diff --git a/include/rendering/vk_buffer.hpp b/include/rendering/vk_buffer.hpp
index 6cb0ba54..f97acb99 100644
--- a/include/rendering/vk_buffer.hpp
+++ b/include/rendering/vk_buffer.hpp
@@ -24,11 +24,11 @@ public:
     VkBuffer& operator=(VkBuffer&& other) noexcept;
 
     // Create a GPU-local buffer and upload data via staging
-    bool uploadToGPU(VkContext& ctx, const void* data, VkDeviceSize size,
+    [[nodiscard]] bool uploadToGPU(VkContext& ctx, const void* data, VkDeviceSize size,
         VkBufferUsageFlags usage);
 
     // Create a host-visible buffer (for uniform/dynamic data updated each frame)
-    bool createMapped(VmaAllocator allocator, VkDeviceSize size,
+    [[nodiscard]] bool createMapped(VmaAllocator allocator, VkDeviceSize size,
         VkBufferUsageFlags usage);
 
     // Update mapped buffer contents (only valid for mapped buffers)
diff --git a/include/rendering/vk_context.hpp b/include/rendering/vk_context.hpp
index c9926cf5..4cc7c109 100644
--- a/include/rendering/vk_context.hpp
+++ b/include/rendering/vk_context.hpp
@@ -32,11 +32,11 @@ public:
     VkContext(const VkContext&) = delete;
     VkContext& operator=(const VkContext&) = delete;
 
-    bool initialize(SDL_Window* window);
+    [[nodiscard]] bool initialize(SDL_Window* window);
     void shutdown();
 
     // Swapchain management
-    bool recreateSwapchain(int width, int height);
+    [[nodiscard]] bool recreateSwapchain(int width, int height);
 
     // Frame operations
     VkCommandBuffer beginFrame(uint32_t& imageIndex);
diff --git a/src/rendering/loading_screen.cpp b/src/rendering/loading_screen.cpp
index 8bbf4013..6916380f 100644
--- a/src/rendering/loading_screen.cpp
+++ b/src/rendering/loading_screen.cpp
@@ -78,7 +78,8 @@ static uint32_t findMemoryType(VkPhysicalDevice physDevice, uint32_t typeFilter,
             return i;
         }
     }
-    return 0;
+    LOG_ERROR("LoadingScreen: no suitable memory type found");
+    return UINT32_MAX;
 }
 
 bool LoadingScreen::loadImage(const std::string& path) {
@@ -420,7 +421,7 @@ void LoadingScreen::render() {
             int w = 0, h = 0;
             SDL_GetWindowSize(sdlWindow, &w, &h);
             if (w > 0 && h > 0) {
-                vkCtx->recreateSwapchain(w, h);
+                (void)vkCtx->recreateSwapchain(w, h);
             }
         }
 
diff --git a/src/rendering/renderer.cpp b/src/rendering/renderer.cpp
index 85c5ae5b..2f674153 100644
--- a/src/rendering/renderer.cpp
+++ b/src/rendering/renderer.cpp
@@ -941,7 +941,7 @@ void Renderer::applyMsaaChange() {
     if (!vkCtx->recreateSwapchain(window->getWidth(), window->getHeight())) {
         LOG_ERROR("MSAA change failed — reverting to 1x");
         vkCtx->setMsaaSamples(VK_SAMPLE_COUNT_1_BIT);
-        vkCtx->recreateSwapchain(window->getWidth(), window->getHeight());
+        (void)vkCtx->recreateSwapchain(window->getWidth(), window->getHeight());
     }
 
     // Recreate all sub-renderer pipelines (they embed sample count from render pass)
@@ -1051,7 +1051,7 @@ void Renderer::beginFrame() {
 
     // Handle swapchain recreation if needed
     if (vkCtx->isSwapchainDirty()) {
-        vkCtx->recreateSwapchain(window->getWidth(), window->getHeight());
+        (void)vkCtx->recreateSwapchain(window->getWidth(), window->getHeight());
         // Rebuild water resources that reference swapchain extent/views
         if (waterRenderer) {
             waterRenderer->recreatePipelines();
diff --git a/src/rendering/vk_context.cpp b/src/rendering/vk_context.cpp
index b21838ee..bf563c8d 100644
--- a/src/rendering/vk_context.cpp
+++ b/src/rendering/vk_context.cpp
@@ -1176,7 +1176,8 @@ static uint32_t findMemType(VkPhysicalDevice physDev, uint32_t typeFilter, VkMem
         if ((typeFilter & (1 << i)) && (memProps.memoryTypes[i].propertyFlags & props) == props)
             return i;
     }
-    return 0;
+    LOG_ERROR("VkContext: no suitable memory type found");
+    return UINT32_MAX;
 }
 
 VkDescriptorSet VkContext::uploadImGuiTexture(const uint8_t* rgba, int width, int height) {
diff --git a/src/ui/auth_screen.cpp b/src/ui/auth_screen.cpp
index 3c8b2d79..295739ed 100644
--- a/src/ui/auth_screen.cpp
+++ b/src/ui/auth_screen.cpp
@@ -786,7 +786,8 @@ static uint32_t findMemType(VkPhysicalDevice pd, uint32_t filter, VkMemoryProper
     for (uint32_t i = 0; i < mp.memoryTypeCount; i++) {
         if ((filter & (1 << i)) && (mp.memoryTypes[i].propertyFlags & props) == props) return i;
     }
-    return 0;
+    LOG_ERROR("AuthScreen: no suitable memory type found");
+    return UINT32_MAX;
 }
 
 bool AuthScreen::loadBackgroundImage() {