Path of Exile 2 (POE2) launched in 2024 as a Steam Early Access title, meaning the game is still in development. Running on Grinding Gear Games’ proprietary game engine, Path of Exile 2 runs and scales well across different PC configurations. Despite the optimizations, PC users report that the game is crashing randomly while playing. I have compiled some fixes that will resolve the Path of Exile 2 in-game crash on PC.
Verified Fixes for Path of Exile 2 Keeps Crashing on PC
As per reports from PC players, Path of Exile 2 is crashing randomly during gameplay, and most of them don’t even get an error message, while others are experiencing the Deadlock Detected error.
There are multiple reasons why you are experiencing these gameplay crashes, such as playing Path of Exile 2 at an unlocked framerate, compatibility issues with the Vulkan API, playing the game in Fullscreen mode, and more. The following fixes will resolve the Path of Exile 2 crashes on your Windows PC.
Fix #1 – Play Path of Exile 2 in Windowed Mode (Confirmed Fix)
Usually, it is good to play games in Fullscreen or Exclusive Fullscreen display mode, as it ensures all the PC resources are being used to render frames. In some cases, it even results in better overall framerate in PC games.
However, in the case of Path of Exile 2, Fullscreen mode is the reason the game is crashing on your PCs. PC users confirm that playing Path of Exile 2 in Windowed or Windowed Fullscreen display mode fixes the random crashes. Here is how you can change the display mode in POE2 on PC to fix the in-game crashes:
- Open Path of Exile 2’s options menu.
- Go to the “Graphics” tab.
- Find the “Mode” setting under “Display Settings”.
- Change the display mode to “Windowed” and apply the changes.
- Continue playing Path of Exile 2, and the gameplay crashes are now fixed.
Fix #2 – Switch to DirectX (Verified Fix)
Path of Exile 2 gives players the option to use their preferred API, which includes Vulkan, DirectX 11, and DirectX 12. Vulkan often provides better performance in games, but in the case of Path of Exile 2, this API is causing the crashes.
Based on community feedback, switching from Vulkan to DirectX 12 fixes the crashes in Path of Exile 2. Here is how you can change the API Renderer in POE2 to fix the in-game crash issue on your Windows PC:
- Open Path of Exile 2’s options menu.
- Go to the “Graphics” tab.
- Choose the “Renderer” setting under “Display Settings”.
- Select either the DirectX 11 or the DirectX 12 option for the “Renderer” setting and apply the changes.
- Restart the game.
- Continue playing Path of Exile 2 and the in-game crash issue is fixed.
Fix #3 – Roll Back GPU Driver
Since the game is in Early Access, there are bound to be compatibility issues with drivers and other essential software. Path of Exile 2 keeps crashing on your PC due to your GPU driver, as the game officially doesn’t support the latest drivers from NVIDIA and AMD. To fix the crashes, roll back to the October 2025 GPU driver version.
For NVIDIA GPU users, install driver version 581.57 to fix the crashes in Path of Exile 2. Ensure that you do a clean installation, so that setting from the previous driver install won’t interfere with the new one.
Fix #4 – Limit Path of Exile 2’s Max FPS
One advantage PC has over consoles is that it allows players to play games at an unlocked FPS, if they support it. A higher FPS not only makes the game look and feel smooth, but it also reduces input latency. The latter is especially useful in multiplayer games.
However, playing at an unlocked FPS puts the GPU and CPU under a lot of load, which results in games crashing to the desktop while playing. If you are playing Path of Exile 2 at an unlocked FPS, it is the reason the game keeps crashing on your PC. You can fix these crashes by limiting the game’s maximum frame rate, as the GPU and CPU load is reduced.
Fix #5 – Revert Graphics Card Overclock and Use Default GPU and Memory Clocks
PC hardware can be overclocked to gain more performance in games, but it often comes at the cost of stability. If you have overclocked your graphics card, it is crashing Path of Exile 2 on your PC during gameplay. Revert the graphics card to its default GPU and Memory clocks to fix the gameplay crashes on your PC.
Even if you have not overclocked the graphics card yourself, it’s very likely that it’s factory overclocked. Most graphics cards from NVIDIA and AMD AIB partners use higher GPU and Memory clocks than their respective reference models. These clocks are slightly higher, but are often the cause of crashes on PC. You can fix the Path of Exile 2 gameplay crash on your PC by forcing the graphics card to use its reference clocks.
For NVIDIA GPU users, you can enable the Debug Mode in the NVIDIA Control Panel to force the graphics card to use its default GPU and Memory clocks. Here is how you can enable the Debug Mode:
- Open the Nvidia Control Panel.
- Click the “Help” button in the top menu.
- Select the “Debug Mode” option.
- Continue playing Path of Exile 2, and the in-game crash issue is fixed.
As for AMD users, you’ll have to manually underclock your graphics card to fix the crashes.
That is all for our Path of Exile 2 fixes for gameplay crashes on your Windows PC. If you are facing errors and issues while playing other games on PC and handhelds, head to our hub of commonly occurring PC errors and their fixes.
