Dark Souls 3 is a game that is riddled with issues on PC. From low FPS and stuttering to lag and audio problems, the game can be a hassle to run on even modern PCs. Thankfully, there is a workaround or fix for most of these problems.
In this guide, we’ll discuss the top issues plaguing DS3 and provide a fix that will allow you to optimize your experience.
1. Dark Souls 3 PC Crashes at Tutorial Boss Bonfire
Dark Souls 3 starts with a brief tutorial that pits you against some easy-to-defeat enemies and a giant boss; Iudex Gundyr. It is at this boss fight that the game starts crashing.
The game normally crashes about every 3 to 5 minutes into the tutorial, so if you are an AMD user, make sure you have updated your drivers because that seems to help. If that doesn’t work, tune down your lighting, and Dark Souls 3 crashes will improve.
2. Dark Souls 3 PC Crashes at Higher Resolution
When running Dark Souls 3, crashes tend to occur at higher resolutions of 1440p and 4K. There is a simple solution to this: turn down your screen resolution to 1080p. Going to 1440p increases performance requirements by over 60% and causes problems for many users.
3. PlayStation 4 Controller Doesn’t Work
Dark Souls 3 lets you play the game on PC using Xbox or PS4 controllers. While the Xbox controls work fine, the Dualshock 4 either doesn’t work entirely or you can only run while all the other buttons don’t register.
You can try some solutions here. First, try using a free tool called InputMapper to help bridge the gap between your DS4 and PC.
The second solution is checking the “Hide Controller” in the DS4 UI. Another thing you can try is disabling other devices in your Windows Controllers list. The game also faces issues if more than one device is enabled.
4. Dark Souls 3 200MB File Size in Japan
Dark Souls 3 buyers in Japan face issues after buying Global Keys for the game. The install size shows only 200MB, which isn’t playable; the 200MB is a bonus soundtrack of the game.
Change Your Steam Client Language to Japanese and select install on the same 200MB file. The full game will then download.
5. Dark Souls 3 Character Creation Keeps Spinning
Dark Souls 3 Character Creation also exhibits a problem. The character keeps spinning uncontrollably, disconnecting the mouse or Keyboard won’t work unless you disconnect your PS4 controller. This will help it stop, but you must play with a keyboard and mouse until there is a proper fix.
6. Dark Souls 3 60 Seconds Crash
Dark Souls 3 crashes every 60 seconds, and if that is something you’re faced with, try expanding your virtual memory. Here’s how to do it in Windows 7 and Windows 8:
Windows 7
- Click the Start button
- Go to the Control Panel
- Select System and Maintenance and click System
- Click Advanced system settings
- Go to Advanced tab > Performance > Settings.
- Click the Advanced tab >Virtual memory > Change
- Click Custom and the Initial size (MB) and Maximum size
Windows 8.1 and above
- Go to My Computer Properties
- Click on System and from Advanced System Settings > View Advanced tab
- Click Settings displayed under Performance
- Click Performance Options and Enter Advanced Tab
- Click the Change button under Virtual memory
- Clear the Automatically manage paging file size for all drives check box.
- Under Drive [Volume Label], click the drive that contains the paging file you want to change.
- Click Custom size, type a new size in megabytes in the Initial size (MB) or Maximum size (MB) box, click Set, and then click OK.
Keep your motion Blur off.
7. Dark Souls 3 Low FPS and stuttering on Nvidia Adaptor
Many Nvidia users are currently facing issues with frame rates. At 1080p max setting, the game delivers just 20-25 frames even after meeting the recommended system requirements. Thankfully, the problem can be traced to graphic card drivers.
Revert to Driver 314.22 of Nvidia, which may boost your frame rate.
8. Dark Souls 3 White Screen fix
Upon launching the game, it may crash and present a white screen. Open the options.ini file and change its default resolution which may fix the problem for you.
You may need to go below 1080p which isn’t ideal but it may run the game.
9. Character Won’t Move
If your character can’t perform any action but you can open and look through menus, move the camera around, and turn your character, here’s a possible solution.
Try installing the game outside your standard Steam folder and run the game again. If the problem persists, consult the fix for the PS4 controllers we’ve highlighted above.
10. Dark Souls 3 PC Crashes – (0xc000007b) error
The error usually occurs when your DirectX or the .Net framework (C++ Visual) is not properly installed. The game installs these files automatically when you try to launch it for the first time. However, if you still get this error, you should try installing these tools manually from the game’s directory.
Restart your PC after installation, and the problem should be resolved.
11. Dark Souls 3 PC Flickering Fix
Some users have reported that they are experiencing flickering when they boot up Dark Souls 3. The first thing you should try is to ensure that your screen’s refresh rate is the same as in-game (usually 60hz).
If that doesn’t work, find the XML configuration file at C:\Users\WhatYoursName\AppData\Roaming\DarkSoulsIII
GraphicsConfig.XML. Open the file using a text editor and where it says Something, add “WindowScreen” in the tags so the final line will be: WindowScreen.
12. Performance Fix for GTX 5xxx Series or Similar GPUs
If you are using a GTX 580 or similar GPU and have terrible FPS, you should try rolling back your drivers to the 314.22 version. This seems to have fixed the issue for many users.
13. Dark Souls 3 PC Resolution Fix for TV Monitor Users
Some users have reported that they cannot save the resolution change in Dark Souls 3 on their TV monitors. Some have even reported that their screen gets stuck in the top left corner after launch. As a workaround, you could try the following.
Go to your Geforce experience, click the games tab, click Dark Souls 3, and choose the optimize settings option. From here, you can choose the custom resolution you want and resolve the issue. However, the settings will reset, so you will have to do it every time before starting the game.
14. Dark Souls 3 slow-motion fix
Some PC users have reported that their characters run slowly when holding the dash button. The slow dash issue results in the character moving even slower than the normal walking speed.
This problem occurs when running the game at frame rates higher than 60FPS. To remedy it, disable any FPS unlocker you may be using or lock your game’s frames to either 60 or 30FPS.
15. Dark Souls 3 PC screen tearing fix
Screen tearing is usually the product of not setting up VSync properly on your PC and manifests when your GPU’s frame rate and monitor’s frame rate are not synchronized. It may also occur if you have GSync enabled.
To fix this all you have to do is set VSync to adaptive-half and turn GSync off.
16. Dark Souls 3 PC sound issue
Sometimes, you may encounter a problem where the audio in Dark Souls 3 cuts off whenever a new sound is made. For example, if you’re walking and switch between your flasks, the ambient and walking sounds may cut out.
To fix this issue, uninstall/disable Nvidia High Definition Audio and restart your PC.
