XCOM 2 is a highly addictive game developed by Firaxis Games.
It is a real treat for the player as long as it doesn’t lag, a problem this game is notorious for. Many people have reported that XCOM 2 lags even on high-end gaming machines and most of these issues haven’t been addressed in any of the subsequent patches that have been released. If you want to play the game at a stable rate of 60 FPS without having to deal with frustrating lag-spikes, we’ve got you covered. Follow these simple steps to fix XCON 2 lag and increase FPS for a smooth gaming experience.
Here is a comprehensive, yet simplified solution to tackle all game related slowness and lag issues for good. However, for this condition to hold true, your computer must be meeting the recommended hardware and software requirements for XCOM 2 (or the game concerned). And the solution? It’s the cleaning features of ST Cleaner.
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Method 1: Modify Graphics Settings
One of the most effective ways to reduce lag is to tone down Graphics settings. Even the most capable machines ruin the player’s XCOM 2 experience due to high settings which ultimately lead to the game being poorly optimized. Make the following changes to reduce XCOM 2 Lag.
Lower Anti-Aliasing In-Game
Lowering AA to FXAA or turning it off altogether can signal a considerable boost in the game’s performance especially on lower-end systems. This simply does not mean that a high-end computer will have a smooth sailing during gameplay. Anything above FXAA is guaranteed to cause lags, so keeping it at FXAA is the best bet.
Lower Ambient Occlusion
Next up, Ambient Occlusion is the highest FPS eater. Using SSAO in XCOM 2 is guaranteed to usher in significant amount of lags in the game which is why it’s highly recommended you either lower it or turn it off entirely.
Other Setting Options
If you’re still experiencing lag in the game then:
- Turn off Shadows or lower Shadow Quality
- Turn off Screen Space Reflections
- Turn off VSync & Framerate Smoothing
Method 2: Edit BaseEngine.ini File
If reducing the Graphics didn’t fix XCOM 2 lag then editing the BaseEngine.ini file to manually optimize the game is your only option. Editing the above-mentioned file means you won’t have to make a major sacrifice in the visual quality of the game and can also fix XCOM 2 lag for good. Editing this file isn’t as difficult as it sounds and you should be able to get it done with ease by following these steps:
- First of all navigate to Steam\steamapps\common\XCOM 2\Engine\Config.
- In the Config folder, these should be a file named as BaseEngine.ini. Open it with Notepad.
- Hit Ctrl + F to look for the following variables and change their values as given below:
- DynamicDecals = False
- DynamicLights = False
- DynamicShadows = False
- DynamicShadowsFromDominantLights = False
- LightEnvironmentShadows = False
- CompositeDynamicLights = False
- AllowLightShafts = False
- Distortion = False
- DropParticleDistortion = False
- FogVolumes = False
- AllowImageReflections = False
- AllowImageReflectionShadowing = False
- ParctileLODBias = 2000000
- DetailMode = 1
- MaxMultiSamples = 0
- MaxWholeSceneDominantShadowResolution = 128
- ScreenPercentage = 80
- DirectionalLightmaps = False
Also make sure that there aren’t any applications running in the background before you launch the game to ensure maximum resources are available to it.