Re: FREEZING/CRASH SEASON 15

As indicated by the Trello Board, they are investigating this widespread issue for PC.

Console users seem to be encountering this issue less than PC users, so the issues console users are experiencing is most likely unrelated tot his one.

Currently there is no ETA (Last Checked: 13:32 UTC +1 04/11/2022)

Users have reported getting similar freezes/crashes on these platforms

(Do note that freezing/crashing are generic issues that can have many different underlying issues)

PC

• Windows 10
• Windows 11

Console

• Xbox
• Playstation 4 + 5
• Steam Deck (SteamOS)

It seems that there seems to be quite the amount of users experiencing this, though I've also noticed a large part of the playerbase playing without an issue.

Standard troubleshooting is still something that is recommended as these types of crashes can be quite common and comparable to other causes.

DATA COLLECTION

As with most issues, devs enjoy getting some juicy data to help them figure out the cause.

This Reddit post requests users to use a certain launch option that makes it possible for them to collect data.

I'll cite the post below:

[START]

Hey everyone, to those experiencing the freezes, can you try adding this line to your launch parameters "+watchdog_time_milliseconds 30000". Then once the game freezes please wait about 30 seconds, a prompt should show up saying "The game is not responding. Press Retry to wait or Cancel to quit the game.", we need you to hit cancel. This won't fix the problem but it should help us get some more information to get it fixed ASAP.

How to add command lines:

EA App:

From “My Collection”, click on the three dots in the upper right corner of the Apex Legends tile and select “View Properties”.

Add "+watchdog_time_milliseconds 30000" in the text box under “Advanced Launch Options”.

Click “Save” and launch the game normally.

Origin:

From “My Game Library”, right click Apex Legends -> Game Properties -> Advanced Launch Options

Add "+watchdog_time_milliseconds 30000" to Command line arguments

Click “Save” and launch the game normally

Steam:

From your library, right click Apex Legends, and select Properties.

Add "+watchdog_time_milliseconds 30000" to “Launch Options”

Close the properties window and launch the game normally

[STOP]

Workarounds

Some users have reported that certain things have resolved their issues or at the very least found a way to decrease the frequency of these crashes occurring.

These aren't guaranteed to work for all users, so consider yourself lucky if one of these workarounds resolves your problem.

(If it does resolve your issue then you were probably not encountering the same issue, though I cannot confirm this)

1st Workaround (Opting into the DX12 Beta)

In the meantime you can use the workaround mentioned by Mad_Professor86 which is a few posts above this one.

Make sure your computer is able to run DX12, most systems are able to do this, though it's important to check.

Do note that the DX12 version of the game is quite unstable and has a lot of problems that can present themselves, so it might not be recommended to use DX12 in Ranked.

You can find more information about the beta inside of the main thread.

Any feedback and other useful data is welcome in that thread, so if you're going to try it out, your finds are more than welcome!

2nd Workaround (Deleting/Redownloading assets)

Either you have another issue or for some random reason this resolves your issue whilst encountering the same problem.

I'm just including this as a standard step as for some reason the assets can cause some whacky instability in the game.

Following these steps could resolve your issue:

1. Press Windows Key + R
2. Put in %USERPROFILE%\saved games\respawn\apex and select OK
3. Delete the assets folder

3rd Workaround (Playing the game in Windowed mode)

Some users have reported that playing in windowed mode has resolved their issue or decreased the amount of crashes they encounter.

(Make sure to be playing in Windowed, not Borderless Windowed)

4th Workaround (Wiping your drive and reinstalling your OS) [Not recommended]

So far 2 users have reported to me that doing a complete clean install of their OS (Wiping/Nuking their entire storage devices) has resolved it for them.

One wiped/nuked their storage device and just reinstalled their Win10, another upgraded to Win11 after wiping their storage device.

(So far they haven't had any issues, though it's possible that they could get these issues later on)

Extra Information

(02/11/2022)

Some users have reported that they don't encounter crashes in Arenas and that it only happens in Battle Royale. 

(Might be an indication that it's map related)

(02/11/2022 - 03/11/2022)

Some users have mentioned that they are getting these freezes in the main menu and firing range.

(So maybe not map related then?)

(23:35 UTC+1, 03/11/2022)

Some users are reporting that wiping all data and reinstalling their OS has resolved their issues.

So far 2 users have reported that it has worked, their methods:

• Wiping all data and installing Win10 again
• Wiping all data and upgrading to Win11 from Win10

(It's unsure what effect other OS's have on the game ATM, so I'm currently only documenting Windows)

I also don't recommend a lot of players to do this, as you'd have to literally wipe all your data on your device, which isn't a very great workaround for those storing lots of important data.

This more serves as an indication that this could be a possible workaround, also indicating that this might be an OS issue.