping the Slayer Seal from the Beacon menu locks the UI
Cause: UI logic bug
Fix / workaround:
- Fixed in HF2.0
Phase 2 — Deeper Fixes
2 minutes each · 8 known issues
Keybind menu crash
Symptom: Keybind menu crash — crashing when opening Settings > Keyboard Bindings
Cause: Corrupted input settings save
Fix / workaround:
- Delete EnhancedInputUserSettings.sav + SpartaGameSettings.sav under %AppData%\Local\MortalShell2\Saved\SaveGames
D3D12 GPU Crash Dump
Symptom: D3D12 GPU Crash Dump — 'GPU Crash dump Triggered' FD3D12DynamicRHI::TerminateOnGPUCrash
Cause: DX12 GPU driver crash; targeted by HF1.0 but some players still report it
Fix / workaround:
- DDU clean driver reinstall
- Remove GPU overclocks
- Last resort: -dx11 launch option (may cause visual glitches on some systems)
GC exception crash
Symptom: GC exception crash — EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION 0x00000000000002c8 in a GarbageCollection stack
Cause: UE5 GC bug; may correlate with unstable Intel 13th/14th-gen CPUs
Fix / workaround:
- Disable FG + Ray Tracing
- Cap FPS
Settings menu GC crash
Symptom: Settings menu GC crash — 0x0000000220000769
Cause: UE5 GC triggered when opening settings
Fix / workaround:
- Disable Steam Overlay
- Verify files
- Delete corrupted saves (same as keybind fix)
Black screen after shader compile
Symptom: Black screen after shader compile — audio plays, no picture
Cause: Known issue, developer-acknowledged
Fix / workaround:
- No confirmed fix yet
- Try: clean driver reinstall, verify files, disable overlays
Save load crash
Symptom: Save load crash — UE error when loading a save
Cause: Unknown
Fix / workaround:
- Verify files
- No confirmed fix
D3D Device Lost
Symptom: D3D Device Lost — 'D3D device being lost' error
Cause: GPU overclock or driver crash
Fix / workaround:
- Remove MSI Afterburner OC/undervolt
- DDU clean reinstall
HDD install stutter/crash
Symptom: HDD install stutter/crash — severe streaming stutter and crashes
Cause: The game needs an SSD; HDDs stutter badly and crash
Fix / workaround:
- Reinstall to SSD (70GB free, system drive recommended)
Phase 3 — Advanced
5 minutes each · 3 known issues
Fast-travel / Beacon interaction crash
Symptom: Fast-travel / Beacon interaction crash — UE error when teleporting or leaving a Beacon
Cause: Regression bug, more frequent after HF2.0
Fix / workaround:
- No player-side fix yet
- Report to the developer
Out of video memory
Symptom: Out of video memory — 'Out of Video Memory' error
Cause: Ultra textures + high resolution exceed 8GB VRAM
Fix / workaround:
- Textures to High
- Disable hardware acceleration in Discord/Chrome
UE5 memory leak over long sessions
Symptom: UE5 memory leak over long sessions — closing after long play sessions
Cause: UE5 memory leak
Fix / workaround:
- Static page file: initial 16384 MB / max 32768 MB on SSD
Not recommended
Advice circulating on SEO farm sites that we could not verify — or that carries real risk:
Not recommended (SEO-farm advice to avoid)
FAQ
Why does Mortal Shell 2 crash on startup?
Most startup crashes trace to shader compilation — set NVIDIA Shader Cache Size to Unlimited, clear DXCache/GLCache, or retry compilation. See Phase 1.
Does turning off Frame Generation stop crashes?
It resolves the most common mid-game and respawn crashes — Frame Generation conflicts with the UE5 render pipeline, especially 2x/3x auto modes.
Are crashes fixed after Hotfix 2.0?
Partially. Hotfix 2.0 fixed the Slayer Seal UI lock and the Riposte weapon steal and reduced several crashes, but Beacon fast-travel and save-load crashes are still pending.
Is -UseFixedTimeStep a safe fix?
No — it is unverified advice circulating on content-farm sites. We list it under Not Recommended.
Where are Mortal Shell 2 saves located?
Under %AppData%\Local\MortalShell2\Saved\SaveGames — deleting the EnhancedInputUserSettings and SpartaGameSettings files fixes the keybind menu crash.
