How to Fix Killing Floor 3 LowLevelFatalError Crash on PC?

Killing Floor 3, the sequel to Killing Floor 2, is built on the same core co-op zombie-slaying formula, and it has gained instant success among both PC and console players. Tripwire Interactive, the developer of the game, has ensured that the game performs well across various PC configurations; however, many users have reported numerous errors and crashes. Since it is an Unreal Engine 5 game, errors and crashes were expected, as the track record of UE5 has not been very positive. Many PC users report that Killing Floor 3 is crashing to the desktop, followed by the “LowLevelFatalError” error message. I have compiled a list of fixes to prevent this error from occurring.

How Do I fix Killing Floor 3 UE-Nightfall LowLevelFatalError Crashes on PC?

Many PC users report that Killing Floor 3 keeps crashing to the desktop with the following UE Nightfall LowLevelFatalError error:

As evident in the error code, shaders are the issue; that is the reason Killing Floor 3 is crashing on PC, accompanied by the “LowLevelFatalError” error. There are several reasons behind Killing Floor 3 crashing on Windows PCs, including Lumen being enabled, playing Killing Floor 3 at an uncapped frame rate, Windows compatibility issues, a small shader cache size for Killing Floor 3, and others. The following fixes will help you stop this error.

Fix #1 – Turn Off Global Illumination, aka Lumen

Lumen is Unreal Engine’s real-time global illumination and reflections system. It makes UE5 games a more realistic look. If you have turned it on, this is the reason Killing Floor 3 keeps crashing with LowLevelFatalError, as it is a highly resource-intensive feature. Here is how you can turn off global illumination (Lumen) in the game and fix the LowLevelFatalError crash.

Go to the Killing Floor 3 settings menu and navigate to the “Video” tab. Look for the “Global Illumination Method” setting under “Advanced” and turn it off. This is a verified fix, and many PC users in the community report that playing Killing Floor 3 with Lumen Global Illumination turned on often leads to performance issues due to its resource-intensive nature.

Fix #2 – Play Killing Floor 3 Locked at 60 FPS

Many PC users often change various settings to get more performance out of their hardware. One of them is playing games at uncapped FPS, as it reduces latency and provides smoother gameplay; it also puts unnecessary load on your CPU and GPU.

Many PC users have mentioned that playing Killing Floor 3 at 60 FPS fixes the LowLevelFatalError crash. There are three different ways to apply this fix. Here is how you can cap Killing Floor 3’s FPS through enabling V-sync, the in-game FPS limiter, and the NVIDIA app.

Turn on Vertical Synchronization (VSync)

PC users in the community mention that if you are using a 60 Hz monitor, then turn on Vertical Synchronization and lock the game’s FPS at 60. This will prevent the Killing Floor 3 UE Nightfall LowLevelFatalError crash from occurring. Here is how you can turn it on:

• Open Killing Floor 3’s “Video” settings tab.
• Turn on the “Vsync” setting.
• Apply the changes, and the game will not crash anymore.

Use the In-Game FPS Limiter to Cap Killing Floor 3’s FPS

You can also use Killing Floor 3’s in-game FPS limiter to adjust the max frame rate. This works best if you are playing the game on a Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) or a high refresh rate monitor. While you are in-game, open Settings, go to the “Video” tab, and you will find the “Frame Rate Cap” option there. Adjust it to 60, and Killing Floor 3 will not crash anymore with a LowLevelFatalError error message.

Fix #3 – Override Windows Timeout Detection and Recovery

Windows has numerous features that optimize your PC’s performance. Windows Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR) detects issues with the stalling GPU driver and recovers it. The Killing Floor 3 LowLevelFatalError crash is happening because TDR is not doing its work correctly; either it shuts down the driver or does not recover it when it faces problems.

This is another common problem with games running on Unreal Engine 5, as the engine fails to communicate with the GPU driver properly, which forces TDR to close the game with a “LowLevelFatalError” error. To fix this error, override the Windows TDR setting so it resets the driver instead of shutting it down. Here is how you can override TDR settings:

• Open Registry Editor and run it as an administrator.
• On the left side of the window, you will see various options. Click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, go to SYSTEM, click CurrentControlSet, click Control, and select GraphicsDrivers.
• Take your cursor to the empty screen in the right panel of the window and right-click.
• Navigate to New and select the “DWORD (32-bit) Value” option. It will create a new file, name it “TdrLevel”.
• Right-click this file and click Modify.
• Check that the value under “Value Data” is set to 0.
• Restart your PC and play Killing Floor 3, and the LowLevelFatalError crash is now fixed.

