Helldivers 2 Crashing After the EAC Switch? How to Fix It

Helldivers 2 crashing or refusing to launch since the 20 October 2026 switch to Easy Anti-Cheat is usually leftover files: purge every mod, delete ReShade or OptiScaler DLLs from the game’s bin folder, remove old GameGuard files, clear the Helldivers2 AppData folder, restart the PC (Restart, not Shut down) and verify the game files in Steam. Those are Arrowhead’s own steps from its support article “My game is crashing after the switch to EAC!”, updated 9 November 2026. This guide puts them in order and adds the fixes for a black screen, a 0xc0000142 error and crashes mid-mission.

As of 9 November 2026. Arrowhead says it is still working on a fuller fix on its side.

Quick answer: match the crash to the fix

When Helldivers 2 crashes	Most likely cause	Fix first
At launch, since the 20 Oct EAC update	Mod files, ReShade / OptiScaler DLLs, GameGuard leftovers	Steps 1–3
With error 0xc0000142	Windows didn’t fully reset	Restart, not Shut down
Black screen, intro audio still plays	Game is using the wrong graphics adapter	Change adapter_index
Still won’t launch after all that	Damaged bin / data files	Delete bin and data, verify again
Mid-mission, randomly	Known in-game crashes Arrowhead patches	Update + the crash fixes list

Why Helldivers 2 started crashing in October 2026

Arrowhead moved Helldivers 2 from nProtect GameGuard to Easy Anti-Cheat on 20 October 2026, with patch 7.2.0, and said at the same time that mods affecting other players “may no longer function” and some cosmetic mods would need updates from their creators. Easy Anti-Cheat checks the files the game loads, so anything injected into the game folder, including graphics injectors like ReShade, can stop Helldivers 2 from starting. Arrowhead published a dedicated fix article the next day, and every launch step below comes from it.

Our older Helldivers 2 GameGuard Error 114 guide covers the GameGuard era; GameGuard is no longer used.

1. Purge every mod and remove ReShade or OptiScaler

Arrowhead’s first step applies even if you uninstalled your mods earlier:

• If you use a mod manager, run its Purge Mods function. A plain uninstall can leave mod files in the game folder, and those keep causing crashes.
• In Steam, right-click HELLDIVERS 2 → Manage → Browse local files, open the bin folder (\Steam\steamapps\common\Helldivers 2\bin) and delete any of these files if they are present:

File	Usually left by
dxgi.dll	ReShade, OptiScaler and other injectors
d3d9.dll	ReShade
d3d11.dll	ReShade
reshade32.dll	ReShade
reshade64.dll	ReShade

Don’t delete these DLLs anywhere else: the copies in C:\Windows\System32 belong to Windows.

2. Remove leftover GameGuard files

GameGuard is gone, but its files can still be in the install folder. Arrowhead’s steps:

1. Right-click the game in Steam → Manage → Browse local files.
2. Arrowhead points you to the EasyAntiCheat folder to run GGuninst.exe, GameGuard’s uninstaller. Run it if you find it there.
3. If a bin\GameGuard folder is still present, delete the whole GameGuard folder.

3. Clear the Helldivers 2 AppData folder

1. Press Windows + R, type %appdata%\Arrowhead\ and press Enter.
2. Delete the Helldivers2 folder.

This resets your in-game settings, so note any graphics and keybind choices first.

4. Update drivers and Windows, then Restart (not Shut down)

1. Install the latest GPU driver and any pending Windows updates.
2. Use Restart from the Windows power menu. Arrowhead stresses that Restart and Shut down are different: with Fast Startup on, Shut down doesn’t fully reset Windows.

Arrowhead says this restart is also the main fix for the 0xc0000142 error. For that error in other games, see the 0xc0000142 fix.

5. Verify the game files in Steam

1. Open your Steam Library and right-click HELLDIVERS 2.
2. Select Properties → Installed Files.
3. Click Verify integrity of game files and let it finish, then launch the game.

