How to Prepare for a New Star Citizen Patch (2026)

TL;DR: Before jumping into a new Star Citizen patch, do five things: (1) read the patch notes on our Updates page, (2) install the update through the RSI Launcher, (3) check the keybindings screen for new or remapped controls, (4) understand whether the patch includes a wipe — pledge items always stay, but in-game-earned aUEC and gear are usually reset on major patches, and (5) clear your shader cache to avoid stale-shader stutter and visual glitches.

Last updated: May 12, 2026. Star Citizen is in active alpha — patch cadence, wipe policy, and launcher UI change every few months. Always check current patch notes before assuming anything.

1. Read the Latest Patch Notes

Every patch ships with notes describing the new features, balance changes, known issues, and — critically — whether the patch wipes player progress. Skim them before launching the game so you know what to expect.

• StarCitizenHelp Updates page: starcitizenhelp.com/updates — summaries of recent patches and what they affect.
• Official patch notes: robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link — the canonical CIG patch notes and Comm-Link posts.
• What to look for: Wipe scope, new keybinds, server stability notes, known issues, and starting locations — these all affect your first session on the new patch.

2. Update Through the RSI Launcher

Star Citizen patches are downloaded and applied through the RSI Launcher — there is no auto-update inside the game itself.

1. Open the RSI Launcher. If it isn't installed yet, grab it from the RSI Download page.
2. Sign in with your RSI account.
3. Choose your environment. Use the dropdown at the top of the launcher to switch between LIVE, PTU (Public Test Universe), EPTU, and Tech-Preview. Each environment downloads separately.
4. Click Update / Install. When a new patch is available, the big Launch button becomes Update. Click it to start the download.
5. Let it finish completely. Patches are routinely 20–80 GB. Interrupted downloads can corrupt the install — wait for the launcher to say "Ready" before launching.
6. If the launcher errors out mid-download, click Settings → Verify on the game profile, or as a last resort delete the StarCitizen\LIVE folder and let the launcher redownload from scratch.

3. Check for New or Changed Keybinds

Star Citizen adds and remaps keybinds almost every patch — new vehicles, new gameplay loops, and reworked mechanics often bring fresh default keys. Custom bindings sometimes carry over; sometimes they reset.

1. In game, press Esc → Options → Keybindings. Use the search bar at the top to look up specific actions.
2. Review the patch notes (step 1) for any "new bindings" section — CIG calls out major additions when they ship.
3. Reapply your profile if needed. If you exported custom keybinds before the patch, you can re-import them from USER\Client\0\Controls\Mappings. Note that bindings for newly-added actions will still need to be set manually.
4. For a deeper walkthrough, see our Star Citizen Keybindings Guide.

4. Understand What a Wipe Affects

A "wipe" is when CIG resets some or all of the persistent player data on the live servers. Wipes typically happen when database changes, new persistence systems, or major economy rebalances ship with a patch. Not every patch wipes, but major version jumps (e.g., 3.x → 4.x) usually do.

What you keep through a wipe

• Pledge items: Anything bought with real money on the RSI website — ships, game packages, paints, FPS gear from the pledge store — is tied to your account and is restored every patch.
• Account progression: Username, account age, friends list, hangar history.
• Reputation (sometimes): CIG occasionally preserves reputation with in-game factions across wipes, but they call this out explicitly in the patch notes when they do.

What a wipe typically removes

• aUEC (in-game currency): Reset to the starter amount (typically 20,000 aUEC).
• In-game-purchased ships and vehicles: Anything bought from in-game terminals with aUEC is removed.
• FPS gear and weapons purchased in-game with aUEC.
• Cargo, mined materials, and refinery jobs in progress.
• Mission progress and completed mission state.

The rule of thumb: if you paid real money on the RSI store for it, you keep it. If you earned it in-game with aUEC, assume it goes away on a wipe.

5. Clear Your Shader Cache

Star Citizen compiles graphics shaders the first time you load the game and caches them on disk. When a patch updates the renderer or any shader source, those cached files become outdated — but the game will still try to use them. This causes stuttering, flickering textures, missing visuals, and sometimes crashes on first launch after a patch. Clearing the cache forces Star Citizen to recompile fresh shaders for the new patch.

When to clear shaders

• After every major patch (e.g., 4.0 → 4.1).
• After GPU driver updates.
• Whenever you see persistent flickering, missing textures, or stutter that wasn't there before.

How to clear the shader cache (step-by-step)

1. Make sure Star Citizen and the RSI Launcher are fully closed. Use Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) if necessary — leftover processes will hold the cache files open.
2. Open File Explorer and press Win+R, then paste this into the Run box and press Enter:
   %LOCALAPPDATA%\Star Citizen
3. Delete the shaders folder in that directory. (If you don't see a "shaders" folder there, also check %APPDATA%\rsilauncher\shaders and your Star Citizen install folder at StarCitizen\LIVE\user\client\0\shaders.)
4. Empty your Recycle Bin to make sure Windows actually releases the disk space.
5. Launch Star Citizen. The first load will take noticeably longer than usual — that's the game recompiling shaders. Expect 2–5 extra minutes plus some hitching during your first session as shaders warm up.
6. Restart the game once after the first session for the smoothest second-run experience.

Tip: If the in-game console (~ key) is open during a patch test, type r_ClearShaders 1 to clear shaders at runtime. This works while the game is running but the on-disk delete is the safer baseline.

Quick Pre-Patch Checklist

1. Read patch notes on the Updates page and CIG's Comm-Link.
2. Close the game and the RSI Launcher.
3. Delete the shader cache folder.
4. Open the launcher, pick your environment, and click Update.
5. Let the download complete fully.
6. Launch the game, expect a slow first load.
7. Open Options → Keybindings and review changes.
8. If the patch is a wipe, plan to re-earn aUEC and in-game purchases.

Frequently Asked Questions