Fix #4 – Run Killing Floor 3 in Windows 8 Compatibility Mode

If Killing Floor 3 is crashing during shader compilation or during gameplay with the LowLevelFatalError Shader Compilation Failure error, then the issue is with the Windows compatibility.

Since Killing Floor 3 is an Unreal Engine 5 game, it relies on shaders for its visuals and performance. Crashing during shader compilation is a common issue with Unreal Engine games, and the fix given here is common for most of the UE5 games. Here is how you can fix the LowLevelFatalError Shader Compilation Failure error:

• Open Steam Library, right-click Killing Floor 3, navigate to Manage, and click Browse local files.
• Look for Killing Floor 3’s executable file, right-click it, and open Properties.
• Go to the “Compatibility” tab and check the box against the “Run this program in compatibility mode for” option.
• Click the dropdown button and select Windows 8 from the list.
• Apply the changes.
• Run Killing Floor 3, and it will not crash with the “LowLevelFatalError” error.

Fix #5 – Recompile Killing Floor 3’s Shaders and Increase Shader Cache Size

If Killing Floor 3 is crashing during the shader compilation step, or gameplay followed by the LowLevelFatalError Shader Compilation Failures error, it is because of a small shader cache size created by the GPU driver.

This is a common issue with games running on Unreal Engine 5, as it relies heavily on shaders. This is why most PC games running on Unreal Engine 5 perform a shader compilation step when you first launch them or when there is an update.

To fix the LowLevelFatalError crash, clear the NVIDIA shader cache, increase the shader cache size, and recompile shaders. Follow the steps below to apply this fix:

• Open NVIDIA Control Panel, go to “Manage 3D Settings” and select the “Global Settings” tab.
• Select the “Shader cache size” setting and select the “Disable” option.
• Apply the changes and restart your PC.
• Go to the “Shader cache size” option once again in the NVIDIA Control Panel and select 10 GB or a higher value from the dropdown menu.
• Launch Killing Floor 3. The game will recompile shaders, and the Low Level Fatal Error will be fixed.

Fix #6 – Update BIOS or Underclock Your Intel 13th and 14th Gen CPU

Killing Floor 3 keeps crashing because of technical problems with Intel’s Raptor Lake (13th and 14th-generation) CPUs. These issues are quite common, and even Intel has acknowledged these problems. These issues are even more common with UE5 games, as they often crash while compiling shaders if you run the game on an Intel Raptor Lake CPU.

You can fix this problem by downloading the latest BIOS update and installing it. However, sometimes updating BIOS won’t suffice, and you will need to underclock your Intel 13th or 14th generation CPU’s performance core ratio. Here is how you can apply this fix.

• Download Intel Extreme Tuning Utility and install it.
• Open the app and set the Performance Core Ratio to 50x.
• Launch Killing Floor 3, and the shaders will compile without crashing.
• Once the shaders are compiled, revert the Performance Core Ratio to its default value.
• Keep playing Killing Floor 3, and the LowLevelFatalError Shader Compilation Failures error is now fixed.

However, there is an easy way to fix the LowLevelFatalError crash without underclocking. You can simply use Windows’ Power Efficiency Mode to compile shaders without crashing Killing Floor 3. Once the shaders are compiled, use the Balanced or High Performance mode. Here is how you can use the Power Efficiency Mode:

• Open Windows settings, select System, and go to Power.
• Select “Best Power Efficiency” for Power Mode.
• Run Killing Floor 3, and shaders will compile without crashing.
• Close the game after shaders are compiled.
• Change to your preferred Power mode.
• Play the game, and the LowLevelFatalError crash is fixed for good.

Fix #7 – Disable Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling

Windows 10 and 11 come with the Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling feature that lets the GPU schedule its own tasks instead of relying on the CPU. This is the reason behind the Killing Floor 3 LowLevelFatalError crash on Windows PC. Turn it off with the help of the following steps, and the error will be fixed.

• Open Windows 10/11 Settings, go to System, click Display, and go to Graphics.
• Click “Change default graphics settings” under Default Settings.
• Toggle off the “Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling” option.
• Restart your PC.
• Run Killing Floor 3, and the LowLevelFatalError Shader compilation Failure crash is now fixed.

That’s all from my side for fixing the Killing Floor 3 LowLevelFatalError crash. If you are looking for fixes for errors for other PC games, head over to our hub of the commonly occurring PC errors and their fixes.