The Major Performance Patch for Lords of the Fallen: A Redemption Arc?

Lords of the Fallen, a Soulslike game developed by Hexworks, has recently released a significant performance patch. This patch aims to address the technical issues that have plagued the game since its release, thereby improving its ratings on Steam. With developers actively resolving the game’s biggest problems on PC, the reviews are slowly but surely shifting from ‘Mostly Negative’ to a more favorable status.

Resolving Crashing Issues

The 1.1.191 patch, which was released earlier today, primarily focuses on fixing four main issues that have caused Lords of the Fallen to crash. This crashing problem has been one of the biggest factors leading to disappointed player reviews on the game’s release day.

One of the major problems, although not entirely the fault of Hexworks, is that many players have not updated their graphics card drivers to be compatible with Lords of the Fallen’s use of the latest Unreal Engine 5.

“We’ve observed that the majority of crashes result from outdated drivers,” Hexworks wrote in their Steam blog.

To help players with this issue, the developers have added a pop-up that will check for the latest Nvidia or AMD driver and guide them to download an update if needed.

Graphics Card Compatibility Woes

Other graphics card issues that have caused crashes include problems with frame generation stability. This issue has been temporarily deactivated until a more reliable experience is provided for Nvidia 40-series GPUs, which have been experiencing errors. Additionally, certain 30 and 40 series GPUs have also faced crashing problems, even when the game is set to auto-detect graphics quality.

Another factor exacerbating the crashing problems is that some players attempt to exceed their PC’s hardware limits instead of relying on the game’s automatic detection of optimal settings. However, post-patch, this feature should work smoothly without any crashes.

“We’ve also observed that quite a few players enable settings that their rigs cannot handle, especially in terms of VRAM,” stated Hexworks. “If you experience instability, low frame rates, or even crashes (especially DX12 crashes), simply click on ‘AUTO-SET’ within the Graphics Settings, and this will most likely resolve your issues.”

Code Error and Performance Improvements

The last major crash factor was a code error that often led to a potential crash after the game’s first cinematic. While this problem has been fixed for most players, Hexworks recommends a workaround for those who still encounter this issue. By adding “-nopsos” to the game’s launch line in Steam, players can disable the shader compiling calculation responsible for the crash.

Aside from bug fixes, the patch also includes further performance improvements. For example, it addresses the issue of the “lingering VFX from the Barrage of Echoes eyeball explosion,” which would persist for an extended period when casting the spell. This issue potentially impacted performance if abused.

Balancing Tweaks and Boss Changes

In addition to the technical fixes, the patch also introduces various balancing tweaks. Several enemies have been nerfed to make the gameplay slightly less punishing. The hit direction of some projectiles has been adjusted to prevent players from reacting in the wrong direction, and the hitbox of the Sunless Skein working forces will now spawn a few frames later.

Among the boss changes, the Ruiner boss has received a small damage buff, while his fire shield attack and jump knockdown ability have been slightly softened. This change aims to maintain the challenge of the game while reducing the occurrence of one-shot deaths in later regions. Additionally, the Spurned Progeny boss will no longer interrupt combos, regardless of the player’s actions.

Other Gameplay Adjustments

For players who enjoy PvP combat, parrying other players’ kicks is no longer possible. This change gives players more options when fighting high-level parriers, allowing for a more dynamic combat experience.

A Promising Redemption

With these performance improvements and bug fixes, Lords of the Fallen’s Steam reviews have seen an average shift from ‘Mostly Negative’ to ‘Mixed’ among its over 5,000 reviews. At the time of writing, more than half of the reviews are positive, suggesting that the game is slowly redeeming itself in the eyes of players.

In addition to these technical enhancements, the developers have recently confirmed that Lords of the Fallen will “never” employ controversial anti-piracy technology, Denuvo. This commitment further contributes to the game’s positive reception and presents the possibility of a redemption arc for Lords of the Fallen.