Lords of the Fallen (at the time of writing this) has just been released, and while the core 'Soulslike' gameplay seems to have been met with mostly positive reactions, the game has a lot of issues when it comes to performance. Of course, like most games these days, it's on a case-by-case basis.
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A lot of players reported that the game runs buttery smooth for them, but more players overall were reporting crashes, low FPS despite having more than enough power, and other assorted issues. So, going off the first couple of patches of the game, let's see what settings Lords of the Fallen players can immediately change that'll help the most
In-Game Graphical Settings Recommendations
First off, it's always best to try modifying the in-game graphical options before doing any sort of fine-tuning with Windows options and so on outside of the game. So, let's go over the options beginner and veteran players alike can change within the settings of Lords of the Fallen that seem to have improved performance for a lot of players so far both in single-player and when playing online with a friend:
|
Setting |
Set To |
Options Menu Tab |
Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Auto-Detect Quality |
Auto-Set |
Graphics |
Before anything else, try to run the game with the Auto-Detected and Auto-Set settings. While they may not be the most optimized, according to the devs in the 1.1.191 Patch Notes, doing this greatly lowers the chances of crashing in general. |
|
Render Mode (Consoles Only) |
Performance |
Graphics |
Since consoles, both Playstation and Xbox, tend not to have many minute graphical settings players can change in most games, console players typically only have a few options. Out of all of them, changing 'Render Mode' to Performance in the Graphical Settings will have the largest impact. |
|
Vsync & Frame Rate Cap |
Variable Per Person |
Display |
This one is an option that players will likely want to mess with in every single game they play. Some people seem to prefer Vsync since it helps prevent screen-tearing, and they seem to like setting a Frame Rate Cap as well. However, a lot of people also constantly mention that these do impact performance depending on the game. |
|
Render Resolution |
85-100 Percent |
Display |
Render Resolution in the Display Menu simply dictates what Resolution up to the max of the player's chosen Resolution in the option above it objects will render in as. While this is an option that can make the game look a lot worse visually if turned down too low, setting it to a comfortable 85-95 Percent seemed to actually have a noticeable impact on the player's overall framerate. |
|
Reflection Quality |
Medium |
Graphics |
For some reason, Lords of the Fallen has tied its Ray Tracing options to both the Reflection and Global Illumination Quality options. Essentially, this means that if players have either of these options set to 'High' or 'Ultra', then Ray Tracing will be enabled as well, which can be a massive hit to a player's overall performance. When set to 'Medium' or lower, Ray Tracing is thankfully turned off entirely. |
|
Global Illumination Quality |
Medium |
Graphics |
Same reason as with Reflection Quality |
|
Nvidia DLSS & AMD FSR |
On & Balanced/Performance |
Display |
While some people have a pretty strong opinion on DLSS in modern games and how much it feels almost 'required' to use these options with every new release, these options absolutely work. When turned on and set to either Balanced or Performance, players have noticed a much more stable FPS Overall. |
|
Motion Blur |
Off |
Graphics |
These next three setting recommendations are likely the least impactful, and some people prefer the visuals of things like Film Grain or Motion Blur, but they still do have an impact on Performance. Set these to off while finding the right settings, and then if the game runs well and players would prefer to have these enabled, then try and turn them back on to see if it affects performance in any noticeable way. |
|
Film Grain |
Off |
Graphics |
Same reason as with Film Grain |
|
Chromatic Aberration |
Off |
Graphics |
Same reason as with Film Grain |
General Recommendations Outside Of The Game
Next up, let's go over some of the out-of-game changes that Lords of the Fallen players have reported working for them so far. Some of these solutions also come from the developers of the game at Hexworks. However, because everyone's setup is typically different and there are a million different variables at play, players should always remember that while these recommendations might work for some people, they won't work for everyone, and in some cases might even make things worse:
|
Recommendation |
Explanation |
|---|---|
|
Install to SSD |
As is the case with a lot of modern games, installing this title to an SSD over an HDD will make a pretty large difference in overall performance. In some games this difference is much more noticeable than in others, for example, Starfield almost doesn't run at all when installed on an HDD. However, Lords of the Fallen can run well when installed on an HDD, it just has a better chance of running buttery smooth when on an SSD. |
|
Turn Off Windows Hardware Acceleration |
This next recommendation has been reported on by a few Lords of the Fallen players, but it's one of the least common issues and solutions by far. So, players should try everything above this, and if nothing works then try this option. To get to this option on Windows 10 and Windows 11 computers:
|
|
Update Graphics Drivers |
Regardless of the player's Graphics Card, they should always check their Card's website or associated Driver Software for new Drivers when a new game comes out. For example, at the time of writing this, the latest Nvidia Drivers (537.58) were released just three days before Lords of the Fallen's launch. And, a lot of players have reported that, after installing these drivers, their default performance improved significantly. |
|
Disable Fullscreen Optimizations |
As per a Performance Troubleshooting Steps post from the developers on the Steam Page, this is a workaround for the crash a lot of players have reported getting constantly on the first loading screen. |
|
Deactivate PSOs |
Same as with Fullscreen Optimizations, follow this step-by-step tutorial from the developers of the game. |
Of course, this isn't every single option or solution players can mess with in and out of Lords of the Fallen to improve performance, but these are the solutions and changes that seem to have the most people vouching for them on the Steam Page, the Lords of the Fallen Reddit, and so on.
Lords of the Fallen
- Released
- October 13, 2023
- Developer(s)
- HEXWORKS
- Platform(s)
- PS5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PC
