6 Ways to Fix Valorant Stuck at Loading Screen Problem

Since Valorant was released in 2020, it has become very popular in the e-sports FPS communities. But, with the increasing number of players every day, some issues are bound to pop up. One of the most common problems that Valorant players have been facing recently is related to the game getting stuck at the loading screen.

The developer of Valorant, Riot Games is aware of the issues and has rolled out a few patches to address this problem. But the issue is still being reported on major forums by some players. This problem surfaces most of the time after the character selection prior to a match.

There are several reasons Valorant can get stuck while loading a map. In this article, we will take a look at some of the common reasons for this problem, and how to fix them.

Reasons Valorant Can Get Stuck on The Loading Screen

Before trying to address the issue in Valorant, it is better to first diagnose the specific problems that could cause it. In doing so, you can pinpoint the problem easily and not waste your time trying out the other solutions.

• Maintenance Breaks

Valorant can get stuck on the loading screen during emergency maintenance breaks. During maintenance, players have reported several major issues with the game, including getting stuck at the loading screen. These breaks generally don’t take more than an hour to finish, and you can wait it out until the maintenance break is over to play Valorant.

One of the simple ways to check if Valorant is undergoing maintenance at any time is to check their Twitter handle. Most of these breaks are updated on the Twitter feed, and you can determine if this problem is causing you to get stuck on the loading screen.

• Network Connectivity Problems

Network connectivity issues can cause Valorant to get stuck on the loading screen. Run an online network speed test here, to check if you have inconsistent ping or packet losses. Valorant needs a stable and consistent internet connection in order to get the best gameplay experience. If you have an unstable network connection, you can either contact your ISP for a solution or move on to another one.

• Corruption of Game Files

Another possibility for Valorant getting stuck on the loading screen problem is the corruption of files in the working directory of the game. The game also comes with its own anti-cheat system called Vanguard, and the game won’t run properly if there are any modifications in the files. This can be caused by malware attacks, or your antivirus detecting the game files as false positives.

Read: Top 5 Valorant Crosshairs Used By Pros

How to Fix Infinite Loading Screen Problem in Valorant?

Now that you have a clear idea of the issues that can cause Valorant to get stuck on the loading screen, you can easily understand the root cause of the problem and fix it by following the methods mentioned below.

Exclude Valorant in Firewall Settings

A lot of the time the Windows Defender Firewall intrudes with the normal functioning of most online games. The main purpose of the application is to ensure that your PC or laptop is protected from any attacks from malicious sources. And hence it puts a lot of restrictions and checks up on every software installed on your PC including Valorant. 

In order to ensure that you have smooth uninterrupted gaming without any sort of disruptions to your internet connection, you need to give access to Valorant, in order for it to bypass the firewall systems. 

• In the start menu, search for the windows defender firewall. Once you are in the Firewall settings, click on “Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall”.

• You will be required to allow the apps mentioned below to ensure that your Valorant app is not getting disrupted by your windows firewall. 
• Now click on the “Allow another app” option, if the option is disabled/greyed out click on Change settings to enable it.

• A new window will pop up, here you need to locate the below Valorant files and add them to Windows Firewall.

C:\Riot Games\VALORANT\live\VALORANT.exe
C:\Riot Games\VALORANT\live\ShooterGame\Binaries\Win64\VALORANT-Win64-Shipping
C:\Program Files\Riot Vamnguard\vgc.exe
C:\Riot Games\Riot Client\RiotClientServices.exe

• The location of these files will depend on the address you have chosen to install the game. 
• After you have effectively added these files to the firewall option you need to ensure that you have turned on the option of both Private and Public. Once all of these steps are done you can click on Ok and close the firewall software on your pc. 

Reset your internet connection

Most of the time the issue pertaining to the loading glitch screen is related to an unstable or a poor network. 

A bad internet connection would surely hold your game back to perform to its fullest and even prevent it from loading the game. You can conduct a quick fix by following certain steps, the first step of which would be to reset your internet connection. 

You are simply required to unplug your modem and router and plug it back on with power. It is suggested that you wait for a minute or so before you turn it back on to ensure that they have cooled off. 

This step ensures that you have better and smooth network connectivity without any interruptions by renewing your older IP address and also refreshing the RAM. After resetting you can also try using a direct LAN cable connection instead of a Wi-Fi network. 

Even though a WiFi network may seem very easy to use while gaming it is not that stable especially when you are planning to play online games, Most of the gamers use a wired LAN cable connection to ensure that your network is stable enough for the game to run without any interruptions. 

You can also try and disable IPv6 by visiting the network and the sharing centre. You need to press on the network adapter settings. 

Once the settings panel is opened you need to right-click on the connection for which you want to disable the IPv6 settings. Then you need to disable the “Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)” settings and press Ok to close the panel.        

Restart Your PC & Run the Game as Administrator

Most issues of this kind should be first tried to resolve by simply restarting your PC. Try to run the game after a clean restart, and check if the problem still persists. If this doesn’t fix the problem, you can try to run the game as an administrator by following these steps:

• Right-click on the Valorant icon.
• Select Properties, and navigate to the compatibility tab.
• Click on the checkbox that says “Run this program as an administrator”.

• Tap on the “Apply” button, and close the window.

Try running the game from the icon now. If you get a pop-up that asks for your permission to grant administrator rights, click “OK”. If this fix doesn’t work for you, move on to the next one.

Reinstall Valorant and Vanguard

As clarified earlier, corrupt files can be the problem behind the infinite loading screen in Valorant. To fix this problem, you can easily uninstall and reinstall Valorant along with its anti-cheat software, Vanguard. Follow these steps to do the same.

• Press ‘Windows Key + I” to open Settings in Windows 10.
• Navigate to ‘Apps’.

• From the left tab, select “Apps & features”.

• From the list that comes up, find Valorant and click on uninstall. Do the same for Vanguard.

• Download the Riot Games launcher to re-install both Valorant and Vanguard after a reboot.

This should fix most of the problems that you may face while playing the game. If your game is still getting stuck at the loading screen even after a reinstall, then the problem most likely lies with your network connection.

Use a VPN

• Run Valorant and log in to your account.
• Once you get to the main screen, press CTRL+ESC to get back to the desktop without exiting the game.
• Open the VPN of your choice and connect to the nearest server.
• Open the game again, and try loading a map and playing.

Many players guarantee that this method will work in most cases of infinite loading problems. If this method still doesn’t work for you, then there are a few more listed below that you can try.

Delete Valorant Manifest Files

This method involves deleting a couple of files in the working directory of Valorant to make the game run normally again. Follow these simple steps to do so.

• Navigate to Riot Games/VALORANT/live

• Delete the two files – “Manifest_NonUFSfiles_Win64” and “Manifest_DebugFiles_Win64”

• Open the game, and see if the problem is fixed.

Some players have reported fixing their game with this method. But keep in mind that this may not work for every player.

Conclusion

Valorant is one of the major names in the e-sports and FPS gaming communities. If players get stuck in the loading screen while trying to play, this can have a negative impact on the entire player base of the game. Riot games are constantly pushing out updates and patches to improve the game and rectify existing issues. Until then, you can use the methods listed above to fix the infinite loading problem in Valorant.