Network Issue ARC Raiders

ARC Raiders - Locked Gate Event Crash and Reconnection Failure Fix Guide

📅 Published: 2026-02-05 🔄 Updated: 2026-02-05 👥 Reports: 4 ⚡ Severity: 🟢 Low

🎯 Quick Answer

Resolve the Locked Gate event crash and reconnection failure by verifying game file integrity, clearing the shader cache, and ensuring stable network connectivity.

SECTION 1: OVERVIEW

This documentation addresses a compound technical failure in ARC Raiders involving a client crash during a time-limited world event, specifically the Wasp Trials at the Locked Gate, followed by a failure to reconnect to the game session. The error manifests as an application crash-to-desktop (CTD) with potential subsequent network timeouts when attempting to re-enter the instance. This issue primarily affects the Windows PC platform. It occurs in game versions following the introduction of time-limited dynamic world events. The frequency is classified as occasional, correlating with peak player participation in scheduled events. The severity is game-breaking, as it results in the loss of event progress, collected resources (e.g., Snitcher Scanners), and potential character state corruption. No specific error code is typically presented to the user beyond a generic crash reporter or network failure message.

SECTION 2: SYMPTOMS

The application terminates unexpectedly to the desktop during or immediately after interacting with the event mechanics of the Locked Gate Wasp Trials. This crash occurs without a standard Windows error dialog in most cases. Following the crash, subsequent attempts to launch the game and reconnect to the previous session fail. The game client either hangs indefinitely on the loading screen, displays a "Connection Lost" or "Failed to Join Session" notification, or loads into the lobby without the previous character state. The crash event viewer entry typically shows a faulting module name within the game's executable or a related graphics API.

SECTION 3: COMMON CAUSES

Category: Game Bug Specific technical explanation: Memory corruption or race condition within the event-specific scripting or physics engine when processing a high density of interactable objects (e.g., 40+ Snitcher Scanners) in a confined event space. Why this causes the problem: The client-state management logic fails to serialize or synchronize the complex object states, leading to a heap overflow or access violation that crashes the process. Category: Software Conflict Specific technical explanation: Overlay software (Discord, Xbox Game Bar, NVIDIA GeForce Experience) hooking into the DirectX 12 rendering pipeline interferes with the game's full-screen exclusive mode during intensive event rendering. Why this causes the problem: The overlay injection causes a timing mismatch in frame presentation, resulting in a device-hung or device-removed error that forces a crash. Category: Configuration Error Specific technical explanation: Corrupted or outdated local shader cache files specific to the Locked Gate event environment. Why this causes the problem: The rendering engine attempts to compile or access invalid cached shaders, causing a GPU driver timeout and subsequent application failure. Category: Network Problem Specific technical explanation: Strict NAT or firewall rules that block the ephemeral UDP ports required for re-establishing a connection to a specific game instance after a crash. Why this causes the problem: The matchmaking service cannot route the reconnection request back to the original server instance, resulting in a timeout. Category: Hardware Issue Specific technical explanation: GPU VRAM exhaustion due to the combined high-texture environment of the event location and the unique asset loading for numerous player-deployed items. Why this causes the problem: When VRAM is fully allocated, the system attempts to use system RAM as overflow, inducing severe latency and a fatal TDR (Timeout Detection and Recovery) event. Category: Game Bug Specific technical explanation: Session persistence logic error where the client crash does not properly flag the player character as eligible for reconnection, abandoning the session on the server side. Why this causes the problem: The server garbage collection routine cleans up the "orphaned" player entity, making the previous session slot unavailable for rejoin attempts.

SECTION 4: SOLUTIONS

Solution 1: Verify Game File Integrity and Clear Shader Cache

Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 10-15 minutes Success Rate: High Prerequisites: Launcher client (Steam/Epic Games Store) installed. Steps:

Completely exit the ARC Raiders application and its launcher.
Open your game library in the Steam client.
Right-click on "ARC Raiders" and select Properties.
Navigate to the Installed Files tab and click Verify integrity of game files.
While verification runs, navigate to the local shader cache directory: C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\Embark Studios\ARC Raiders.
Delete the entire contents of the ShaderCache folder if it exists.
After Steam verification completes, restart your computer.
Launch ARC Raiders and test the event area.

Technical Explanation: This process replaces corrupted or missing game binaries and configuration files. Deleting the shader cache forces the GPU driver to rebuild optimized shaders for your specific hardware, eliminating crashes caused by corrupted cached data. Verification: The game launches normally. Load into a non-event area of the game world first to allow shader recompilation, then approach the Locked Gate event location. Stability during standard gameplay confirms the fix.

Solution 2: Disable Third-Party Overlays and Adjust Graphics API

Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 5 minutes Success Rate: Medium Prerequisites: None. Steps:

Open Discord. Navigate to User Settings > Activity Privacy and disable Display current activity as a status message. Go to Overlay and ensure Enable in-game overlay is OFF.
Press Windows Key + G to open the Xbox Game Bar. Click the Settings cog, and under General, turn off Remember this is a game and Open Xbox Game Bar using [key].
For NVIDIA users, open GeForce Experience. Click the Settings (gear icon), and under General, disable In-Game Overlay.
Launch ARC Raiders. Navigate to Settings > Graphics.
Locate the Graphics API setting. If set to DirectX 12, change it to DirectX 11. Apply the changes and restart the game.

