Elden Ring "buggy graphics" error on PC: Possible fixes and reasons

Elden Ring's PC version has never been perfect, and that stands true even for the recently released Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. While FromSoftware did release a plethora of updates following the original release of the game, it didn't fully rectify some of the major issues plaguing the title, especially the ones concerning performance.

However, following the recent update as well as the expansion's release, a new error seems to have been causing issues for many players on PC. The "buggy graphics" error is easily the most annoying issue in the current version of the game, which many have been reporting recently, on Steam.

The error usually happens when players travel to and fro between the map of the base game and the DLC. Here's how you can potentially fix Elden Ring's "buggy graphics" error on PC.

Note: Readers should that these fixes are not guaranteed to work.

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Potential fixes and reasons for Elden Ring's "buggy graphics" error on PC

Although the buggy graphics error has been reported after the release of Shadow of the Erdtree, it isn't a particularly new issue with Elden Ring's PC port. In fact, the same issue was present in the base game as well, albeit, it was mostly happening to players with outdated GPU drivers or if they were running the game on unsupported GPUs.

However, after the recent release of Shadow of the Erdtree, it seems even high-end PC users with up-to-date drivers are also facing the issue. The most common reason for the buggy graphics error in any PC game is usually a corrupted installation or update.

Given the file size of most modern AAA titles, it's not uncommon for players to adopt a staggered downloading strategy, where they might pause the download for some time, and resume it later. And often, pausing can introduce issues with the download, which can introduce graphical issues.

The first thing you need to do to fix the buggy graphics error in Elden Ring is to make sure your graphics driver is up to date. You can automatically download new updates for your GPU's drivers via Windows Update. Alternatively, you can manually look for new driver updates by visiting your GPU manufacturer's official website.

While updating your GPU drivers, make sure you're doing a clean install, which helps remove any unnecessary files that might be clogging your system drive. This can often be the reason for unexpected glitches in games. If updating the GPU driver doesn't fix the graphical issues in Elden Ring, you might need to reinstall the game.

However, before you uninstall Elden Ring from your PC, I highly recommend verifying the integrity of the game files using Steam. Follow these steps to launch the file integrity verification tool on Steam:

• Launch Steam > Click on Library.
• Right-click on Elden Ring from the list of games in your Steam library.
• Click on Properties > Local Files.
• Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
• Wait for the files to get checked.
• Once done, launch the game.

The verification tool essentially scans through the game's entire directory and looks for corrupted or missing files. If any such issues are found, Steam downloads said files and replaces them in the original directory. This often negates the need to uninstall and reinstall the game, saving you a ton of time and perhaps even a headache, in the process.