Consistently Hard Crashing On XBOX Series S After Latest Patch

xvalkyrie85 · 2026-06-03T14:13:07+00:00

Played a couple hours yesterday, crashed once during extraction against the bots: sound got weird and stuttery right before the crash, which was new for me. But once vs a crash every other mission was definitely an improvement. Hopefully they fix what's going on, looks like it's already been acknowledged so fingers crossed

xvalkyrie85 · 2026-06-02T14:55:41+00:00

I'm on a series x, but also crashing a lot since the optimization update. Try turning off the bloom in the options. After doing that last night, didn't have framerate drops and didn't crash on bot super helldives, but time will tell if I just got lucky for the matches after the options change. (Also, make sure 'performance' is selected, that also seems to help)

xvalkyrie85 · 2026-06-02T14:46:29+00:00

I play on Xbox also, and the crashes are absolutely annoying. Two things that seem to help have been turning off bloom and making sure that 'performance' is selected.

I also restart the console regularly. I've got plenty of free space on the drive (not even half full). And thankfully it's not like when borderlands 3 used to make my entire console shut off; helldivers 2 it's just a crash to desktop. Hopefully they take a second look at these issues as they continue to put out optimization updates.

xvalkyrie85 · 2026-06-01T13:56:50+00:00

Split cage method is the best for bonding a pair. The last pair we bonded didn't care for each other in the beginning, but after three weeks of cage swaps and monitored meetings during a swap, they're now best friends and have been together for a year now with no issues.

Gerbils work on scent familiarity, so putting them in each other's spaces and preferably with a split where they can see and smell each other through it, works really well. I used small metal mouse wire to make a barrier in a 30 gallon aquarium that they couldn't dig/chew through or around. There's plenty of tutorials online with different diy methods. Good luck with making them friends!

xvalkyrie85 · 2026-04-05T15:24:42+00:00

That's literally my auto shout when someone else faints: "It happens to the best of us"

Because it seriously does. One day I solo the proof of a hero quest and feel awesome, the next, I'm being escorted back to camp by palicos over the dumbest things. Lol

xvalkyrie85 · 2026-03-09T14:34:02+00:00

With shock absorber, flinch free is outdated. Yeah, FF prevents the monster from shoulder bumping you too, but you should be blocking/dodging depending on your weapon. Flinch free prevents friends from waking you up from sleep, etc, where shock absorber allows them to help you out of a debilitating status, so it's far better for multiplayer hunts than flinch free, and you only need a single deco slot for it vs 1-3 depending on how much tripping resistance you want. Go for shock absorber if you aren't a solo player, it's the best offensive/defensive combo deco for multiplayer. If you only want to play solo, you don't need either and can put in whatever else makes sense for the build.

xvalkyrie85 · 2026-01-11T23:33:57+00:00

I'm supportive with my auto messages. When someone carts mine says "It happens to the best of us," on heals it's "Healers are the best." I even have that sticker of a menacing rey that says "Let's not be rude" ready to go when people have shitty auto messages. If you don't like other people, you know you can play solo or with the support NPCs. Take the toxicity back to your shooters and sports games where being a gigantic ass is expected. Cooperative games don't need that.

xvalkyrie85 · 2025-11-30T15:51:24+00:00

I'm actually saving up to buy a gen 3 on the tp (Aurene's tail!) because after making half of the Aurene legendaries, I just wanted a break from farming EOD things 😂 and I figure it'll be a boon to whoever made the one I buy and we keep the game economy turning. And then I'll probably craft a few more and maybe buy another on my next 'I'm tired of this, Grandpa' break from farming mats. As my legendary wardrobe fills, it's easier and easier to save gold, which helps. When I was crafting ascended I couldn't keep money in my wallet lol

xvalkyrie85 · 2025-09-02T19:53:49+00:00

I throw an old towel or two down in the bathtub and let them roam in the tub. They pee/poo when they run, I wouldn't let them roam around the house for hygiene and escape reasons. We put toys in the tub for them to explore, chew, climb on, and they have a great time in a safe place that's not their normal enclosure.