Technical Explanation: Overlay software introduces DLL injection that can conflict with the game's rendering and input handling. Switching to DirectX 11 uses a more stable, mature API with fewer driver-level compatibility issues during complex scene rendering. Verification: The game runs without the visual elements of overlays. Monitor stability during graphically intensive actions. The absence of a crash under previously failing conditions verifies the overlay or API was the conflict source.

Solution 3: Configure Firewall and Network Port Rules

Difficulty: Medium Time Required: 10 minutes Success Rate: Medium Prerequisites: Administrator access on Windows. Steps:

Press Windows Key + R, type control firewall.cpl, and press Enter.
Click Advanced settings on the left.
In the Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security window, select Inbound Rules on the left.
Click New Rule... on the right. Select Port and click Next.
Select UDP and enter 7777-7787 in the Specific local ports field. Click Next.
Select Allow the connection. Click Next.
Ensure all profiles (Domain, Private, Public) are checked. Click Next.
Name the rule "ARC Raiders UDP Ports". Click Finish.
Repeat steps 4-8 for Outbound Rules.
Open Command Prompt as Administrator. Execute the command: ipconfig /flushdns followed by netsh int ip reset.

Technical Explanation: ARC Raiders uses a range of UDP ports for peer-to-server communication. Creating explicit allow rules prevents the firewall from blocking reconnection packets. Flushing DNS and resetting TCP/IP clears corrupted network state data. Verification: After applying rules, test general online functionality. A successful reconnection to a game session after a client restart (not a crash) indicates improved network pathway stability.

Solution 4: Perform a Clean GPU Driver Installation

Difficulty: Medium Time Required: 15 minutes Success Rate: High Prerequisites: Internet connection to download drivers. Steps:

Download the latest GPU driver from NVIDIA (https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx) or AMD (https://www.amd.com/en/support).
Download the Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) tool from https://www.guru3d.com/download/display-driver-uninstaller-download/.
Restart Windows in Safe Mode. (Hold Shift while clicking Restart in the Start Menu, then navigate to Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings > Restart > Press 4).
Run DDU. Select your GPU vendor (NVIDIA/AMD/Intel) and click Clean and restart.
After Windows boots normally, install the GPU driver package downloaded in step 1. Choose Custom Installation and check Perform a clean installation.
Restart your computer after installation completes.

Technical Explanation: A clean installation removes all previous driver files, registry entries, and configuration profiles that may contain corrupted settings or memory timings causing VRAM management failures during high-load events. Verification: Check driver version in NVIDIA Control Panel or AMD Adrenalin Software. Launch ARC Raiders and observe GPU utilization and VRAM usage in the graphics settings menu. Stable performance at the event location confirms a successful installation.

Solution 5: Adjust Virtual Memory (Pagefile) Settings

Difficulty: Advanced Time Required: 5 minutes Success Rate: Medium Prerequisites: Administrator access, at least 50GB free on system drive. Steps:

Press Windows Key + Pause/Break to open System settings.
Click Advanced system settings on the right.
Under the Advanced tab, in the Performance section, click Settings.
Go to the Advanced tab and click Change... under Virtual memory.
Uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.
Select your system drive (usually C:). Select Custom size.
Set Initial size (MB) to 16384 (16GB). Set Maximum size (MB) to 32768 (32GB).
Click Set, then OK. Restart your computer when prompted.

Technical Explanation: Insufficient or system-managed virtual memory can lead to allocation failures when the game exhausts physical RAM and VRAM. A large, static pagefile provides a consistent memory overflow buffer, preventing crashes from memory allocation exceptions. Verification: After reboot, the game should run with fewer hitches during asset streaming. Monitor system memory usage in Task Manager (Performance tab) while playing to confirm the pagefile is being utilized without exhausting the defined limit.

Solution 6: Lower In-Game Graphics Settings for Event Participation

Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 3 minutes Success Rate: High Prerequisites: None. Steps:

Launch ARC Raiders and navigate to Settings > Graphics.
Set the Overall Quality Preset to Medium.
Manually adjust the following key settings:

* Texture Quality: Set to Medium. * View Distance: Set to Medium. * Effects Quality: Set to Low. * Shadow Quality: Set to Low.

Apply the settings. Do not restart the game.
Travel to the Locked Gate event area and monitor stability.

Technical Explanation: Reducing texture, effect, and shadow quality directly lowers GPU VRAM and compute load. This mitigates crashes stemming from VRAM exhaustion and GPU driver timeouts during the complex particle and object rendering of the Wasp Trials event. Verification: The game maintains a stable frame rate without crashing in the target event area. Graphics fidelity is reduced, but application stability is achieved.

SECTION 5: PREVENTION

To prevent recurrence, maintain a regular update schedule for GPU drivers, opting for clean installations quarterly. Configure a static, large pagefile as outlined in Solution 5. Before participating in scheduled world events, restart the game client to ensure a clean memory state. Periodically clear the shader cache directory located at C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\Embark Studios\ARC Raiders\ShaderCache. Monitor system temperatures using hardware monitoring software to ensure thermal throttling does not induce instability during extended play sessions in demanding areas.

SECTION 6: WHEN TO CONTACT SUPPORT

Contact Embark Studios official support if all documented solutions fail and the crash exhibits a consistent, reproducible pattern exclusively at the Locked Gate. Provide the crash dump files located in C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\Embark Studios\ARC Raiders\Crashes. Include a complete DxDiag report and the specific time of the event failure. Official support channels are accessible via the ARC Raiders website or the in-game support portal. Escalate only after confirming your system meets the minimum specifications and all drivers are updated.