Sons of the Forest quickly rose to the top of purchased games, even briefly taking Steam offline due to surge demand. This guide explains how to resolve technical issues that may appear when starting the game or during play.
Sons of the forest guides
- Walkthrough Sons of the Forest – the order for exploring dungeons, discovering all beacons, key cards, and the gold armor
- Sons of the Forest beginner’s guide – how to manage inventory, locate food and water, first aid kits, printer, and other practical tips
- How to build a shelter and save progress in Sons of the Forest
- Using Kelvin (satellite) in Sons of the Forest
- How to find a shovel and dig a grave in Sons of the Forest – where to locate diving gear and a rope thrower
- Weapons guide in Sons of the Forest – where to find and how to craft a spear, bow, pistol, axe, shocker, shotgun, chainsaw, and katana
- How to befriend the Three-Legged Girl (Virginia) in Sons of the Forest and make her a companion
- Co-op in Sons of the Forest – how to play with friends, how to create a server, and what multiplayer features exist
- Sons of the Forest won’t start? Crashes with an error? Cannot connect to the server? – Troubleshooting
System requirements
Minimum system requirements to run Sons of the Forest smoothly and without performance dips:
- Operating system: 64-bit Windows 10
- CPU: Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 3 3300X
- RAM: 12GB
- HDD: 20 GB hard disk space
- Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 570 with 3 GB memory
- DirectX version: 11
- Keyboard and mouse
Recommended system requirements to enjoy the game at maximum graphics settings with comfortable performance:
- Operating system: 64-bit Windows 10
- CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
- RAM: 16GB
- HDD: 20 GB hard disk space
- Video card: NVIDIA GeForce 1080 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT with 6 GB memory
- DirectX version: 11
- Keyboard and mouse
General troubleshooting tips
Outdated drivers are commonly a major cause of gaming issues. It is recommended to install the latest drivers and system updates to ensure stability and performance.
Update your video card drivers
DirectX
Sons of the Forest requires DirectX 11 to run, and newer DirectX packages include the necessary libraries. The latest DirectX package can be downloaded from the official Microsoft site.
Microsoft Visual C++
Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable components are essential for many games. It is advised to install all available versions of this package.
How to fix the “E502 L3” error
This issue is linked to Steam servers as well as the game launch. When the game had a large number of players, Steam servers faced strain. If it occurs, try restarting Steam, signing out and back in, then launching again.
How to solve a Sons of the Forest buying problem
During sales periods, an issue might prevent purchases from the Steam store. Steam teams are actively working to resolve these problems and restore access for all users soon.
How to fix “Cannot connect to server” error
Multiplayer players may see this error, often tied to the router. A few steps can help:
- Switch from a direct connection to Wi-Fi
- Try a different network if possible
- Disable VPN services, or enable them if they are blocked
Sons of the Forest does not work on Windows 7
The game requires Windows 10 or Windows 11 per its system requirements.
Fixing the “0x0c000142” error
Often related to the operating system, this error can be resolved by running a system file check. Steps: press Win+R, type sfc /scannow, wait for the process to finish, then restart the PC.
How to solve the error “0xc000007b”
Crashes with this error typically affect NVIDIA cards. Reinstalling the graphics driver usually fixes the problem.
Crashes with “Out of Memory” error
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If the system has less than 12 GB of RAM, the game may fail to run properly. The minimum RAM requirement is clear and should be met for stable performance.
Check the integrity of game files on Steam
Many issues stem from corrupted game files. A file integrity check can be performed in Steam by going to the library, selecting Sons of the Forest, choosing Local Files, then Verify integrity of game files.
Where are the Sons of the Forest save files located?
Save files are typically stored under the user path, for example: Username/AppData/Local/Endnight/Sons of the Forest/Saves
Why won’t the game save?
Progress may fail to save if file names contain Cyrillic or other non-Latin characters. Using Latin letters for save names helps prevent this problem.
Further guidance on saving is available in this guide.
Other guides
- Walkthrough Sons of the Forest – the order for exploring dungeons, discovering all beacons, key cards, and the gold armor
- How to find a shovel and dig a grave in Sons of the Forest – where to locate diving gear and a rope thrower
- Sons of the Forest beginner’s guide – how to use inventory, where to find food, water, first aid kits, printer and other tips
- Weapons guide in Sons of the Forest – how to craft and obtain a spear, bow, pistol, axe, shocker, shotgun, chainsaw and katana
- How to befriend the Three-Legged Girl (Virginia) and make her a companion
- Using Kelvin (satellite) in Sons of the Forest
- How to build a shelter and save progress in Sons of the Forest
- Co-op in Sons of the Forest – how to play with friends, create a server, and multiplayer features
Note: content compiled from various gaming resources and user discussions to provide practical troubleshooting steps.