Launcher sometimes disables DirectX11

[KisaiTenshi]

Hey Tech team,

I've only been able to replicate this issue twice so far. There appears to be a very minor issue with the Launcher that appears to have only started in the last three days, which correlates with Google Chrome updating to 66.0.3359.139. It appears that if something in Chrome is utilizing the GPU, and then the FFXIV Launcher is launched, it will go "DirectX 9c" and not DirectX 11, even if it was just running DirectX11 a minute ago.

My guess at this point is that whatever check the Launcher is doing for DX11 support is failing or timing out. The previous time this happened I restarted the computer to resolve it. This time I just closed Chrome and the ability to switch back to DirectX11 came back.

Perhaps either save the DX11 setting or not disable it even if it fails with a warning about "Game will not launch if DirectX11 is not available." Or just put a "lock" icon on the DX11/DX9 switch to force it to always do DX11 or always do DX9.

At any rate, I've posted this in case people might run into the same problem. Keeping in mind that Chromium (which is what Chrome is based on) is also used by nw.js and electron.js. Those are used by tools like Slack, Spotify, Discord, and so forth. So having these open may in the future also prevent DX11 detection if this is indeed what is happening.

[Ariellendera]

Hello KisaiTenshi, Thank you for posting on the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

Thank you so much for your post!

[Mama_Val]

I've just experienced this issue as well. I haven't tried replicating it, but I did have Chrome and Discord open for awhile and when I ran the launcher, it had switched from DX11 to DX9c and the option to enable DX11 was grayed out and unable to be toggled. If I tried running the launcher with DX9c, the game encountered an error and could not launch. After a computer restart, I made sure to launch FFXIV first and the option to re-enable DX11 became available, and the game was able to launch. If I come across anything more that may help, I'll edit this post.

[Ariellendera]

I've just experienced this issue as well. I haven't tried replicating it, but I did have Chrome and Discord open for awhile and when I ran the launcher, it had switched from DX11 to DX9c and the option to enable DX11 was grayed out and unable to be toggled. If I tried running the launcher with DX9c, the game encountered an error and could not launch. After a computer restart, I made sure to launch FFXIV first and the option to re-enable DX11 became available, and the game was able to launch. If I come across anything more that may help, I'll edit this post.

Thank you for your input on this thread.

[Einmimiria]

Hello everyone,

Due to no response from the original poster, this thread will be moved to 'Closed Concerns.' If anyone is still having this particular problem, please create a new thread and we will assist you in any way we can.

Thank you for visiting the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.