Intel Arc A770 - Fatal DirectX Error in FFXIV

[Drangueforde]

Hello,

The issue I'm experiencing:

A fatal directx error while playing FFXIV that occurs seemingly at random with no discernible solution.

How to replicate:

Just play the game, seems to happen often in ARR zones in my experience, though. Doesn't matter what you are doing but it usually happens to me while I am walking about, riding a mount, flying, panning my camera around, zooming in and out, or just trying to get from point A to point B.

What I've tried:

Updating the drivers. Adjusting the graphic settings in game. Making sure no other programs are running.

The card I'm using:

Intel Arc A770 16GB Titan OC Edition by Sparkle, it uses your drivers and does not use any unique or different software.

Here is some included data that might be assistance: a screenshot of the error occurring while game is still up, an SSU file, the Dxdiag, and an event viewer file which grabbed my attention and happened around the time of the crash.

I look forward to hearing back from you.

[RandyT_Intel]

Hi @Drangueforde , 

Thank you for posting here in our community. To effectively diagnose and address the issue you're experiencing, I kindly ask you to provide detailed responses to the following questions. This information will help us isolate the problem and determine the most appropriate course of action.  

• When did the issue first occur?
• Did you make any software or hardware changes to the system before the issue occur?
• Final Fantasy XIV has released several expansions over the years. Which one are you currently playing: Dawntrail, Endwalker, Shadowbringers, Stormblood, or Heavensward etc..?
• Could you let me know the origin of the game? Where did it come from, and where did you download it? 
• Have you previously performed a clean installation of the graphics driver using DDU, before using either an older or the latest version? 

I look forward to your response and am committed to resolving your issue promptly. 

Warm regards,  

Randy T.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[Drangueforde]

Hello,

Thank you for your reply. Allow me to answer your questions:

• This issue has been ongoing for about a year.
• The only hardware change involved having to RMA my original Intel Arc A770 16GB LE because it was defective; which was then replaced by the one I currently have by Sparkle.
• This issue has persisted through every expansion I've been on and I've read posts indicating it is an issue even up to the current expansion Dawntrail. I've noticed it happening a lot in areas from A Realm Reborn and Heavensward, which is problematic because you often go back to these older maps. Maps within The Black Shroud are a good place to seek replication of the error, but it has occurred in towns (the screenshot happened in New Gridania) and other places too throughout the game.
• The game is made by SquareEnix, it is an MMORPG and it requires a subscription, but I think there is a free trial with some severe limitations that you can probably use to conduct your testing. You can find more information here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/windows/download/
• Yes. I always use DDU in safe mode and then perform a clean installation after it reboots whenever I update my drivers. Even after updating to the latest version and the problem persisted through the update.

Other issues I've encountered that would be worth looking into are a flickering that can occur in the sky that is particularly noticeable during certain weather conditions like lightning storms. You can reliably see this in an area such as The Churning Mists. While it does not cause a crash, you can tell something is off with how it is being rendered.

Thank you for your time and good hunting.

[RandyT_Intel]

Hi @Drangueforde, 

We replicated and tested the game recently, but it was on Dawntrail. The crashes and error messages occur randomly and intermittently. After careful investigation, this was isolated to a game-related issue. Since we have not yet tested it on Realm Reborn, Heavensward, or Black Shroud, we can try to coordinate this internally and check for any possible recommendations. Please share your game settings screenshots and follow the guide here on how to report crash issues with the game, and share the necessary appcrash dump file. Looking forward to your response.

Warm regards,  

Randy T.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[Drangueforde]

Hello,

Glad to hear you were able to replicate it and yes that has been my experience as well, random and intermittent crashes with that error message. The Black Shroud, if you wanted to test it, is an area in the game you can access easily by creating a character that starts in Gridania and is right outside of the city.

I've included my settings as attached screenshots.

As far as generating a crash dump goes, I am a little reluctant to mess with the registry on my machine. The crash still occurred on driver version 6734.

[RandyT_Intel]

Hi @Drangueforde, 

Thank you for sharing your experience and the attached screenshots. I understand your caution regarding modifying the registry on your machine. I will forward this case internally and check for any possible steps we can try to resolve this issue.

I will get back to you once I have completed my investigation.

Warm regards,  

Randy T.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[Drangueforde]

Hello,

I wanted to share this file in case it was useful; I am not sure if it is, but I noticed it was produced at the time I experienced the same crash last night.

Thank you for your assistance and I look forward to hearing back from you and maybe seeing a potential solution.

[RandyT_Intel]

Hi @Drangueforde, 

I have coordinated this issue internally, and we are actively investigating it further. Please allow us some time to complete our investigation. I will post updates here as soon as we make progress. In the meantime, please try our latest graphics driver version 32.0.101.6739 and let me know if there are any changes to your system.

Warm regards,  

Randy T.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[RandyT_Intel]

Hi @Drangueforde, 

I'm following up on the previous recommendation I provided. Have you had a chance to review the information and apply it to your system? If the issue still persists despite using the latest graphics driver, I highly advise contacting the game developer to report the issue again since we have already looked into it and determined that the problem is isolated to the game itself and affects all Final Fantasy XIV expansions. Here is the link: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/help/.

Warm regards,  

Randy T.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[Drangueforde]

Hello,

My apologies for the lateness of my reply. I updated the drivers today and gave them a test in The Black Shroud area to see if they would cause a crash and after about 20 minutes or so of running around, flying around, combat, and panning/zooming the camera around I couldn't get it to crash in the usual areas.

I did two things:

1. Updated my bios; I noticed it was about a year out of date - Oops! Was 2007 and is now 2904.

2. Updated the drivers to 6790.

I will continue to monitor for the error and make a report if it happens again. Thank you for your assistance in the matter.

[RandyT_Intel]

Hi @Drangueforde, 

Thank you for the update and for taking the time to test the system thoroughly. I'm glad to hear that the recent updates to your BIOS and drivers seem to have resolved the issue in The Black Shroud area.

Please continue to monitor the system, and don't hesitate to reach out if the error occurs again or if you need further assistance in the future. I will proceed with closing this case. Please note that it will no longer be monitored.

Thank you for your proactive approach and for keeping us informed.

Warm regards,  

Randy T.  

Intel Customer Support Technician