FFXIV stands for Final Fantasy XIV, one of the most popular massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) of 2010. Even today, 11 years later, the game still has its fair share of users. However, many have reported getting a ‘FFXIV Fatal DirectX Error’ that’s causing the game to crash and be virtually unplayable.
In this guide, we’ll share some quick and easy fixes that you can apply to get Final Fantasy XIV working again.
What Is FFXIV Fatal DirectX Error?
FFXIV Fatal DirectX Error seems to occur when a player is trying to launch the game. The game crashes into a black screen with the error message – ‘A fatal DirectX error has occurred(10000000)’. After this, the player is unable to launch the game no matter how much they try.
What Causes FFXIV Fatal DirectX Error?
There are quite a few reasons that can lead to FFXIV Fatal DirectX Error. The most common is that DirectX 11 interferes with certain graphic cards when games are run in full screen. This makes the game crash with a fatal error message. Many users have fixed this issue by simply running the game in borderless mode, and then switching back to full screen.
Another possible cause is an outdated graphics driver or an incorrectly installed driver. The only solution in this scenario is to update your drivers pronto!
Some players have also said that disabling NVIDIA’s Scalable Link Interface (SLI) option has allowed them to play the game without any error. Although this technology allows for amazing real-time physics effects in game, it seems to crash Final Fantasy XIV for some reason.
How To Fix FFXIV Fatal DirectX Error
Here are the different fixes you can apply to fix FFXIV Fatal DirectX Error. All these fixes have been tried and tested by myself and other members of the FFXIV Community, so you can proceed without worry!
1. Enable Borderless Window Mode And Switch To Fullscreen
You might now be thinking – How can I activate borderless window mode and switch to full screen if the game doesn’t launch in the first place?! Well, there is a method to do that and I’ll show you exactly how.
Step 1: Press ‘Windows Key + E’. This will open File Explorer.
Step 2: Navigate to the Final Fantasy XIV Directory. By default, it should This PC > Documents > My Game > Final Fantasy XIV.
Step 3: Right-click the file ‘FFXIV.cfg’, and open it with Notepad. This is the configuration file for the game.
Step 4: Hit ‘Ctrl + F’ to open the Find tool. Search for ‘ScreenMode’. Change the value here to ‘2’.
Step 5: Save the file, and close it.
You can now open Final Fantasy XIV to check if it’s opening in borderless window mode. When it opens, you can go to the settings in-game and change it back to Fullscreen.
2. Updating Graphics Driver
As I discussed before, another key reason for FFXIV to crash is an outdated or improperly installed graphics card. In this case, you should either update your driver or uninstall and reinstall it. Let me show you how.
Step 1: Click ‘Windows Key + R’ to open the Run dialog. Type in ‘devmgmt.msc’ and hit ‘Enter’. This will open the Device Manager.
Step 2: Double click the option called ‘Display Adapters’. This will open a list of all your graphics cards.
Step 3: Right-click your graphics card and click on ‘Update Driver’.
Step 4: Select the option for ‘Search automatically for drivers’. Windows will check to see if a suitable driver update is available for you and install it automatically.
Step 5: In case there are no updates available, right-click the driver and select Uninstall. Once it is removed, restart your PC to have the driver automatically reinstalled again.
Once the update or reinstall is done, you should open Final Fantasy XIV and check if the game launches without any error method.
3. Disable NVIDIA Scalable Link Interface
Here’s how you can disable NVIDIA’s SLI feature to see whether it prevents Final Fantasy XIV from crashing.
Step 1: Go to the Search function on your Taskbar. Type in ‘NVIDIA Control Panel’ and open the NVIDIA Control Panel application.
Step 2: Navigate to the 3D settings menu at the left side pane and click the ‘Configure SLI, Surround, PhysX’ option.
Step 3: Select the option for ‘Disable SLI’ and click on ‘Apply’.
You can now close the NVIDIA Control Panel. Reopen Final Fantast XIV and it should work now.
4. Run FFXIV Using DirectX 9
Since DirectX 11 causes launch issues with the game, many players tried forcing the game to launch using DirectX 9. And it worked! Once DirectX 9 was set as default for Final Fantast XIV, players no longer got the FFXIV Fatal DirectX Error.
Let me show you how you can also do it.
Step 1: Launch the Steam application.
Step 2: From the tool bar at the top, select ‘Library’ to open your game list. Right-click on Final Fantasy XIV and choose ‘Properties’.
Step 3: You’ll see a tab called ‘General’ in the Properties window. Click on it and select ‘Set Launch Options’.
Step 4: Type in ‘dx9’ in the box. If there’s any other launch option already set, put a space after that and type in ‘dx9’. Click ‘OK’ to save the changes.
Run FFXIV and check if the crash is resolved.
Conclusion
I hope this guide helps you to resolve the FFXIV Fatal DirectX Error that you’re having trouble with. Since I’ve given step-by-step instructions for each method, you should be able to follow them easily even if you do not have a lot of technical expertise.
It’s also worth noting that these fixes would work for many other games as well, along with FFXIV. If you face launch issues for other games, do try the troubleshooting methods to see if it helps.
Don’t forget to check out our website for more useful guides and quick fixes! If you have any queries, post it in the comments below, so that our team can help you out with it!