How to Fix Granblue Fantasy Relink Crash After Chapter 0 and Chapter 1
There are few things more annoying in gaming than finally getting into a new adventure, enjoying the opening hours, learning the combat system, and then watching the game suddenly crash at the exact moment when the story starts moving forward. That is exactly what many Granblue Fantasy Relink PC players have experienced. After finishing Chapter 0 or entering Chapter 1, the game can freeze during a cutscene, show a permanent black screen, or simply close to the desktop without any warning.
I really like Granblue Fantasy Relink because it feels like a proper action RPG made for people who enjoy fast combat, flashy skills, and building characters over dozens of hours. The combat is one of the strongest parts of the game, so being blocked by a technical issue before the real journey even begins is extremely frustrating. Fortunately, this crash is usually not a permanent problem, and the community has discovered several reliable fixes.
This guide covers the most effective solutions for the Granblue Fantasy Relink Chapter 0 crash, Chapter 1 black screen issue, freezing during cutscenes, and progression bugs on Steam PC.
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Why Does Granblue Fantasy Relink Crash After Chapter 0 or Chapter 1?
The strange thing about this problem is that the game often runs perfectly before the crash happens. Players can complete the tutorial, fight enemies, and explore the first areas without issues. The crash usually appears during a specific transition when the game tries to load the next story section.
After testing different setups, players have found several common causes behind this problem.
| Possible Cause | Why It Creates Problems |
|---|---|
| Old Mods and Custom Files | Previous fixes for ultrawide screens, DLSS improvements, or visual mods can become incompatible after updates. |
| Controller Conflicts | Some players experience freezes when controllers are connected during specific loading moments. |
| DirectX 12 Problems | Outdated GPU drivers and overlays can interrupt rendering during cinematic scenes. |
| Corrupted Settings Files | Damaged configuration files can prevent the game from loading the next area correctly. |
| Unstable FPS Settings | Very high refresh rates can sometimes break timing during pre-rendered scenes. |
The good news is that most players do not need to reinstall the entire game. In many cases, a few simple changes are enough to continue the story.
Remove Old Mods and Custom Script Files First
If you have ever installed modifications for Granblue Fantasy Relink, this should be your first step. Even if you removed the mod manually or reinstalled the game through Steam, leftover files can remain inside the installation folder.
This is especially common with ultrawide fixes, custom shaders, DLL injectors, and performance tweaks. The game may work normally until it reaches a story transition that loads new assets, causing the modified files to crash the engine.
Follow these steps:
- Open Steam and right-click Granblue Fantasy Relink.
- Select Manage → Browse local files.
- Find the scripts folder and delete it or rename it.
- Search for unusual DLL files such as winmm.dll or dxgi.dll that were not included with the original game.
- Restart the game and try loading your save again.
For many players, removing these leftover files immediately fixes the Chapter 0 transition crash.
Try the Controller Disconnect Method
This solution sounds strange, but it has helped a surprising number of players. Granblue Fantasy Relink is designed around controller gameplay, yet some PC setups can experience input-related problems during loading sequences.
The issue seems more common with Bluetooth controllers, although USB controllers can also trigger it. The game engine sometimes struggles when switching between cinematic playback and gameplay input detection.
Try this method:
- Completely close Granblue Fantasy Relink and Steam.
- Disconnect your controller or disable Bluetooth.
- Start Steam as Administrator.
- Launch the game using only your keyboard and mouse.
- Do not press any buttons during the problematic cutscene or loading screen.
- After Chapter 1 begins and you can control your character again, reconnect your controller.
It is not the most elegant fix, but sometimes the simplest solutions work best. Many players have managed to pass the black screen section using this exact trick.
Delete Corrupted Configuration Files
Another common reason behind the Chapter 0 crash is corrupted settings data. The game saves various graphics and system options locally, and if something goes wrong during the transition, those files may prevent the engine from loading correctly.