6. Still crashing? Delete the bin and data folders

If steps 1–5 didn’t work, Arrowhead’s next step forces Steam to rebuild the game’s core files:

1. Right-click HELLDIVERS 2 → Manage → Browse local files.
2. Delete the bin and data folders.
3. Back in Steam, open Properties → Installed Files → Verify integrity of game files. Steam downloads the missing folders again.
4. Launch the game.

Arrowhead also says some players get the game running by launching Steam as administrator and then starting Helldivers 2. If it still fails and a crash reporter offers to create a memory dump, create it and attach it to a ticket with Arrowhead Player Support.

Black screen with audio: change adapter_index

If Helldivers 2 opens to a black screen while the intro cinematic’s audio plays, Arrowhead’s fix is to switch which graphics adapter the game uses:

1. Press Windows + R, type %appdata% and press Enter.
2. Open Arrowhead → Helldivers2 and open user_settings.config in Notepad.
3. Press Ctrl + F and search for adapter_index.
4. If it reads adapter_index = 1, change it to 0. If it reads 0, change it to 1.
5. Save, close and launch the game.

This mostly matters on PCs with two graphics adapters, such as a laptop with integrated and dedicated GPUs. If you cleared the AppData folder in step 3, launch the game once so the file is created again.

Crashes Arrowhead has fixed since August 2026

Many mid-mission crashes are bugs Arrowhead patches, so an up-to-date game is a fix in itself. From the official patch notes:

Patch (date)	PC crash fixes
7.2.2 (29 Oct)	Rare crash in the renderer on PC and Xbox; rare crash on boot
7.2.1 (22 Oct)	Crash when another player joined or left the squad, “one of the main crashes”
7.2.0 (20 Oct)	Upscaler crash or grey screen at certain resolutions; crash when cycling resolutions or render scale; “improved DirectX 12 stability”; several crashes in Ship Management, SEAF shuttles, ragdolls and popups
7.1.1 (24 Sep)	Crash opening terminals in Fullscreen; crash with superwide windows
7.0.2 (25 Aug)	Dynamic Resolution Scaling crash; Message of the Day crashes
7.0.0 (12 Aug)	Crash with multiple monitors using different DPI scales in Windows

If you crash mid-mission on an older install, check Steam has finished updating the game before trying anything else. Arrowhead’s Known Issues page notes that most crash, performance and connectivity problems are ongoing work and aren’t listed there individually.

Will my PC run it? Minimum specs

A PC below the minimum spec can crash however carefully you follow the steps above. Steam lists:

	Minimum	Recommended
OS	Windows 10 64-bit	Windows 10 64-bit
CPU	Intel Core i7-4790K / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X	Intel Core i7-9700K / AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
RAM	8 GB	16 GB
GPU	GTX 1050 Ti / Radeon RX 470	RTX 2060 / Radeon RX 6600 XT

If the game runs but stutters rather than crashing, that’s a different problem: see the Helldivers 2 stuttering fix and the best Helldivers 2 settings for FPS. If every game crashes with a GPU error, start with DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG or the 0xc0000005 access violation fix.

Related guides

• Helldivers 2 Stuttering Fix
• Best Helldivers 2 Settings for FPS
• Helldivers 2 GameGuard Error 114 (pre-EAC)
• EAC vs BattlEye vs Vanguard vs Ricochet vs VAC compared
• DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED fix

Summary

Since Helldivers 2 moved to Easy Anti-Cheat on 20 October 2026, most launch crashes come from files left behind: mods, ReShade or OptiScaler DLLs in bin, and GameGuard leftovers. Purge them, delete the Helldivers2 AppData folder, update, use Restart rather than Shut down, and verify the files. If that fails, delete bin and data and verify again. A black screen with audio is the adapter_index setting, and mid-mission crashes are mostly fixed by staying on the latest patch.