Baldur’s Gate 3 DirectX Error, How to Fix?

Baldur’s Gate III is prevalent enough for an immersive role-playing Dungeons & Dragons-based game. Larian Studios has done a great job with this release as a third instalment in the Baldur’s Gate lineup. However, due to the early access phase, some bugs or stability issues present in this game can trouble you a lot. But recently the DirectX error starts troubling some players on the PC out of nowhere. Now, if you’re also facing Baldur’s Gate 3 DirectX Error, try following this guide.

The chances are high that somehow the SLI (Scalable Link Interface) is enabled in the graphics software which might conflict with the DirectX error while launching the Baldur’s Gate III game on the PC. As a result, affected players are unable to run the game properly which leads to crashes. Whereas an outdated graphics driver, an outdated game patch version, corrupted or missing game files, outdated or missing DirectX, etc can also be potential reasons behind the problem.

Baldur’s Gate 3 DirectX Error, How to Fix?

If you check out the error message, it says “The game has encountered an unrecoverable DirectX error and will shut down. This error may be triggered by reasons that are not related to Baldur’s Gate 3.” So, the specific error message already hints that the external reason is applicable behind this DirectX error that should be fixed manually. So, we’ll go through all the possible workarounds one by one until the problem has been fixed.

As background running apps, antivirus-related conflicts, overclocked CPU or GPU, incompatible graphics card models, etc can occur such issues, it’s always better to try each workaround to check which one helps you. Make sure to follow all methods. Now, without further ado, let’s get into it.

1. Restart the PC

First of all, you can try rebooting the PC to ensure there is no issue with the temporary system glitch or cache data. Sometimes a normal restart of the system can resolve multiple issues with the system performance or internet connection. As rebooting the PC doesn’t take too much time, you can try it out.

2. Run Steam as an Administrator

Run the Steam application file as an administrator on the PC to allow the user account control regarding privilege. It’ll eventually avoid game launching or multiple errors in some cases.

• Right-click on the Steam application file on your PC.
• Now, select Properties > Click on the Compatibility tab.

• Click on the Run this program as an administrator checkbox to enable it.
• Click on Apply and select OK to save changes.

3. Update Baldur’s Gate 3

Mostly an outdated game patch version might trouble you a lot with the errors. You can check for the game updates to the latest version to ensure there is no issue with the game launching. Make sure to follow the steps below to do so:

• Open the Steam client > Go to Library.
• Click on Baldur’s Gate 3 from the left pane.
• Now, Steam will automatically search for the available update.
• If there is an update available, click on Update.
• Wait for a couple of minutes to complete the update.
• Once done, close Steam, and reboot your PC to apply changes.

4. Verify the Integrity of the Game Files

Sometimes there might be an issue with the installed game files like corrupted or missing game files on the PC. It eventually causes game launching or DirectX errors.

• Launch the Steam client > Click on Library.
• Right-click on Baldur’s Gate 3 from the list of installed games.
• Click on Properties > Go to the Local Files files.

• Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
• You’ll have to wait for the process until it gets completed.
• Once done, restart your computer.

5. Disable SLI

You’ll need to follow the steps below to manually disable SLI on the Nvidia Control Panel software to check for the issue again. As some of the affected players did find this trick helpful, you should try it out.

• Right-click on the blank area or desktop.
• Click on NVIDIA Control Panel.
• Click on 3D Settings from the left pane > Choose Set SLI configuration.
• Select Do not use SLI technology to disable SLI.
• Once done, reboot the PC to apply changes.

6. Close Background Processes

Sometimes closing the background tasks which are not necessary for you to run always might help in boosting the system performance or specific app performance. Otherwise, third-party tasks can consume a lot of system resources in the background without notifying you.

• Press the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys to open the Task Manager.
• Click on the Processes tab > Click on a particular task consuming higher resources.
• Now, click on End Task to close the same.
• Do the same steps for each unnecessary task individually.
• Once done, restart your PC to apply changes.

7. Perform a Clean Boot

Some of the apps and their services may start automatically while booting the system right away. In that case, those apps or services will definitely gonna use a lot of internet connection as well as system resources. If you’re also feeling the same, make sure to perform a clean boot on your computer to check for the issue. To do that:

• Press the Win+R keys to open the Run dialogue box.
• Now, type msconfig and hit Enter to open System Configuration.
• Go to the Services tab > Enable the Hide all Microsoft services checkbox.

