After a lot of anticipation, Armored Cored 6 is finally available for PC and the Consoles. As of now, there are almost 120,000 players playing the game at the moment on Steam. So, we can safely say that the game is already a hit. It makes sense, as the game is literally made by the dev team of Elden Ring. Anyway, let’s talk about the PC performance of Armored Core 6. It looks like a lot of PC users are witnessing Stuttering and FPS Drops. Now, this would have made sense if this was happening only to users with low-end GPUs. But if you visit the Steam Discussions of Armored Core 6 right now, you will see people with GPUs like RTX 3070 or 3080 are also complaining about stuttering issues. To put things into perspective, a Steam user has uploaded a screenshot showing the heavy fluctuations in his frame graph while playing Armored Core 6:
You will also see comments like this on the forums:
It’s BAD. The main menu is 20 FPS, jams my CPU at 50% utilization. They recommend an i7-7700, I have an i7-7700K, literally just the unlocked version of that chip and running at factory settings, so I don’t think that’s on me.
I get into the actual game, the opening cinematic is around 45 – 55 FPS, that’s fine, get into the actual game and if I’m standing still it’s around the same, okay, I get moving and it dives to 15 – 25 FPS.
It seems to be all CPU throttled, my 3080TI is barely getting usage, trouble is if it’s all CPU no amount of tweaking the graphics is going to make it any better.
Let me make one thing clear before I start listing the fixes below. I personally haven’t faced any issues during my testing. The ran quite smoothly for me. So all the fixes listed below are from users who were facing stutters but managed to fix them.
How to Fix Armored Core 6 Stuttering issue
The first recommended fix for the stuttering is capping the in-game FPS. If you are someone with a really high-end GPU, then consider capping the FPS of the game to 60 or 80. To do so:
- Open Armored Core 6
- Go to System
- Select Graphics Setting
- Click on “Limit Frame Rate”
- Set it lower than 120
While you are at it, make sure that you have V-Sync, HDR, and Auto-Detect Best Rendering Setting, turned off.
If you are running Fullscreen, then try switching to Windowed Fullscreen. This actually one of the most recommended fixes for the Stuttering.
If you are someone who is using a GPU like the GTX 1050 Ti or the RTX 1650, try setting the Quality Settings to Low, and check if you are getting any sort of stuttering or fps drops or not. If not, then your GPU is most likely the problem.
You can also try the Alt+Tab method. Launch Armored Core 6, wait for 5-10 minutes (Until your CPU stops thrashing), alt-tab out of the game, run Standby Memory Cleaner, and alt-tab back in.
Update your GPU Driver if you have to, and make sure that Armored Core 6 is using your main GPU and not your Integrated GPU. This is actually a really common issue with users who have both a Dedicated and an Integrated GPU inside their PC. Now, if you are playing this game on a gaming laptop, always make sure that you use the MUX switch to enable your dedicated GPU. If you are clueless, just google your Laptop model and try to figure out where the MUX Switch for your specific model is located. I personally have a 2022 Lenovo Legion 5 Pro, and my MUX switch is in the Lenovo Vantage app. Make sure you plug your laptop into a power outlet. Running off the battery may cause performance issues.
Finally, make sure to disable every overlay that you have at the moment. The includes Overlays from the Nvidia Geforce Experience app, Discord, Xbox Game Bar, Windows Game Mode, etc.
Update – 08/25
A new fix has surfaced that has been proven to have an extremely high success rate. It comes from a Steam user:
STUTTER FIX = DISABLE EAC / PLAY OFFLINE (Instructions within)
- Go to the Steam library location where you installed ARMORED CORE™ VI FIRES OF RUBICON™
- \steamapps\common\ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON\Game
- Rename “start_protected_game.exe” to something else like “eldenring.bkp”
- Rename “armoredcore6.exe” to “start_protected_game.exe”
- Run the game through Steam as normal
- EDIT: If you’re still experiencing stutter and/or low FPS open Task Manager and change the CPU processor affinity to exclude CPU 0
- Open Task Manager > Details Tab > Right click start_protected_game.exe > Set Affinity > Uncheck CPU 0 > Click OK
As I said, I didn’t face any issues with Armored Core 6 during my testing. I tested the game on four different GPUs. Here is my RTX 3060 Ti test:
If the problem you are facing is serious, go here and submit a ticket to Bandai Namco Support.
If you think this guide has helped you, let us know in the comment section below. And for more Armored Core 6 guides, keep an eye on Frondtech. We will be covering every single technical issue and bug of the game. Good luck!
That’s all, folks!
Last Updated on August 25, 2023
Shoaib, 30, is a simple guy who loves to play video games, and enjoys new cuisines sporadically. He has been gaming since he was 7 years old, and with an experience of 22 years, under his belt, there is not a single AAA game in this world, that he hasn’t played. Despite being a MBA Graduate he decided to follow his passion. And because of his love for gaming, Frondtech came into existence.
