After a lot of delay and waiting, we finally have the third-installment in the Watch Dogs series – Watch Dogs Legion, but early players on PC, PS4, and Xbox are encountering a lot of stuttering, lag, and crash. Before you proceed with the solutions, PC players must ensure their system is using the RTX series of graphics card by Nvidia as it’s the minimum recommendations to play the game. Here are the other specifications you need to ensure to play Watch Dogs Legion.
CPU: Intel Core i5-8400 2.8 GHz, AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz |
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 |
Video memory: 6GB |
RAM: 16GB (Dual-channel setup) |
Hard Disk Space: (45GB) |
OS: Windows 10 (64 bit only) |
If you meet the specifications and the game is still facing performance problems, we have the fix for your problem. Scroll down to fix Watch Dogs Legion stutter, lag, and FPS issue on PC, PS4, and Xbox.
How to Fix Watch Dogs Legion Stutter and Lag on PC
In order to fix the stuttering problem in Watch Dogs Legion, we have a range of fix that we have divided into two sections, the primary fix and the other fixes you can try. The other fixes will help you resolve other game stutters and overall boost the PC performance.
Fix 1: Terminate Unnecessary Applications
With so many games, third-party software that forcefully inject themselves between operations cause crash in the game. Hence, the first thing we must do to resolve the Watch Dogs Legion stuttering and FPS drop is suspend all unnecessary programs and then launch the game. Here are the steps you can follow.
- Press Windows Key + R and type msconfig, hit Enter
- In General tab, uncheck Load startup items
- Go to the Services tab
- Check Hide all Microsoft services
- Now, click Disable all
- Click on Apply and OK.
Try launching the game, check if the error still occurs.
Fix 2: Enable Fullscreen Mode
Running the game after enabling the in-game fullscreen mode seems to fix a lot of stuttering problem in the game. Users who ran the game on Windowed mode encountered lag and stuttering problem. So, head over to the Settings and enable the fullscreen mode.
Fix 3: Update the Graphics Card
It’s a gamer’s modus operandi to keep the graphics card and all the other software on the system updated. The graphics card in particular is important because it directly impacts your game performance. Nvidia and AMD both release updates for their driver fairly regularly. Go to the official website of your graphics card manufacturer and check if a new driver is available or use GeForce Experience to check for the driver. Download and install the new drivers. If the stuttering in Watch Dogs Legion started after a driver update, consider rolling back.
Fix 4: Find the Ideal Graphics Settings
If you are playing the game on high system specifications, it’s most likely to crash, stutter, drop FPS, and lag. As such, you should set the graphics settings from the in-game graphics settings to the lowest and increase the settings by one until the game stops to stutter. When the stuttering start to occurs, the previous settings is the best for your system.
Other Fixes for Watch Dogs Legion Stuttering
Here are the other fixes we recommend.
Fix 1: Change Nvidia Settings
In the next step to fix Watch Dogs Legion Stuttering, FPS Drop, and Performance Issues, we will set the Nvidia for performance. Here are the steps.
- Right-click on Desktop and select NVIDIA Control Panel
- Expand 3D Settings and click on Adjust image settings with preview
- Check Use my preference emphasizing: Quality (for users who have a powerful PC, you can allow the app to decide and select Let the 3D application decide)
- Drag the bar to Performance (there are three options Performance – Balanced – Quality)
- Click on Apply to implement the changes
- Next, go to the Manage 3D settings under 3D Settings
- Click on Program Settings and select Horizon Zero Dawn (if the game is not in the drop-down list, click Add, browse and add the game)
- Under 2. Select the preferred graphics processor for this program: choose High-performance NVIDIA processor
- Under 3. Specify the settings for this program, set Power management mode to Prefer maximum performance and Virtual Reality pre-rendered frames to 1.
Fix 2: Alter the Power Options in Window 10
For users who do not have an effective CPU cooler, you may want to skip this step as it would increase the CPU temperature by a few degrees. Without proper cooling, it may harm your system. Here are the steps to follow.
- Click on the battery icon in the System Tray and drag the button to Best Performance
- Right-click on the battery icon and select Power Options
- Click on the Change plan settings link
- Click on Change advanced power settings
- Locate Processor power management and click on the plus sign to expand
- Expand Minimum processor state and set it to 100%, next expand Maximum processor state and set it to 100%
- Click on Apply and OK to save the changes.
Fix 3: Configure Game Settings from the Registry
This fix will not just resolve your Watch Dogs Legion FPS drop, lag, and stuttering, but with all other games and applications. However, before you proceed do take a backup of the registry. Here are the steps:
- Type Regedit in the Windows Search tab and select Run as administrator
- Click on Files > Export. Name the backup and save it at your desired location
- Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER > System > GameConfigStore
- From the right panel, double-click on GameDVR_Enabled
- Set the Value data to 0, Base as Hexadecimal and click OK
- Next, double-click on GameDVR_FSEBehaviorMode
- Set the Value data as 2 and Base as Hexadecimal and click OK
- Go back and expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software > Microsoft > PolicyManager > default > ApplicationManagement > AllowGameDVR
- From the right panel, double-click on value
- Delete 1 and set it to 0, click Ok and restart your computer.
Fix 4: Set Windows for Best Performance
In the Windows search tab, type performance and select Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows. Check Adjust for best performance. Click Apply and OK. Check if the Watch Dogs Legion stutter and lag still occur.
Fix 5: Delete Temporary Files from Windows
Again, this is another general step to speed up the system and ultimately fix the Watch Dogs Legion FPS drop, stuttering, and other performance problems. Here are the steps you can follow to clear the temporary files on PC.
- Open the Run dialogue box by pressing on Windows Key + R
- Type %temp% in the field and hit Enter
- Press Ctrl + A and hit Delete (if you cannot delete some files, let them be and close the Window)
- Again, press Windows Key + R and type temp, hit Enter
- When prompted provide the permission. Delete everything in this folder as well.
- Again, press Windows Key + R and type prefetch, hit Enter
- Press Ctrl + A to select everything and hit the Delete key (skip files that do not delete)
After you are done with the above three processes, empty the Recycle Bin.
How to Fix Watch Dogs Legion Stutter and Lag on PS4 and Xbox One
For players on PS4, your FPS is locked by the developers and you do not have the option to boost the FPS. For low range console, the FPS could be locked at 30, which is why you are seeing the performance problems and Watch Dogs Legion stuttering and lag on PS4.
Your best bet is to wait for a patch from the developers that resolves the stuttering and other performance issues. A quick tip to avoid such problems with the game is to avoid scenes that are visually demanding.
Hopefully, the above solutions have resolved the Watch Dogs: Legion Stutter, Lag, and Boost FPS for PC, Xbox One, and PS4.