Learn how to fix lag in Baldur’s Gate 3!
Baldur’s Gate 3 may get all the praise from critics, but players are still reporting lag. How do you fix it?
Larian Studios had a phenomenal launch last year with Baldur’s Gate 3, and many critics have been singing the game’s praises online, saying that it marks a new gold standard for the CRPG genre.
In Baldur’s Gate 3, players are thrust into the world of the Forgotten Realms, where their character will find themselves with a mind flayer parasite in their brain, and it will be up to the player whether they will give in to the parasite and become the ultimate evil or try to resist it.
The game is essentially a Dungeons & Dragons campaign brought to life and has very extensive character creator options—down to the very last detail (including your character’s genitals). There is also a dice-rolling mechanic in the game, which will determine your gameplay results and whether your actions succeed or fail.
It’s also very likely that you’ve already heard about the game being notorious for allowing players to seduce and bed multiple NPCs. If you even play your cards right, you’ll be able to bed the leader of the Mind Flayer cult.
Bladur’s Gate 3 received sparkling reviews when it came out and has earned multiple Game of the Year awards. But despite its status, players sometimes report lag in the game.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Lagging
Considering that Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of the best-reviewed games of 2023, it would make sense that the game would have a massive player base. The game engages around 800,000 players actively around the same time, which could very well lead to server lag.
Since Baldur’s Gate 3 is also a AAA game with some top-notch graphics, it’s also possible that the game would want to demand more computing power, depending on whatever rig you’re playing it on. So unless you have all the required specs to play Baldur’s Gate 3, it’s possible that you could have problems with the game running on your system.
How to Fix Baldur’s Gate 3 Lagging
Multiple players have been reporting the lag in the game, and it seems that the problem does come with multiple solutions. Remember that some solutions that work for some may not work on your specific problem, but they should be worth a shot if others can attest to their effectiveness.
Turn Off the Larian Launcher – With Baldur’s Gate 3, you will have to use the launcher from Larian Studios themselves, but the problem is that it could be hindering the processing of the actual game. Some players suggest turning off or bypassing the launcher to have the game run smoother.
Optimize Settings In-Game – Baldur’s Gate 3 requires a lot of processing power from computers, so it’s possible that your PC could be having a hard time playing the game. To fix this, you can go to the in-game settings for Baldur’s Gate 3 and lower them to something more moderate.
During this setup, it’s recommended that you disable VSnyc and make sure to uncheck the cap on Framerate. You should also lower the overall preset quality to have the game take it easier on your PC.
Terminate Background Services – Though all programs could be closed, some run in the background. Open Task Manager and forcibly End Task for any background services.
Adjust Windows Graphics Preferences – Open Window Settings on your PC and go to the Display tab. Click on Graphics and then select Baldur’s Gate 3, then Options. Click on High Performance in Graphics preference, then Save; then Restart the computer and see if the lag problem has been fixed from that point.
Roll Back/Reinstall the GPU Driver – Open Device Manager on your PC, right-click on the GPU Driver and select Properties. In the Driver tab, you will have the option to Roll Back Driver; if you finish this process, you can restart the PC and check if it worked.
If the Roll Back option doesn’t work, you can uninstall and reinstall the GPU Driver to see if it fixes the lagging problem.
If none of these fixes managed to address the lag problem for Baldur’s Gate 3, then you can undergo the process of fixing any game, which includes:
Driver Updates – Ensure all your game drivers and overall software are current. Though this feature can be automatic, sometimes they will require players to do this manually. This instruction also includes ensuring that everything else on your system is the latest, including Windows and the launcher for the game.
Verify Games on Launcher – The neat thing about the launcher apps is that they can tell if a game has been installed correctly or is missing files. Go to the game tab in your launcher and click Verify Game Files. This will prompt the launcher to inspect the game folder and see if anything is missing; if it finds something, it will automatically install the missing files and help your game run better.
Do a complete reinstallation of Baldur’s Gate. 3 – If it worsens, you can always just go to the full reinstallation route. Make sure to save any game files in a separate folder, then uninstall and delete all the files about Baldur’s Gate 3.
From that point, you can then reinstall the game, ensuring the process runs more smoothly this time. Just make sure you restart the PC before you start reinstalling again—and do another restart when you’re done reinstalling.
