Fix The First Descendant Preparing Shader Taking Forever

“The First Descendant” is loved for its fun gameplay and amazing graphics. However, many players face a problem: the long wait during the “Preparing Shader” process. This can be especially annoying because it interrupts your gaming experience.

Recently, many players have been struggling to prepare shaders in “The First Descendant.” They’ve been sharing their experiences and issues on Steam.

When you start playing The First Descendant, you might notice a delay while the game gets ready with its shaders. This delay can make the game take longer to load and affect how much fun you have playing it.

How To Fix Preparing Shader Taking Forever In The First Descendant

If you’re experiencing a preparing shader issue while trying to play The First Descendant, here are some detailed steps that can help you resolve this issue.

Check: The First Descendant Abnormal Execution Detected [Fixed]

Update Your Graphics Drivers

One of the most common causes of shader compilation issues is outdated graphics drivers. Keeping your drivers up-to-date confirms compatibility with the latest games and optimizations.

• For NVIDIA users: Go to the NVIDIA website, download the latest driver for your GPU model, and install it.
• For AMD users: Visit the AMD website, find your GPU model, download the latest driver, and install it.
• For Intel users: Intel’s website has a dedicated section for downloading the latest drivers for integrated GPUs.

 Turn Off Ray Tracing

1. Launch your game and go to the settings menu.
2. Navigate to the graphics or display settings.
3. Look for the ray tracing option and set it to “Off” or “Disabled.”

Check Game Files

If your game keeps preparing shaders for a long time, it could be due to damaged or missing files. Many gaming platforms have a tool to fix this:

Steam:

Open Steam > go to your Library > Right-click on "The First Descendant" > choose Properties > Click on the Local Files tab > select "Verify Integrity of Game Files."

Epic Games Store:

Open the Epic Games Launcher > go to your Library > Click on the three dots next to "The First Descendant," > choose Verify.

Adjust Graphics Settings

Sometimes, high graphics settings can increase the time required to prepare shaders. Lowering these settings can help.

1. Launch the game and go to the Settings menu.
2. Navigate to the Graphics tab.
3. Reduce settings such as Texture Quality, Shadows, and Effects.
4. Apply the changes and restart the game.

Disable Fullscreen Optimizations

Right-click on the game's icon > Choose Properties > Compatibility > Tick the box that says "Disable fullscreen optimizations" > Click Apply > then OK.

Increase Virtual Memory

Virtual memory helps your computer handle tasks when it runs out of physical RAM. Boosting it can speed up shader compilation:

• Press Windows + Pause/Break to open System settings.
• Click on Advanced system settings.
• Under Performance, click Settings.
• Go to the Advanced tab and click Change under Virtual memory.

• Uncheck “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.”
• Select the drive where your game is, set Custom size, and raise Initial size and Maximum size.
• Click Set, then OK.

Close Background Applications

Background applications can use up system resources and slow down shader compilation. Close unneeded applications to free up resources:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
2. Go to the Processes tab.
3. Right-click on unneeded applications and select End Task.

Reinstall the Game

If nothing else works, try reinstalling the game to fix the issue. This gives you a fresh installation without any corrupted files.

1. Uninstall the game from your gaming platform (Steam, Epic Games Store, etc.).
2. Restart your computer.
3. Reinstall the game and see if the problem is gone.

Also Read: The First Descendant: Preparing Shaders Crash Fix