Deep Rock Galactic Stuttering, Lags, or Freezing Constantly: Deep Rock Galactic is a cooperative first-person shooter designed for 1 to 4 players, developed by Ghost Ship Games and published by Coffee Stain Publishing in May 2020 for PC and Xbox One.
The game features captivating space Dwarves, fully destructible environments, procedurally generated caves, and relentless waves of alien creatures, among other exciting elements.
To play the game effectively, a robust hardware setup is necessary, particularly for PC users. Not all players may possess the required specifications to experience the game at maximum resolution and frame rates. This performance demand is a common challenge among many PC games. Below, we outline steps to address and resolve issues related to stuttering and lag in Deep Rock Galactic.
Many players on PC have reported encountering problems such as stuttering, lagging, crashes, and frame rate drops during gameplay. These issues can vary in severity depending on individual system compatibility.
Therefore, it’s advisable to troubleshoot these problems to achieve a smoother gameplay experience with acceptable frame rates. Various underlying factors may contribute to these performance issues, but they can often be remedied by following the guidance provided in this article.
Check System Requirements
Review the system specifications for Deep Rock Galactic provided below to determine if your PC meets the necessary requirements to run the game effectively.
Minimum System Requirements:
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 7 64 Bit
- Processor: 2.4 GHz Dual Core
- Memory: 6 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 or AMD Radeon HD 5770 /w 1GB VRAM
- DirectX: Version 11
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 3 GB available space
Recommended System Requirements:
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 64 Bit
- Processor: 2.4 GHz Quad-Core
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA 970 / AMD Radeon 290
- DirectX: Version 11
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 3 GB available space
Fix: Deep Rock Galactic Stuttering and Lags Badly
Addressing issues with in-game lag or frame rate drops can be quite challenging, as these problems are influenced by various factors, including your PC’s hardware specifications, the game’s display resolution, the maximum frame rate settings, and any conflicting third-party applications.
To effectively resolve or significantly reduce these issues, we suggest systematically implementing each of the recommended solutions until noticeable improvements are achieved.
One of the most effective approaches is to adjust the game’s graphics settings, particularly by lowering them.
Key settings to consider include the game’s screen resolution, texture resolution, shadow quality, maximum frame rate, the number of characters displayed, and other visual effects that demand higher graphical processing power or memory.
Below, you will find a series of steps designed to help mitigate lag and frame drop issues, tailored to your specific resolution and quality settings, as well as your current frame rate.
1. Use Launch Options
To configure Deep Rock Galactic for fullscreen mode, follow these steps:
- 1. Launch your Steam client and navigate to your Library.
- 2. Locate Deep Rock Galactic and right-click on it.
- 3. From the context menu, choose ‘Properties.’
- 4. In the Properties window, switch to the General tab.
- 5. Look for the section labeled ‘Launch Options‘ and enter the command: -fullscreen. This will ensure the game opens in fullscreen mode.
2. Update Graphics Drivers
- To access the Quick Access Menu, perform a right-click on the Start Menu. From the options presented, select Device Manager.
- Next, locate the Display adapters section and double-click it to reveal the available devices.
- Find your dedicated graphics card in the list, right-click its name, and choose the option to Update driver.
- Then, select Search automatically for drivers. If an update is found, it will be downloaded and installed automatically.
- After the installation is complete, be sure to restart your computer to apply the changes effectively.
3. Run the game as an administrator
To prevent any user account control issues related to privileges, it’s important to launch the game executable file with administrative rights. Additionally, it’s advisable to run the Steam client as an administrator on your computer. Here’s how you can do that:
- 1. Locate the Deep Rock Galactic executable shortcut on your desktop or in your files.
- 2. Right-click on the shortcut and select ‘Properties‘ from the context menu.
- 3. Navigate to the Compatibility tab in the properties window.
- 4. Find the option labeled ‘Run this program as an administrator’ and check the box next to it.
- 5. Click ‘Apply‘ and then ‘OK‘ to confirm and save your changes.
This will help ensure smoother gameplay without any interruptions related to account permissions.
