As good a game as Valorant is, it does have its fair share of bugs and issues that occasionally annoy fans. Be it high ping, low client FPS, or random crashes and freezes, having a game that doesn’t work as expected can be a headache.
One of the worst such situations is Valorant being stuck on the loading screen. You don’t get any error messages that tell you the cause of the hang or crash, and it’s an otherwise hard-to-diagnose issue. However, here are six fixes that might come in handy.
Also read: Can’t play Valorant on Windows 11: Quick Fix
Delete Valorant manifest files
As with any other program, Valorant keeps a manifest file that helps it pull up settings and configurations that the player has set. If this file is corrupted or otherwise damaged, it can cause the game to get stuck in a loop during the loading process. Thankfully, you can delete these files, and Valorant automatically generates new ones to replace them.
Step 1: Open Windows Explorer and head over to the following path:
[Valorant Installation Drive]/Riot Games/VALORANT/liveStep 2: Select and delete the following files from the folder.
- Manifest_DebugInfo_Win64.txt
- Manifest_NonUFSFiles_Win64.txt
Once you’re done, restart the game and the problem should be fixed.
Repair your Valorant installation
As with the aforementioned files, any other corrupt or missing files can also cause Valorant to get stuck in a loading screen. Here’s how you can repair your Valorant installation.
Step 1: Open the Riot Client and click the profile icon at the top-right.
Step 2: Click the Settings option.
Step 3: Select Valorant from the Settings menu and click the Repair button to validate your files.
Once the process is complete, Valorant will automatically download and replace any corrupt files, fixing the problem.
Restart Vanguard
Vanguard is Riot Games’ custom cheat detection software that runs every time you play Valorant and scans your machine for any possible cheats or hacks, ensuring a fair game for everyone.
However, issues in Vanguard can cause network issues with Valorant, as you can’t connect to matches unless Vanguard has verified your session. If you’re encountering network issues in Valorant, here’s how you can restart Vanguard.
Step 1: Right-click the Vanguard icon on the toolbar and click on Exit Vanguard.
Step 2: Start Valorant as you normally would. This will reinitiate Vanguard and hopefully resolve your issue. If restarting Vanguard doesn’t fix the problem, try reinstalling the program and relaunching Valorant.
End background tasks
If you don’t have a lot of system resources to run Valorant, it’s a good idea to pop open the Task Manager and kill some background tasks that might be hogging your CPU, Memory, and GPU to ensure Valorant has some breathing room. Here’s how.
Step 1: Press the Windows Key + X or right-click the Start menu icon to open the Quick Action menu. Click Task Manager from the menu.
Step 2: End any non-essential processes or tasks that might consume system resources. A good example is browser windows that you no longer need or any other programs you might not be using at present. To end a task, click it and then click the End Task button in the bottom right.
Update your GPU drivers
Updating GPU drivers can mean better performance, as GPU manufacturers often release performance improvements and patches for their productions.
Step 1: Right-click Start and select Device Manager from the menu.
Step 2: Under Display Adaptors, find your graphics card’s name, right-click on it and click on Update Drivers.
Step 3: Click on Search automatically for drivers. Windows will then automatically look for and download the latest drivers for your particular GPU.
In most cases, this will update your drivers just fine. However, if you want a fresh start, click Uninstall device and restart your PC to force Windows to install the required drivers. You can then update them later.Â
Launch the game as an administrator
Starting a program or game as an administrator tells your PC to prioritise that process over everything else and dedicate as many resources as possible to ensure smooth operation.
You can check out our detailed guide on how to run programs as administrator here
Also read: How much have you spent on Valorant?
