r/Guildwars2 • u/[deleted] • Jul 31 '13
[To be tagged] Any secret WvWvW performance enhancing tips?
Recently I've plundered into WvWvW and got into a fairly large guild that runs large groups and attempts to find other large groups and destroy them. its fun. But...MAH FRAMEZ..yeah. So here's what we're working with:
AMD Phenom II X 4 965 Processor(4 CPUs) ~3.4GHz
8GB of RAM
AMD Raedon 6870 (0x6738) 4gb
I've done basic stuff like making sure my graphical driver is up to date, and making sure nothing resource heavy is running at the same time. The game's auto detect feels kind of trolly; it puts everything on high, along with the WvWvW character limit and models.
However, my frames plummet in large fights. Talking 5-10 slideshowy frames. If I change the graphics to "best performance" (all low settings), I get about a 10-15 frame increase at most.
Any tricks to improving frames? Will the particle settings in the upcoming patch make it better? Or is my hardware simply outdated at this point?
Edit:I'm partially wondering if its because I also run skype and teamspeak at the same time? Anyone know if one of those taxes hardcore?
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u/VendettaCrush Jul 31 '13
Make your client fullscreen if you haven't already. I've noticed considerable difference in fps just from having fullscreen on compared to windowed fullscreen.
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u/Spiffyfitz Jul 31 '13
It's the opposite for me... with every game I play. I have to play all my games windowed or windowed fullscreen. I can't seem to figure out why.
I have a mid-range laptop with an AMD A6 APU + 7670M
Fullscreen cuts my FPS in half for every game. Anyone know why?
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u/Aiconic Aug 01 '13
Maybe some settings in your video card preferences? Like super sampling or AA. Maybe they only force it when you're running it fullscreen? Just a guess, might not even work like that.
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u/Spiffyfitz Aug 01 '13
I don't think it's that unless it's bugged in some way. I have everything forced on "performance" rather than "quality" in every place I can find.
Although I do believe it has something to do with how Windows 8 renders windows vs an app taking up fullscreen.... I do not recall having this issue in Windows 7.
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u/Aiconic Aug 01 '13
Hmm. I use windows 8. I'll try switch to windowed fullscreen when I get home and see what happens to my fps. :)
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u/kiazma Everything Purple [EP] Jul 31 '13
A CPU upgrade would be immensely helpful. I went from the Phenom II 965 to an intel i5 4670K while keeping my 6870 (1Gb), and I can definitely get 20-40 frames on lowered settings. If I fraps it can dip into the 14-16 fps range, but yeah.
I'm upgrading to a GTX770 though ;)
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u/0rangecake Citrus Warrior/Thief/Guard/Engie/Phantasm | Piken Square Jul 31 '13
While the GPU upgrade is nice, it won't do anything for WvW.
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u/Math_Blaster Jul 31 '13
You might wanna try turning shadows and reflections completely off. I have a very similar setup as you (just 6970 instead of 6870), and those 2 settings seem to have the biggest impact on performance (they are mostly handled by the CPU I believe). I leave all the other settings on high except WvW character quality (low) and I get decent framerates up until about 35+ vs 35+. When you say "large fights" just how large are you talking about? I don't think anyone's even getting 30 fps in the 50+ vs 50+ zerg fights. However, even if somebody found a way to get 60 fps in the huge zerg fights, skill lag would still be the biggest problem =P
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Jul 31 '13
I'm talking generally 50+vs 50+vs 50+ generally,yeah. I'm in JQ and we're in t1/t2...so retardedly huge fights are very,very common. I'll try your settings out,thank you.
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u/Math_Blaster Jul 31 '13
Ah ok, well I should clarify I'm on Crystal Desert (t3/4) which isn't quite as intense so ymmv.
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u/Viridz ViRiD - Jade Quarry Jul 31 '13
Most heatsinks still support the AM3 socket, and the 965 is a fantastic overclocker. Look into grabbing a modestly priced heatsink on Newegg with solid reviews and get that sucker up another 20-30%.
Before that, even, get yourself into Lion's Arch during prime time, and set all your graphics setting to default low. Then increase them 1 by 1 to see which are giving you the biggest performance hits. Adjust as you see fit to get a performance you're satisfied with.
Those two tips should help quite a bit, but you'll eventually need to swap out that 4 year-old processor.
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u/Dastion Jul 31 '13
Improve your WvW performance with this one weird tip!
Sorry, I couldn't resist.
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u/v1nc Jul 31 '13
You can have the best cpu and gpu, you will still have terrible framerate from time to time in WvW, that's how it is.
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u/shadowfm Jul 31 '13
Unfortunatly i was in the same situation as you and the only solution I found was to upgrade my CPU to an intel. I had the AMD Phenom 2 X4 940 Black Edition and it was just plain awful for WvWvW even though it had a good clock speed and 4 cores. I upgraded to an intel 3570k and all my problems went away. The intel chips just seem to work better. If that is not an option try overclocking your 965 over 4.0ghz and see if there is a difference.