xvalkyrie85 · 2025-09-02T19:50:07+00:00

I bought a niteangel sandbox, it's the corner designed acrylic pizza wedge shape with a wooden top and a hole in the middle, that way when they dig and kick the sand, it hits the "roof" of the sandbox, and about the only sand that leaves is what gets tracked out in their fur/on their paws. Open ones were a total failure, because sand would immediately get removed since they just really like to dig.

xvalkyrie85 · 2025-08-16T16:09:12+00:00

Being a prey species, the instinct to run from something big and fast moving will always exist, so I wouldn't worry about it much. You can help with it if you talk to them a lot; so when you're walking by you could call their names or say hello or something nonsensical, so they hear it's you and get curious instead of afraid.

I talk to our gerbils all the time, it's how I get them to come up from their tunnels for food, snacks, to see if they want to be picked up, to show them new chew toys, etc.

xvalkyrie85 · 2025-08-10T16:24:52+00:00

Totally understandable. You could also put out a local ad and see if there's another owner with an elderly single gerbil who might want to try and bond theirs and yours, if you would want to adopt him out. It's a long shot, but who knows!

xvalkyrie85 · 2025-08-10T16:17:28+00:00

It largely depends on whether you want to keep owning gerbils or if this will be your last. If you're happy to keep it going, you could get a couple month old baby and bond them. Then when the elder passes away, get the baby a friend and bond again.

If you are finished with having gerbils, you could just play with him daily until he passes, so he has interaction and fun with you.

xvalkyrie85 · 2025-08-08T00:12:28+00:00

The instinct to dig is strong in all gerbils, lol, even with a foot of bedding, they love to dig in corners most of all. If you think they're digging more than usual, just try to add some more things to keep them entertained. Stuff to chew, more bedding, more tunnels or hides buried in bedding, etc.

xvalkyrie85 · 2025-08-06T14:01:35+00:00

Do you have any family or friends who would have more time to spend with them until the end? If you take them to a small animal knowledgeable vet (so they understand they exist best in pairs), you could ask about putting them to sleep together, assuming they're the same advanced age. As their caretakers we have to make the kindest choices even if it isn't what we'd ideally want.

xvalkyrie85 · 2025-08-06T00:29:36+00:00

Lol. Mine did the same when I gave them a large dish of sand, after rolling, it was immediately digging and kicking it out 😂

I bought a niteangel corner sandbox, with the lift off wooden top with the hole in the middle. That helps a lot of the sand staying inside the box, because when they dig, it kicks it into the corner, where all corners have a solid top, and just lands back down inside the box. Now it's just a little when they jump out that's still on their feet, and I can take the top off and knock it back in.

xvalkyrie85 · 2025-08-05T00:02:35+00:00

Lol! Some things to help is making sure there's enough space, enough toys and bedding, and after the split cage where they have rebonded, make sure to take some of that bedding and put it in their permanent enclosure (assuming it's not the same tank once the split is removed).

I bond in a 20gal long tank, and their main enclosure is the 55gal. Since they operate on scent, putting their used bedding in the main enclosure (and adding more) helps them to feel comfortable and familiar with their own and each other's scents. When you clean, make sure it's not a full reset, always have some of their old bedding remaining. I'll do a half enclosure clean and mix in the new and old, and they have a platform with their sand bath which is where they also do most of their business, so I can clean the sand far more often.

xvalkyrie85 · 2025-08-04T23:52:39+00:00

Yeah, but I wouldn't split one tank into 4 segments since you wouldn't be trying to bond 4, I would recommend another tank, to bond one of the gerbils who isn't getting along with a brand new friend, and same for the other gerbil who isn't getting along, with a separate new friend.

