How to fix The First Descendant stuttering issues

Nexon’s third-person looter-shooter The First Descendant launched with its fair share of glitches and problems. If you’re struggling with stuttering issues, read on for ways to fix these problems. 

The First Descendant - How to fix stuttering issues

Games rarely launch these days without players experiencing problems. The online nature of gaming, along with the challenges of cross-platform launches as well as the myriad of PC setups available, makes it hard for even the most thorough of developers to cover all of its bases. Many players have been facing issues such as Caliber not showing, as well as game-breaking stuttering issues with The First Descendant, so here’s what to try if this is affecting you.

Check your mouse settings

For PC players, many players have found that altering the polling rate of their mouse has fixed their stuttering issues. The polling rate governs the frequency of data updates between the mouse and your machine. Players have found that if they reduce this to 500 or 1,000 (which means 1,000Hz per second) it fixes the issue. 

Many modern gaming devices have polling rates automatically set to 4,000 or even 8,000 which it seems that, right now, The First Descendant isn’t coping with. This will likely be addressed through patching but for now, it may fix your issues. You’ll find this in your mouse settings, which can be accessed via system settings on your PC (not the game itself).

Alter your graphic card settings

If lowering the polling doesn’t cancel out the problem, another PC fix to try is altering your graphic card settings. First, check whether you have an Nvidia or AMD card and ensure you have installed the latest graphics drivers. Also, be sure your machine meets the required minimum spec to play the game (see above).

If upgrading your drivers doesn’t fix the problem, try turning off additional options (such as Frame Generation and Ray Tracing) or reducing quality settings in the game’s graphics settings. Older machines often struggle to play the latest games on their highest settings. 

For more on The First Descendant here at Pro Game Guides, check out How to unlock all trophies in The First Descendant!