Known Issues & Solutions

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About This Page

The purpose of this page is to document solutions to various common problems with Holdfast: Nations at War. These are well-established and common problems that players may encounter with the game. As a first port of call, please consult this page before reaching out to Tech Support on the official Discord.

Note: This page does not document gameplay bugs. To submit a bug report, please do so via the official Holdfast Discord: discord.gg/holdfastgame.

Essential Diagnostics

Before submitting a ticket to the Official Discord, you must perform these steps to rule out local data corruption.

1. Integrity Validation (Steam)

Asset corruption is the #1 cause of "Pink Textures" (missing materials) and map load crashes.

Procedure: Right-click Holdfast: Nations at War in Steam > Properties > Installed Files > Verify Integrity of Game Files.
Note: Steam will automatically re-acquire any file that fails the SHA check.

2. Error Logging & Console Access

F2 Console: Press F2 in-game. Red lines are fatal errors; Yellow lines are warnings.
Local Logs: Your crash data is stored at %userprofile%\AppData\LocalLow\Anvil Game Studio\Holdfast NaW\Player.log.
Critical: You must copy this file immediately after a crash. Relaunching the game overwrites it.

For any queries, please reach out to Tech Support in the official Holdfast Discord: discord.gg/holdfastgame.

Critical Known Issues (PC & Console)

Here's a list of known issues within the game which we're already aware of. You can rest assured that we're doing our best to solve them and please do get in touch with us if you ever face any issues whilst playing the game!

Known Issue 1 - Black Screen on Launch (Audio/Music Playing) [Show/Hide]

Status: GPU Scaling & Handshake Conflict

Affected Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X

Steam Related Issues

Steam Known Issue 1 - Steam Content File Locked / Write Error [Show/Hide]

Status: File Permission Conflict

The Cause: This occurs when Windows or an overzealous Anti-Virus prevents Steam from modifying the game's executable after a patch.

Affected Platforms: PC

The Fix:

Phase 1: Restart your PC: This is the most effective way to clear a "locked" file state.

Phase 2: Clear Download Cache: In Steam, go to Settings > Downloads > Clear Download Cache.

Phase 3. Run as Admin: Right-click the Steam Shortcut on your desktop > Properties > Compatibility > Check "Run this program as an administrator".

Game Tips

Game Tip 1 - Orbit Camera (Look Around) Not Working [Show/Hide]

Status: Updated for Cross-Platform

The Cause: If the tilde ~ key is unresponsive, it is likely due to a regional keyboard conflict (common with UK/EU layouts).

Affected Platforms: PC

The Fix: Go to Settings > Keys and rebind Orbit Camera to Left Alt or Caps Lock.

Game Tip 2 - Auto Bayonet Switch (Melee Conflict) [Show/Hide]

Status: Highly Recommended for Competitive Play

The Cause: If you find yourself accidentally stabbing when you meant to fire, the "Auto Bayonet Switch" is likely active.

The Fix: Go to Settings > Game > search for "Auto Switch Bayonet" and set it to OFF.

Game Tip 3 - Melee Fluidity & "Smooth" vs. "Raw" Input [Show/Hide]

Status: Engine Feature

The Cause: If melee feels "stiff" or "restrictive," it is often due to the new Melee Sensitivity Type introduced in the 3.X engine.

The Fix:

Go to Settings > Game > Advanced Settings.
Look for Melee Sensitivity Type.
Raw: Best for "Spinners" and high-level players. It removes all camera smoothing.
Smooth (Legacy): Better for beginners who find the camera too jittery during 4-directional blocking.

Sensitivity Tip: Set your Melee Combat Sensitivity to at least 2.0 (PC) or 2.2 (Console) to remain competitive in 360-degree combat.

Game Tip 4 - Recording & Shadowplay (NVIDIA App) [Show/Hide]

Status: Parameter Update Warning

The Cause: Do NOT use -window-mode exclusive This parameter causes the game to crash when Alt-Tabbing and interferes with NVIDIA Reflex.

Affected Platforms: PC

The Fix:

Set the game to Borderless Window in the video settings.
Open the NVIDIA App (formerly Geforce Experience) and ensure "Desktop Capture" is enabled in the Privacy settings.
The NVIDIA App recognizes Holdfast’s 3.X engine natively; if it fails to record, simply Verify Integrity of Game Files to refresh the API handshake.

Game Tip 5 - Stuttering, G-Sync, and NVIDIA Reflex [Show/Hide]

Status: Standard V-Sync

The Cause: Considered a secondary fix for the smoothest experience

Affected Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X

Server-Side Issues

Known Issue (Server) - Your Server Is Experiencing Latency Issues [Show/Hide]

Take note of the following points if the server you are hosting is experiencing latency issues.

The documentation for hosting a server can be found down below.

Host Your Own Game Server! - Documentation

Take note of the following:

Make sure that your CPU has a core speed of at least 3.6 GHz and that you’re not exceeding your bandwidth. You should also run your game server on a single physical and logical core.
Make sure that your server box's 'Power Options' are set to High Performance on Windows. By default, this is set to 'Balanced'. Please change this!
Make sure that you have the latest Windows updates installed on your machine. This is very important.
Make sure that you follow the folder structure as defined in the documentation. Copy over the ‘holdfast_naw_public_servers’ folder over to your root drive then include the contents of the game from Steam in the ‘holdfast_naw_public_server’ folder.
Make sure that you port forward the game ports from your firewall and router, (outbound and inbound), on UDP.
Don’t rename the ‘Holdfast NaW.exe’ executable.
Don’t switch between Naval and Army based game modes.