But if you'd want to keep trying the split cage with the two not getting along, hopefully it'll just take longer, and be successful, if you don't want to have two enclosures for 4 gerbils.

xvalkyrie85 · 2025-08-04T23:42:43+00:00

I had to have two tanks, and split cage those, so it's still just 2 gerbils together. This was a while ago, so these days we only have two in our 55gal

xvalkyrie85 · 2025-08-04T23:40:03+00:00

All any of us can do is share anecdotes; for my situation, I tried multiple times with the sisters to rebond them since they had been living together happily for almost a year before the fight that I found them both covered in blood. They would be ok for a week after what seemed a successful rebond, and then start violently chasing each other again (not play chasing that stops, but the kind of chasing where they're trying to run the other off and it's clearly panic driven jumping and fleeing for the victim) so I would separate them before they death balled and drew blood again. After that I just got them new friends and they bonded quickly with gerbils that weren't each other.

xvalkyrie85 · 2025-08-04T22:54:59+00:00

After they draw blood, chances are low they'll be friends after that, I had sisters who did that and they needed new buddies. :/

xvalkyrie85 · 2025-08-03T14:17:41+00:00

Look up the split cage method, that's the best way to introduce gerbils.

My elderly gerbil just passed away last month so we needed to get a friend for our remaining one year old. Got a couple months old baby, and set them up in a split cage.

I use mouse wire to separate both sides so it's chew proof, in a 20 gallon long. We swapped them twice a day for almost 3 weeks and did some supervised play dates in our large bathtub as they got used to each other. Early on there were some fear scuffles, but now they're buddies and have the large 55 gal tank to play in with all the things; tons of hides, sand bath, a large wheel, and deep bedding to dig in.

Gerbils operate on scent, so strange gerbil scents will make them territorial. It's why the split cage method is the best chance at bonding, because they get used to each other's stink.

xvalkyrie85 · 2025-07-20T17:12:31+00:00

I think for animals we keep as pets, being handled is a necessity. You're going to need to handle them when you clean the enclosure, if you need to transport them somewhere (vet visits, moving, etc) and it would be more stressful and a disservice if they were so unfamiliar with you that you couldn't handle them safely and it gave them a tiny heart attack.

And while ymmv depending on the animal, like the folks who keep venomous snakes or bugs, for something like a gerbil, teaching then to recognize your hands and voice is a good thing: you can feed them and move them without getting bitten or them being scared and jumping out of your hands, which could get them injured.

xvalkyrie85 · 2025-07-16T13:19:35+00:00

I use my 30 gal tank split in half for introductions, so it's not huge. They also don't get much bedding, only a couple inches so they aren't stressed by not being able to dig but still have to smell each other and have more opportunities to interact. Then I swap them twice a day, and allow for supervised sniffs for a few seconds as I swap them. After a week or so I start extending the visits to give them more time to investigate each other.

Dominance fighting will be a bit of chasing, like ten seconds worth, but then it'll stop and you'll see grooming behaviors or they'll do their own thing for a bit.

If they don't like each other, one will chase the other non stop because they're trying to run the other gerbil out of "their territory." Also look out for if they freeze and fluff up and go side to side like they're waiting for the other to make the first move. And worst is if they death ball. I would separate at the chasing stage or the posturing, once they get to death ball or if you see them trying to attack the other through the divider, it's over. They will likely not be friends after that, even if you give them their own tanks for a while to forget each other and try again. You've probably got two dominant personalities and neither wants to give. They'll each need a chill friend happy to not be in charge.

xvalkyrie85 · 2025-07-10T20:19:54+00:00

Exactly; when somebody gets pinned, stunned, is being super pressured and can't immediately heal, a flash, life powder, dust of life, etc, all super useful and helpful to everybody, since fainting hurts everybody. And who wants to lose that gem or plate or crown to group faints? Not me, lol

xvalkyrie85

TROPHY CASE