Why Does Dota 2 Keep Crashing [How to Fix]

There’s nothing more frustrating than having Dota 2 crash or stop responding while you’re in the middle of a game-winning teamfight. Then boom, you crash one too many times and end up having to play five games of Low Priority. Nobody wants to go through this, as it kills all the fun in Dota 2. Fortunately, there are ways around this. In this article, I’ll go over ways to solve common crashing issues. 

How to Stop Dota 2 Crashing When Game Starts

Your friends invite you to play, and they’re raring to queue up for a match. Everyone is at the party, and they’re just waiting for you. Then, you launch Dota 2 and the game just stops you from joining and everyone accuses you for stalling. 

Unfortunately, this is a pretty common issue among many players. Here are some quick and effective solutions to let your game launch smoothly. 

Verify Integrity of Game Files

Sometimes, Dota 2 files can get corrupted or go missing for god knows what reason. These corrupted or missing files can affect the game’s performance and lead to crashes when the game starts. 

The solution is to verify the integrity of your game files. Here’s how:

1. Exit Dota 2, then open your Steam client.
2. Go to Library, right-click Dota 2, and click Properties.
3. Head to the Installed Files section.
4. Finally, click Verify integrity of game files.

The process takes anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes. Simply wait until it is completed. 

Use Dota 2 Launch Options

Next, you can also customize your Dota 2 settings by implementing several launch options, which affect how your game boots up.

Here is how you can optimize Dota 2 with launch options:

1. Exit Dota 2, then open your Steam client.
2. Go to Library, right-click Dota 2, and click Properties.
3. In the General section, look for Launch Options.
4. Then, type in your desired launch options in the text box.

Some of the most useful launch options include:

You will enter each launch option and separate them with spaces. No need for commas or anything else. Here is what it looks like to enter the three options I recommended above:

Why Dota 2 Not Responding or Crashing – Fixes

Crashing when the game starts is one thing, but crashing in the middle of a match is a different level of pain. Here are some effective ways to prevent Dota 2 crashing mid-game:

Set Dota 2 to High Priority Mode

For this method, we’re going to set Dota 2 to High Priority mode on Windows, which is done through the Task Manager. You’re pretty much telling Windows to allocate more resources to Dota 2 over other applications, which will not only reduce crashing, but improve overall performance.

Here’s how you can change Dota 2’s priority:

1. Launch Dota 2 and keep the game open.
2. Then, open your Task Manager by holding Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
3. On the left, go to Details, which has the three-line icon. 
4. Look for dota2.exe, then right-click it.
5. Hover over Set Priority, then select High. 

After doing this, you might notice other applications like browsers or apps running slower, but this only happens when Dota 2 is running. 

Run PC in High Performance Mode

Previously, we changed Dota 2’s priority to high. This time, we can make your entire computer enter High Performance Mode, which will directly improve Dota 2 as well.

To enter High Performance Mode, follow the steps below:

1. Open your Control Panel, then go to Hardware and Sound.
2. Next, look for Power Options, and select Choose a power plan.
3. Under Preferred plans, go to Change plan settings.
4. If your plan is Balanced, click Change advanced power settings.
5. Under Power Options, click the drop-down menu and change the plan to High performance.

It’s worth noting that changing this setting will drain more power from your device. So, if you’re on a laptop, this might mean battery runs out quicker, but you’re most likely playing Dota 2 while plugged in anyways. 

Disable Background Applications and Overlays

Dota 2 takes a huge chunk of RAM to run properly, and so do other programs. If your computer is handling too much RAM at once, Dota 2 might crash.

So, if you’re on a low-end PC, it’s very important to minimize what’s running in the background. If you have browser tabs or unnecessary apps running in the background, it will only contribute to Dota 2 crashes. Things like Spotify, Discord, Google Chrome – make sure these are closed (if you don’t need them).

You can also turn off overlays like Discord Overlay or Windows Game Bar, as they also tend to cause crashes.  

Tone Down Dota 2 Settings

Another very common reason that leads to Dota 2 crashes is graphics settings that are too high for your computer’s good. Even though Dota 2 isn’t the heaviest game, it can be very demanding in the middle of teamfights when 10 heroes are casting their ultimates.

So, be sure to take some time to optimize your Dota 2 video settings. You don’t need pretty visuals to play the game, so turn off settings that enhance details and particles.

If your computer is really, really on the lower end, I highly recommend messing with Game Screen Render Quality – this one boosts your performance and can prevent crashing. 

The lower you pull the slider, the blurrier your hero gets. However, I found this very effective when I was playing on a potato PC many years ago. 

Crashing When Loading Into Match

I’ve noticed this is a relatively common issue for players on lower-end computers. You find a match, accept the game, and crash once you load into it. Sometimes, the game might even crash in the middle of the picking phase, resulting in you abandoning due to not picking a hero.

This can be incredibly frustrating. Aside from following some of the suggestions above, there is actually one pretty simple solution: load into a bot match before queuing.

If you’re launching Dota 2 for the first time in a day, the first thing you should do is load into a bot match. Sit through the whole picking phase and enter the game for at least 30 seconds. Then, you’re good to leave. This pretty much forces your computer to preload everything – from the picking phase to the map – so it won’t have to for the match you’re about to play.