How to best optimize your PC settings for Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds is a bonafide hit on Steam, but players are already looking for best optimized settings to actually enjoy the game on PC at launch.
Capcom’s new golden era shows no signs of stopping with the release of Monster Hunter Wilds. The Monster Hunter franchise has always been a solid anchor for the company, especially after the release of Monster Hunter World. That 2018 entry saw sales of over 21 million units, making it the number one platinum title in Capcom’s vast library of games.
That record may be broken soon with the release of Monster Hunter Wilds. Within 24 hours of its release, Monster Hunter Wilds reached a concurrent peak of over 1,300,000 players on Steam. That means Monster Hunter Wilds has outpaced even the likes of such popular titles as Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2. Despite the hype surrounding Monster Hunter Wilds, the game still holds a mixed rating on Steam, and the bulk of the reviews rating Monster Hunter Wilds low are due to staggering performance issues on PC.
Fortunately, there are ways to mitigate these PC performance problems through proper settings optimization both in and out of Monster Hunter Wilds.
Optimize settings Monster Hunter Wilds on PC
As of this writing, these are the best ways players have found to get Monster Hunter Wilds running with better performance on PC.
Update graphics drivers and OS
Outdated graphics drivers will impact a game’s performance, regardless of the hardware. Players should update their graphics drivers as per their GPU’s software instructions.
In addition to graphics drivers, players should check out Windows Update and DirectX. As of this writing, the latest version is DirectX12. As Windows 11 rolls out for more machines, those updates also become more crucial for gaming. Finally, ensure that the compatibility mode is off when running the game.
Exclude from Antivirus
Some antivirus programs may block or otherwise affect Monster Hunter Wilds. Check the antivirus program’s blacklist if the game or Steam itself is being included. If so, remove it and test the game’s performance to see if anything has changed. Players should ideally still refrain from turning off their antivirus program entirely.
Not only does turning off antivirus software make a system more vulnerable, but the gains in performance will likely be minimal. The same philosophy extends to disabling Virtualization Based Security. Turning the feature off can improve performance in the short term. But in the long term, being disabled makes machines more vulnerable to malware. It’s best to leave any security measures on instead of making big safety sacrifices for small and theoretical gains in performance.
Enable Resizable BAR
A little-known feature for graphics cards released in the 2020s is the resizable BAR. Turing this on will allow GPUs to perform better with essentially zero downsides. Ensure that all drivers are updated before enabling resizable BAR.
- Download GPU-Z and verify if resizable BAR is on
- If disabled, restart the PC
- Enter BIOS by pressing the delete key on startup
- Look for the resizable BAR option in the Advanced tab, then Settings
- If it’s not showing up, try to enable Above 4G Decoding
- Once RE-Size BAR Support appears, set it to Auto
- Disable CMS Support in Advanced, then Boot
- Save and exit
Once again, check with GPU-Z if it’s enabled, then run the game.
Verify game files (and reinstall if necessary)
If there are still severe performance issues, the game may not have a clean installation. Given the size of Monster Hunter Wilds, a sporadic internet connection may mean some files did not properly install. Players must verify the game’s files to see if anything’s amiss.
- Right-click on Monster Hunter Wilds in the Steam library
- Select properties
- Select local files
- Click “verify integrity of game files”
Once that process is done, check if the game runs better. If it remains an issue, uninstall the game entirely, restart the PC, and then reinstall it. Unlike verifying game files, this repeats the whole process, so it may take a while with slower internet speeds.
Tweak Monster Hunter Wilds’ most intensive in-game settings
Monster Hunter Wilds has plenty of visual flair, but some players may want to spend any extra memory on move animations rather than hyper-detailed grass. While in-game, opt to disable or set to the lowest possible settings some of the most flagrant offenders among the non-essential visual quality additions.
Volumetric fog may look atmospheric, but it does cause machines to run slower. The same goes for settings like shadows and ambient occlusion. Tweaking these settings to their lowest possible in-game values should allow players to run the game more smoothly.
Many fans who played Monster Hunter World during the beta are well aware of these ongoing issues. Players can only hope that Capcom has patches and hotfixes ready for the foreseeable future.
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