THE GAME CLOSES IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE LAUNCHER FINISHES
Almost always the missing DirectX 9 runtime. Run element\directx\DXSETUP.exe as administrator. See the installation guide.
An error window with unreadable characters is the same thing - the client's DirectX warning shown in the wrong character set.
"PLEASE SELECT AN UPDATE SERVER"
The launcher has no update server chosen. Open the Update Settings dialog, open the dropdown, pick the server entry and press Confirm. If the dropdown is empty, your update configuration was edited or corrupted - reinstall the launcher folder from a fresh download.
THE SPLASH SCREEN HANGS FOR TWENTY OR THIRTY SECONDS
The launcher is waiting for a server it cannot reach and timing out. This is normal on a slow connection, but a repeatable long wait usually means the client is pointed at an old address. Reinstalling the launcher folder from the current download fixes it.
If the wait ends with the game starting anyway, nothing is broken - the update check simply timed out.
"ERROR UPDATING FILE LIST"
The launcher reached the update server but could not read the file list. This is a server-side problem, not yours. Check the announcements or ask in Discord before reinstalling anything.
BEFORE YOU REINSTALL
Reinstalling the whole 23 GB client is almost never the answer. Only the launcher and patcher folders matter for these problems, and the game data itself is rarely at fault.
WHERE THE LOGS ARE
If you report a problem, include these files - they say exactly what happened:
config\launcher\update.log config\element\update.log patcher\log.txt