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Bethesda offers new guidelines to get the best out of ‘Dishonored 2’ on PC

Today marks the release of Dishonored 2, and early reports suggest that the game suffers from some unfortunate performance issues on PC. In response to widespread complaints from players, Bethesda has offered up some tips on how to avoid the worst of the issue that have been observed.

“We are aware that some of you may be encountering issues with Dishonored 2 on PC,” reads an update to the blog post detailing the game’s release that was published yesterday. “Please take a moment to review our recommendations to help better your experience.”

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First and foremost, it seems that players should avoid using Alt-Tab to switch programs while playing. If performance drops after using Alt-Tab in this way, it’s apparently best to relaunch the game. Bethesda also warns to avoid using background applications while the game is running.

In terms of video settings, players should try lowering the resolution if they’re having problems — the 1440p setting is restricted to high-end GPUs equivalent to an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 or 1080.

Major frame rate fluctuations can reportedly be assuaged by keeping V-Sync activated. If the frame rate drops below 30 frames per second during gameplay, the Adaptive Resolution setting should be adjusted between the minimum value of 50 percent, and the default value of 75 percent.

Finally, it’s advised that players use the Auto presets in the settings menu to ensure that the visuals are properly calibrated for the hardware being used to run the game. If performance is still unsatisfactory, Bethesda suggests deactivating TXAA anti-aliasing, and lowering the level of texture detail.

It’s unfortunate that the release of Dishonored 2 is being marred by technical issues, because pre-release impressions indicated that the game successfully builds upon the strengths of its predecessor. The game is available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC starting today.

Brad Jones
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…
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