Borderlands 4 has finally been released to the world, though many players on PC are encountering issues. If you’re stuck on the Compiling Shaders screen, this guide has potential fixes.
Steam reviews are already slating Borderlands 4’s poor performance, dubbing the game ‘Stutterlands’, but the issues aren’t just reserved for PC players, as those on console have also been encountering issues.
The ‘Compiling Shaders’ error in Borderlands 4 is exclusive to PC, however, there are some potential fixes to follow.
How to Fix The Compiling Shaders Error in Borderlands 4
Gearbox advises that the compiling shaders screen should take about 10 minutes to complete, and there are some steps to solve the error if it’s taking longer.
In a troubleshooting post on the Borderlands 4 website, players are advised to follow these steps to fix the compiling shaders screen freeze.
- Ensure your graphics drivers are updated.
- Close down Borderlands 4 and reboot the game.
- Reboot your system.
If these basic fixes don’t resolve the issue, you may need to clear your shader cache. The process to do this depends on your graphics driver, so we’ve split it into relevant sections below for AMD and Nvidia.
Players using a 13th or 14th generation processor from Intel may see that as the cause of an issue, as Intel has acknowledged instability issues that can cause stuttering, freezes, overheating, and crashes. There are separate troubleshooting steps for Intel here.
How to Clear Shader Cache With Nvidia
If your PC has an Nvidia graphics card, Gearbox advises following these steps to clear your shader cache.
Be warned though, this may delete your shaders for other games and applications.
- Open RunCommand (Windows Key + R)
- Paste or type this command: %LOCALAPPDATA%\NVIDIA\DXCache
- Hit ‘Ok’
- Delete any files in this folder that are over 10mb in size.
How to Clear Shader Cache with AMD
For players with an AMD graphics driver, the process to clear the shaders is different and seperate steps are required.
This will definitely erase your shaders for other games and apps too, however.
- Open the AMD Adrenalin App
- Select Gaming, then Graphics
- Scroll to the bottom and select the ‘Reset Shader Cache’ option.
Have you been experiencing issues with Borderlands 4 on PC? Let us know in the Insider Gaming Forum.
For more Borderlands 4, take a look at all active SHiFT codes, and check out all the details on cross-progression support in the title.