• Click on Disable all > Click on Apply and then OK to save changes.
• Now, go to the Startup tab > Click on Open Task Manager.
• The Task Manager interface will open. Here go to the Startup tab.
• Then click on the particular task which has a higher startup impact.
• Once selected, click on Disable to turn them off from the startup process.
• Do the same steps for each program that has a higher startup impact.
• Once done, make sure to restart your computer to apply changes.

8. Update the Graphics Driver

An outdated or corrupted graphics card driver can trigger multiple issues with the games or system performance while running programs. It’s highly recommended to check the graphics driver update. To do so:

• Press the Win+X keys to open the Quick Link Menu.
• Click on Device Manager from the list > Double-click on Display adapters.
• Right-click on the dedicated graphics card that you’re currently using.

• Click on Update driver > Choose Search automatically for drivers.
• If there is the latest update available, it’ll automatically download & install the latest version.
• Once done, restart the computer to apply changes immediately.

Alternatively, you can manually download the latest version of the graphics driver and install it on the PC via the official website. Make sure to download the graphics driver file respective to your graphics card model and manufacturer.

• Nvidia official site
• AMD website
• Intel website

9. Delete the Early Access Folder

You’ll need to simply visit Baldur’s Gate 3 installation directory on your PC via the Steam folder and delete the early access folder to try fixing the issue.

• Open the Steam launcher > Go to Library.
• Right-click on Baldur’s Gate 3 > Go to Manage.
• Select Browse local files > Search for the AppData – Local – Larian Studios – Baldur’s Gate 3 and delete this folder.
  • You can also directly head over to the C:\Users\myUser\AppData\Local\Larian Studios\Baldur’s Gate 3 path on File Explorer.
  • Now, delete the Early Access folder.
• Once done, close File Explorer, and restart the computer to apply changes.
• Finally, run the game again to check for the game progress save issue.

10. Choose DirectX 11 Instead Of Vulkan

Baldur’s Gate 3 though can smoothly run via Vulkan API, it’s also recommended to select DirectX 11 manually from the game menu to check if the problem persists or not.

• Launch the Steam client > Click on Library.
• Click on Baldur’s Gate 3 and select the gear icon next to the play button.
• Click on DirectX 11 to select it > Then launch Baldur’s Gate 3.

11. Whitelist Baldur’s Gate 3 and Steam in Antivirus

Sometimes the antivirus protection blocking issue with Baldur’s Gate 3 game application file can trouble you a lot. It’s better to whitelist the game as well as the Steam client to check for the issue.

• Press the Win+I keys to open Windows Settings.
• Go to Privacy and Security > Click on Windows Security.
• Click on Virus and threat protection > Select Manage ransomware protection.
• Select Allow an app through Controlled folder access > Click Add an allowed app.
• Click on Browse all apps > Select Steam.
• Click on Open to save changes.
• Again browse and select Baldur’sGate3.exe application > Click on Open to whitelist it too.

12. Get the Latest Visual C++ Redistributables and DirectX

Another thing you’ll need to do is simply run the latest DirectX installer and the Visual C++ Redistributables application on your PC by following the steps below. Sometimes an outdated or missing application can trouble the game-launching experience. To do so:

• Visit the official Microsoft website and download the latest DirectX installer version.
• Run the installer and install DirectX completely.
• Once done, reboot the PC to apply changes.
• Next, visit the Visual C++ Redistributables page, and get the latest installer.
• Finally, install the program manually, and reboot the PC.

13. Use the Dedicated Graphics Card

Last but not least, you can use the dedicated high-end graphics card on your PC by following the steps below to ensure there is no issue with the performance of the game. By default, some PC gamers might encounter game launching issues or DirectX issues with the integrated GPU on the processor.

For Nvidia:

• Right-click on the blank desktop screen > Click on NVIDIA Control Panel.
• Click on 3D Settings > Select Manage 3D Settings in the left pane.
• Select the Program Settings tab > Choose Baldur’s Gate 3 from the drop-down list.
• Now, select a High-performance NVIDIA processor.
• Save changes and reboot the PC to apply changes.

For AMD:

Switchable Graphics offers several standard operating modes and can be configured to run a specific application using the desired GPU.

• Right-click on the blank desktop screen > Select AMD Radeon Settings from the context menu.
• Now, click on System > Click on Switchable Graphics.
• Save changes and reboot the PC to apply changes.

That’s it, guys. We hope this guide was helpful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.