Stalker 2 Performance: Day 0 Patch Test

BREDO

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Post on Nov 21, 2024

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Stalker 2 Performance: Day 0 Patch Test - My Totally Honest Review (and some epic fails!)

Hey everyone! So, Stalker 2, right? Huge hype, massive expectations, and let's be honest, a lot of worried gamers wondering about performance. I was one of them. I mean, this game looked gorgeous, but my rig isn't exactly top-of-the-line. So, Day 0 patch? Yeah, I dove right in, headfirst, and lemme tell you… it was a rollercoaster.

My Setup and Initial Expectations

First off, my system: AMD Ryzen 5 3600, 16GB RAM, and an RTX 2060. Not cutting-edge, but it handles most games pretty well. I was hoping for a playable experience at 1080p, medium settings, at least 60fps. Maybe a little wishful thinking, but hey, a guy can dream, right? I'd seen some pretty scary early benchmarks, so I wasn't exactly brimming with confidence. The Day 0 patch was supposed to improve things, though. That's what they promised!

The Day 0 Patch: Hope and Despair

Installing the patch was a breeze; that part was at least painless. But firing up the game... well, that's where things got interesting. The initial menus were smooth enough, no complaints there. But once I hit the first real in-game area— man, it was rough. I’m talking stuttering, frame drops that would make a rollercoaster look tame, and some seriously weird graphical glitches. I almost threw my keyboard. Seriously. It was frustrating. My average FPS was hovering around 30 - 40. Yikes.

My First Attempt: Tweaking Settings

So, naturally, I started tweaking settings. Lowered shadows, turned off ray tracing (duh!), messed with the texture quality… you name it, I fiddled with it. Slowly, slowly, things started improving. I managed to get it somewhat playable at 1080p with a mix of low and medium settings. But even then, it wasn't perfect. I still experienced some random stuttering, especially in more densely populated areas. It was playable, but far from ideal.

Second Attempt: DLSS to the Rescue?

Next, I tried DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling). This was a game changer. With DLSS set to Quality mode, I was able to hit a fairly consistent 60fps, and the image quality wasn't too bad at all. It definitely smoothed things out significantly. It made a huge difference, it really did. So yeah, if you're struggling with performance, give DLSS a try. It might save your sanity, just like it did mine.

Lessons Learned (the hard way!)

This whole experience taught me a few things. Firstly, always manage your expectations, especially with a highly anticipated title like this. Secondly, don't be afraid to mess around with graphics settings. Experimenting is key. Finally, DLSS is your friend, especially if you're not running top-tier hardware.

Overall, while the initial experience was rough, the Day 0 patch did some good. With a little tweaking and the help of DLSS, Stalker 2 became playable on my system. It’s still not perfect, and some optimization might be needed, but it was a playable experience. Now, I’m off to explore the Zone! Wish me luck. I'll report back if I encounter any more game-breaking glitches. Let me know your experiences in the comments below!