PC stutter and low FPS: what to test first

Start by separating a low frame rate from short hitches at an otherwise acceptable frame rate. Record your current settings, turn off Frame Generation for the comparison, and repeat the same short scene after changing one setting.

For consistently low FPS, begin with Quality Preset and the upscaling controls. For movement that still hitches at a satisfactory frame rate, compare Display Mode, then your frame limit and VSync. Keep a change only if the same scene improves without an unacceptable loss of clarity or responsiveness.

Set up a useful comparison

If you are using Windowed or Borderless mode, try Full Screen first. Rebel Wolves identifies stuttering in those modes as a known issue and recommends launching in Full Screen as a workaround. This is still listed among issues under investigation, so compare the same movement before treating it as resolved. See the official fixes and known issues, checked 6 September 2026.

If the game crashes while compiling shaders, use the shader-compilation entry in that official notice and its linked hardware guidance. A crash before gameplay needs a different investigation from low FPS in a running scene.

Take screenshots of Display and Video before changing them. Record your resolution, upscaling technology and mode, Frame Generation, frame limit and VSync. Keep any graphics-driver overrides the same during this first comparison.

Choose a short, repeatable section of your current game: look around, move through the area and try the action that feels uneven. Compare the same location, camera movement and game conditions. If the problem appears at night or in a busy fight, a quiet daytime view is only a preliminary check.

Use your existing FPS counter if you have one. Note both the reported rate and what happens when you move: a useful result must improve the experience you are trying to fix. A higher number alone does not establish that a hitch has gone away.

Disable Frame Generation while establishing this baseline. The game describes it as adding generated frames to the displayed count. Its FSR guidance specifically calls for the game to run at at least 60 FPS before enabling FSR Frame Generation. Test your underlying performance first, then compare Frame Generation separately if your hardware offers it.

Pick the next test by symptom

FPS stays low through the scene

First testLower Quality Preset by one available step. Keep resolution and upscaling unchanged.

Then decideIf the scene improves enough, restore individual quality settings one at a time to find an acceptable visual balance.

Low FPS persists and you have a supported upscaler

First testChoose an available Upscaling Technology, then compare its Upscaling Mode.

Then decideKeep the mode only if the gain is useful and fine detail remains readable.

The average seems acceptable, but movement hitches

First testIn Display Mode, compare fullscreen with your current borderless or windowed mode.

Then decideRepeat the same movement; revert if it makes no useful difference. This is a comparison, not a promise of a fix.

The rate fluctuates above and below the level you find comfortable

First testCompare a lower frame cap using Frame Rate Limit and Maximum FPS.

Then decideKeep it if movement becomes more consistent; a cap does not supply frames the machine cannot render.

A horizontal break appears as the camera moves

First testCompare VSync on and off.

Then decideIts stated purpose is matching frame rate to monitor refresh to remove tearing. Compare responsiveness as well as the image.

Motion becomes softer or fine details shimmer after an upscaling change

First testMove Upscaling Mode toward image quality, or compare native rendering.

Then decideRetain the clearer option if its performance is acceptable.

The game crashes before you can make the comparison

First testRecord the exact error and where startup stops.

Then decideUse the game’s current support guidance; this in-game settings sequence cannot diagnose a startup crash.

Change one control, apply it, and repeat the scene before choosing another. If you also changed a driver setting or installed a modification, return to the recorded baseline before attributing the result to one in-game option.

Know what each quality change costs

The Video menu distinguishes image quality, GPU workload and video-memory use. Use those descriptions to choose a test that matches what you are willing to give up. They do not establish a universal ranking of which setting will gain the most FPS on your PC.

Video setting	What changes
Shadow Quality	Adjust shadow resolution and accuracy. Higher settings look cleaner but come at a performance cost.
Light Quality	Adjust lighting detail and effects. Higher settings improve realism but increase GPU workload.
Reflections Quality	Adjust the quality of reflections. Higher settings improve realism but increase GPU workload.
Texture Quality	Adjust texture resolution. Higher settings bring out fine detail but require more VRAM; lower settings load lower resolution textures and miss some details but take less VRAM.
Foliage Quality	Adjust the density and detail of vegetation. Higher settings improve scene richness but raise CPU and GPU workload.
Detail Quality	Adjust the level of fine details. On lower settings fog details, foliage, amount of destructible objects, amount of environmental visual effects, finer details of scenes, and simulation effects will be greatly reduced or removed.
Volumetric Quality	Adjust the resolution and complexity of fog, clouds, and other volumetric effects. Higher settings enhance visual quality, but may reduce performance.

If lowering the overall preset helps, this table gives you a way to restore the details you care about. For example, restore Texture Quality separately when you want clearer surfaces, then repeat the scene: the menu explicitly identifies higher VRAM use as its cost. Do not restore every setting at once and lose track of which change affected the result.

For lighting or shadow changes, compare a view where those effects matter to you. Repeat the check in the night or busy-area conditions that originally caused trouble. A setting that looks similar in one daylight view can still change the appearance elsewhere.

Use upscaling and generated frames separately

Upscaling Technology chooses the method; Upscaling Mode chooses its internal-resolution tradeoff. The game lists native rendering, DLSS, FSR and XeSS, with availability depending on hardware. Quality modes favour clarity; performance modes favour frame rate.

If the mode control is unavailable, check whether you selected an upscaling technology first. If a technology is absent, use an option your menu actually offers. Selecting a named method in a guide does not make unsupported hardware compatible.

Once the baseline is satisfactory, test Frame Generation separately. The menu marks it experimental. Its DLSS Frame Generation description names GeForce RTX 40 Series and newer; its FSR guidance calls for at least 60 FPS beforehand. If enabling it raises the counter but your original hitch or input problem remains, it has not passed this comparison.

Decide when to stop tweaking

Keep the smallest set of changes that helps your original symptom. Repeat the troublesome scene once more, then check a second scene you actually play. Record the retained settings so a later update or reset does not leave you guessing.

If a change does nothing useful, restore it before the next test. If fullscreen, a suitable quality/upscaling comparison and the cap/VSync checks still leave the same hitches, stop cycling through presets. Prepare a report with:

CPU, GPU, RAM and display resolution.
Game update and graphics-driver version.
Your recorded Display and Video settings, including Frame Generation and any overrides.
The exact place or action that reproduces the hitch, and whether it occurs consistently.
The individual changes tried and what improved, worsened or stayed the same.

Check the current known-issues discussion and attach those observations when asking for help. Save the baseline screenshots so you can restore your preferred image settings. A firmware update, cache deletion or third-party modification is a separate intervention; the comparisons above do not establish that you need one.

When movement is stable but fights are still difficult, use the combat troubleshooting guide to distinguish missed directions, exhausted stamina and healing preparation from a performance problem.