Before deleting anything, always create a backup of your save files. Losing progress is much worse than dealing with a crash.
Follow these steps:
- Press Windows Key + R.
- Enter %localappdata% and press Enter.
- Find the GBFR folder.
- Open Saved → SavedGames.
- Copy the entire SavedGames folder to your desktop.
- Look for files called GraphicSetting.vdat and SystemData.dat.
- Delete these configuration files.
- Launch Steam in Offline Mode to prevent cloud synchronization from restoring damaged files.
- Start the game and recreate your graphics settings.
Your actual progress should remain safe as long as you created the backup first.
Disable Steam, Discord, and GPU Overlays
Modern PC gaming has many useful overlays, but they can also create unexpected crashes. Granblue Fantasy Relink uses DirectX 12, and overlays sometimes interfere with cinematic playback or loading screens.
I personally recommend disabling all overlays when troubleshooting. They are rarely necessary, and removing one possible conflict makes testing much easier.
Disable the following:
- Steam Overlay: Steam Settings → In-Game → Disable Steam Overlay.
- Discord Overlay: Discord Settings → Game Overlay → Turn off in-game overlay.
- NVIDIA App / GeForce Experience Overlay: Disable the in-game overlay option.
After disabling them, restart your PC and test the chapter transition again.
Lock Granblue Fantasy Relink to 60 FPS
One of the more interesting community discoveries is that extremely high refresh rates can sometimes create problems during cinematic sequences. Players using 144Hz, 165Hz, and 240Hz monitors have reported more frequent freezes during story transitions.
The game normally runs beautifully at higher frame rates, but stability matters more when trying to pass a specific crash point. A smooth 60 FPS lock can temporarily remove timing problems during cutscenes.
| Setting | Recommended Option |
|---|---|
| Maximum FPS | 60 FPS |
| V-Sync | Keep the same setting in-game and GPU panel |
| Windows Graphics Preference | High Performance |
You can change these options through NVIDIA Control Panel or AMD Software. Once you successfully pass Chapter 0 and Chapter 1, you can experiment with higher FPS again.
Update GPU Drivers and Repair Game Files
Sometimes the problem is not the game itself but the communication between the game engine and your hardware. Graphics drivers can become outdated quickly, especially for newer releases.
Make sure you:
- Install the latest NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel GPU drivers from the official websites.
- Install the newest Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable packages.
- Restart your PC after installation.
- Use Steam’s Verify Integrity of Game Files option.
To verify files:
- Right-click Granblue Fantasy Relink in Steam.
- Select Properties.
- Open Installed Files.
- Click Verify Integrity of Game Files.
Steam will automatically replace damaged or missing files.
Increase Game Priority and Adjust CPU Usage
For players with modern CPUs, especially processors using hybrid architecture with performance and efficiency cores, Windows sometimes handles game processes poorly.
During loading screens, the game may temporarily run on weaker cores, causing instability or timeouts. This is not a problem for most users, but advanced PC setups can sometimes benefit from manual adjustments.
You can try:
- Open Task Manager while the game is running.
- Find relink.exe.
- Set priority to High.
Advanced users can use tools like Process Lasso to control CPU affinity and force the game to use performance cores only.
Final Thoughts
The Granblue Fantasy Relink crash after Chapter 0 and Chapter 1 is incredibly frustrating, especially because it happens right when the adventure starts becoming interesting. Thankfully, this issue is usually caused by configuration conflicts rather than a completely broken installation.
The fixes that work most often are removing old mods, disconnecting controllers during the problematic sequence, deleting corrupted configuration files, disabling overlays, and locking the game to a stable 60 FPS.
Once you get past that first story transition, Granblue Fantasy Relink becomes much more stable and lets you enjoy what it does best: satisfying combat, colorful characters, and a fantastic action RPG loop. A small technical obstacle should not stop you from experiencing one of the better anime-inspired RPGs released in recent years.