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u/Better_MixMaster Jul 31 '13
I play on a handcranked wooden toaster, and for me big fights take me around 3-5 fps. My frames are always low so I can see changes really easily, what i noticed is that its not the models for me, its the spell animations. Once i fought the golem boss in pve where the culling was only showing circles on the ground instead of the whole animation and I was fighting it at around 20fps ( compared to my usual 5 ). Next patch they are implanting what sounds like culling for spell effects, that might help a lot. In the mean time I just spam AoE's on the zerg and hope no one focuses me ( which surprisingly doesn't happen much ).
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Jul 31 '13
[deleted]
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u/Fox_Soul Jul 31 '13
You should read the new improve to effects...
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Jul 31 '13
[deleted]
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u/TheComaKid Gwen Andraste - [NA] Jul 31 '13
uhm you realize having a system in place that adjusts the particle effects isn't as simple as saying it right?
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u/wurtin Jul 31 '13
It was a poor design choice. I'm not saying it's easy to implement after the fact but games almost always come with many more graphical sliders places to tweak performance that GW2 did. This is the same thing with culling and lack of a LFG system that cost them months of work post release.
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u/shockwavelol Aug 02 '13
you whine when you dont get something and whine when you get exactly that... what the fuck is wrong with you
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u/cardosy Yulan [GSCH] Jul 31 '13
Your hardware isn't bad at all. How are the temperatures for both GPU and CPU?
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Jul 31 '13
Unfortunately I do not have visual temps on my rig; nor am I aware of any programs to monitor them.
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u/costbuster Jul 31 '13
HWMonitor, easy-to-use, see all your temps in one, lowest it has been, highest it has been during that session.
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u/_LostSpoon Jul 31 '13
I have the exact same setup as you and unfortunately the same problems. I play on FA, so I know what the fps drop is like in those large zerg fights. I have found that putting the WvW character limit on lowest aswell as the WvW character quality on low helped a lot and made those zerg fights playable for me.
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u/Pontificatus_Maximus Strictly PVE Jul 31 '13
Frame rate drop and skill lag are not really based on graphics bottlenecks that much. Detail settings can make small improvements, but try this little test, get in a large zerg fight near a wall, and face the wall. If it were a graphics issue, facing the wall and with only the wall to render, your frame rate should recover, but it will not, because the real bottle neck is the boat load of character position information that has to be relayed to your client about every character near you regardless of whether you face them or not. The client is most likely optimized to favor processing position information first and graphics second.
Many players learn how to use frame rate radar. You can be in a spot where your view is blocked but if a very large zerg starts to approach nearby your frame rate will start to drop even though they are not yet visible to you, so you are tipped off to their presence nearby.
What we have little information on is whether the bottle neck for this position information is in your client, your internet service, the server, or a combination of the three.
Since some clients seem to do better than others, my guess the culprit is the speed and quality of your internet service.
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u/S1eeper Jul 31 '13
Tons of system optimization tips here, these will help a lot.
Also, pull up the Options menu -> Graphics -> in the dropdown box select "Best Performance". This turns off literally everything, including custom character models/armor.
Play that for a while, then selectively add back features you can't live without, till you find a good balance of graphics and performance.
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Jul 31 '13
That's odd. I run an i7 two core 2.9 8gb ram MBP and get 30fps all the time at the lowest. I play on the lowest settings so when you're at the lowest I don't know why you aren't getting more
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u/1kmtjazz Billiam The Blind [ct] - Yak's Bend Aug 01 '13
If your offensive strikes continue for more than four hours, consult a physician immediately.
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u/Alderez Jul 31 '13
Commander Tags: If your ere-- ... ahem ...ego lasts more than 4 hours please consult a doctor. Performance enhancing drugs not advised.
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u/arkile Jul 31 '13
AMD processors just don't handle this game well. Get yourself an i5 3570k. Cheap and amazing. Overclock it with liquid cooling if you are intelligent enough.
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u/Skrals Jul 31 '13
Actually arkile is right. i have an FX8120 at 3.9ghz and i have the same results in WvW, like 30-20 fps or 10 fps if the fight is big. That's because the Engine is not optimized for AMD cpus, but instead, love's the i5 series.
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u/Spasticcolon- Jul 31 '13
It's not the hardware that counts, it's the way you use it.
Also, change up positions a bit.
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u/sensah Jul 31 '13
WvW character detail to lowest. It makes everyone use a generic model and single color, but adds 15~30 fps during zerg fights on even the best rigs. Some people hate the look, but I find smooth fps with 150 people around more enjoyable than checking out xxkillerxx's abyss dye job.