Broken Arrow from Steel Balalaika and Slitherine brings large-scale modern warfare strategy into a screen, but many players find themselves unable to adjust any in-game settings. Whether it’s graphics presets, key binds, audio levels, or controls, the menus either snap back to default or won’t register clicks at all—a frustrating experience on high-end machines. So, if you too are encountering the same, consider reading this guide for workarounds to fix the problem.
Players on Reddit report that when attempting to change settings, the menu options briefly appear before disappearing or reverting to their previous state. Interestingly, this glitch seems tied to connected input devices—particularly joysticks or flight sim throttles—that interfere with UI navigation. Try these tested workarounds, including the one suggested by the game developer, which will help you resolve the issue.
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Broken Arrow Unable to Change Settings: Is there any fix yet
Disconnect All Non-Essential Peripherals
This is by far the most reported and successful workaround for this specific issue. Unplug EVERYTHING except your primary mouse and keyboard. This includes gamepads/controllers (Xbox, PlayStation, etc.), joysticks and flight sticks, racing wheels, or any other USB devices that act as input devices.
Once only your mouse and keyboard are plugged in, restart Broken Arrow. Try changing the in-game settings now. Many players reported that this resolves the issue immediately. If it works, you can then try plugging your other peripherals back in one by one to identify which specific device causes the conflict. If you are still facing the issue, try unplugging even the keyboard, as this has also caused the issue for a few players.
Delete Configuration and Log Folders
As suggested by the game dev on Steam, corrupted settings or log files can often cause issues with saving preferences or game behavior. Deleting these folders forces the game to create fresh, default versions. Here is the explained way to carry it out: Close Broken Arrow completely. Navigate to the following directories and delete these folders:
- C:\Users\YOUR WINDOWS ACCOUNT USERNAME\AppData\LocalLow\SteelBalalaikaStudio\BrokenArrow
- Inside your Steam folder: …\Steam\steamapps\common\broken_arrow\GameLogs
After deleting both folders, run the game and check if the issue persists and if you can now change settings.
Controller Plug/Unplug Trick
If settings are still problematic, especially with dropdowns, try this unusual but sometimes effective trick. With Broken Arrow running and the settings menu open, hook up a controller (or another non-essential input device like a joystick) to your PC. Wait a few seconds for your PC to recognize it. Then, unplug the controller (or other device) while still in the settings menu. This action can sometimes “reset” the input focus or clear a conflict, allowing you to interact with the settings normally.
Deactivate vJoy
Another fix reported by players on Reddit is to deactivate virtual joystick drivers like vJoy, which can interfere with game inputs.
- Press Windows Key + X and select Device Manager.
- In Device Manager, expand the categories “Human Interface Devices” or “Sound, video and game controllers.”
- Look for any entry related to “vJoy Device,” “Virtual Joystick,” or similar virtual controller names.
- Right-click on the vJoy or virtual joystick device and select “Disable device.”
- Confirm the deactivation.
- Restart Broken Arrow and check if you can now change settings. If this resolves the issue, you will need to disable vJoy each time you play Broken Arrow.
These are the effective workarounds that we recommend trying to resolve the issue. That being said, we hope you found this guide informative. Consider visiting Android Gram for many more gaming-related articles.
