Unable to deserialize packet with pid 18516 - FIXED

TLDR: Turn off Anti-Malware software or whitelist PoE.

This worked for me and I hope it works for you, almost made me quit the game.

I recently began crashing in 3.17 and received this error every hour or so when going in and out of maps/campaign. It would lock me out of a map by way of crashing my game and giving me a pop up saying:

"unable to deserialize packet with pid 18516"


I opened a unique map and tried going in and it crashed my game with the error, I repeated this about 10 times adjusting my graphics seeing if it was some type of graphical error. Nothing worked and it kept crashing.

I turned off my anti-malware software "Malwarebytes" and I immediately was able to go in the map and the performance was flawless. So far its been a few hours and the error has not returned. So this could possibly be the fix to this very annoying problem.

I hope this can help the others like me who have been struggling with this. Please let me know if this helps out any of my fellow exiles.

Having the same issue. Turning off Malwarebytes works for now but doesn't seem like a permanent solution...

Having the same issue when trying to enter a map.
And i wont turn of my security for any game.
The think that stops the game is that POE it trying to go to an IP that is blocked due to malware: 185.169.197.14
Why are the game opening any random site when i try to enter an map?

I did manage to enter a friends map without problems, but tryng to enter my own map it kicks me out. Must be some code error when entering map since it points to an ip that is flagged for malware by several sites.

I also have/had the same issue.
the fix worked but agreed that this is not a good work around.
Wonder if we can get a response.

Same issue here, legitimate copies on both machines I play PoE on and they both encounter this interruption. Not fun when in lab.

Any work arounds besides removing my antivirus? I've got the same issue. This is my first time with any PoE problems.

you will have to make a support ticket with Malwarebytes then.
GGG have no control over 3 party software.

I added the PoE folder as well as the filter folder to my allow list in MalwareBytes and it fixed the issue for me. I will reply here again if it is just a coincidence or not, but right now the game is working fine again for me. Saves you from having to turn off your protection.

If anyone else tries this and it works please reply as well, thanks.

Good luck getting a response from GGG. They seem to think that this is not a major issue that needs addressing, even though it's been happening to a lot of people for months now.

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Joehartsock wrote:

I added the PoE folder as well as the filter folder to my allow list in MalwareBytes and it fixed the issue for me. I will reply here again if it is just a coincidence or not, but right now the game is working fine again for me. Saves you from having to turn off your protection.

If anyone else tries this and it works please reply as well, thanks.

Can confirm this worked for me. Error was happening as of Nov 7th, 2022 in 3.19 SSF Mayhem trying to load The Upper Sceptre of God. Had to add both folders to MalwareBytes allow list for it to work. My guess is that it's a combination of online filters and game state.