4. Set High Priority in Task Manager
To optimize the performance of your game, you can adjust its priority in the Windows Task Manager. This will help ensure that your system allocates sufficient resources for a smoother gaming experience. Here’s how to do it:
- 1. Right-click the Start Menu and choose Task Manager from the list.
- 2. Navigate to the Processes tab, then locate the task for Deep Rock Galactic.
- 3. Right-click on the game’s task and select “Set Priority,” then choose “High.”
- 4. Exit the Task Manager.
Once you’ve completed these steps, launch Deep Rock Galactic to see if the performance issue has been resolved.
5. Verify Integrity of Game Files
In the event that you encounter problems with your game files, such as corruption or missing files, you can easily troubleshoot the issue by following these steps:
- 1. Open the Steam application and navigate to your Library.
- 2. Locate Deep Rock Galactic in your list of installed games and right-click on it.
- 3. Select Properties from the context menu.
- 4. Proceed to the Local Files tab.
- 5. Click on the option that says Verify Integrity of Game Files.
- 6. Allow the verification process to complete—it may take some time.
- 7. After the process is finished, restart your computer to ensure all changes take effect.
This method will help you identify and resolve any issues with the game files.
6. Change GPU Settings
To determine if the issue has been resolved, it’s important to adjust the graphics card settings on your PC. Follow the steps outlined below for Nvidia and AMD graphics cards:
**For Nvidia Users:
- 1. Access the Nvidia Control Panel by right-clicking on your desktop.
- 2. Select “Nvidia Control Panel” from the context menu.
- 3. Navigate to “Manage 3D Settings.”
- 4. Under “Program Settings,” locate ‘Deep Rock Galactic.’ If the game isn’t listed, you can manually add it.
- 5. Adjust the following settings:
- – **Monitor Technology**: Set to G-Sync (if your monitor supports it).
- – **Maximum Pre-rendered Frames**: Set to 2.
- – **Threaded Optimization**: Enable this option.
- – **Power Management Mode**: Choose “Prefer Maximum Performance.”
- – **Texture Filtering – Quality**: Set to “Performance.”
**For AMD Users:
- 1. Open your AMD graphics control settings.
- 2. Ensure the following configurations are applied:
- – **Monitor Technology**: Set to G-Sync (if available).
- – **Maximum Pre-rendered Frames**: Set to 2.
- – **Threaded Optimization**: Enable this feature.
- – **Power Management Mode**: Select “Prefer Maximum Performance.”
- – **Texture Filtering – Quality**: Opt for “Performance.”
After making these adjustments, check to see if the issue persists.
7. Disable Fullscreen Optimizations
By default, Windows utilizes full-screen optimization and DPI settings for applications. If you’re experiencing issues, consider disabling these features by following these steps:
- 1. Navigate to the folder where Deep Rock Galactic is installed.
- 2. Locate the file named Deep Rock Galactic.exe and right-click on it.
- 3. From the context menu, select ‘Properties‘ and then go to the ‘Compatibility‘ tab.
- 4. In this section, check the box labeled ‘Disable Full-Screen Optimizations.’
- 5. Next, click on the ‘Change high DPI settings‘ button.
- 6. In the new window, enable the option for ‘Override high DPI scaling behavior,’ and then choose ‘Application’ from the dropdown list.
- 7. Finally, click ‘Apply‘ and then ‘OK‘ to ensure your changes are saved.
Following these steps may enhance your gaming experience.
8. Update Deep Rock Galactic
If you haven’t updated your Deep Rock Galactic game in a while, you may want to check for the latest updates and install any available patches. Here’s how to do that:
- 1. Launch the Steam client on your computer.
- 2. Navigate to your Library and select Deep Rock Galactic from the list on the left.
- 3. Steam will automatically check for any available updates. If an update is found, click on the “Update” button to begin the installation process.
- 4. The update may take some time to download and install. Once the installation is complete, close the Steam client.
- 5. Finally, restart your computer to ensure all changes are applied, and then relaunch the game.
We hope you find this guide helpful! If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to leave a comment below.