If you’re experiencing Dota 2 FPS drops on your Windows computer, don’t worry. Although it’s incredibly frustrating, you’re not the only one to experience this issue. Lots of Dota 2 players have recently reported the very same issue. The good news is that you should be able to fix it pretty easily…
Try these fixes:
Here’s a list of fixes that have resolved this problem for other Dota 2 players. You don’t have to try them all. Just work your way through the list until you find the one that does the trick for you.
- Verify the game files
- Update your drivers
- Install the latest game patch
- Turn off the Steam Overlay
- Modify Steam launch options for Dota 2
- Modify the graphics settings
- Set Dota 2 to High priority
- Restrict applications and downloads in the background
- Set the Power Plan of your PC for Best Performance
Fix 1: Verify the game files
You should ensure that the game files are not corrupted, since corrupted game files might lead to FPS drops in Dota 2. To fix FPS drops caused by corrupted game files, you can verify the integrity of game files in Steam. Here is how to do it:
- In Steam, navigate to the LIBRARY tab and right-click on Dota 2. Then select Properties.
- Go to the LOCAL FILES section, then click Verify the integrity of game files.
- It may take some time to finish verifying the game files.
Launch Dota 2 after the verifying process is completed to see if this fix works. If not, try the next fix, below.
Fix 2: Update your drivers
The outdated or faulty graphics driver may be causing the Dota 2 FPS dropping issue. If you haven’t updated your graphics driver for a long time, you should update or reinstall the driver.
There are mainly two methods for you to update the graphics driver:
Manually – To update your graphics driver to the latest version, you’ll need to visit the manufacturer’s website, download the exact driver, and then install it manually.
Automatically – If you don’t have the time, patience or computer skills to update your drivers manually, you can, instead, do it automatically with Driver Easy.
Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct drivers for it. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to be troubled by the wrong driver you would be downloading, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing. Driver Easy handles it all.
You can update your drivers automatically with either the 7 days free trial or the Pro version of Driver Easy. It takes just 2 clicks, and you get full support and a 30-day money-back guarantee with the Pro version:
- Download and install Driver Easy.
- Run Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
- Click the Activate & Update button next to the flagged device to automatically download and install the correct version of this driver.
Or click Update All to automatically download and install the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system (You’ll need the Pro version for this – when you select Update All, you’ll get a prompt to upgrade. If you’re not prepared to purchase the Pro version yet, Driver Easy provides a 7-day trial at no cost, granting access to all Pro features like fast downloads and easy installation. No charges will occur until after your 7-day trial period ends.)
- Restart your computer for the change to take effect.
Fix 3: Install the latest game patch
The developers of Dota 2 release regular game patches to fix bugs and improve gaming performance. It’s possible that a recent patch has caused the game crash issue, and that a new patch is required to fix it.
If a patch is available, it will be detected by Steam, and the latest game patch will be automatically downloaded and installed when you launch the game.
Run Dota 2 again to see whether the FPS is back to normal. If it didn’t work, or there was no new game patch available, move on to the next fix, below.
Fix 4: Turn off the Steam Overlay
If you have the Steam Overlay turned on and FPS drops while playing Dota 2, just try disabling Steam Overlay for Dota 2 to see FPS increases. Here is how to do it:
- Launch Steam and navigate to the LIBRARY tab. right-click on Dota 2. Then select Properties.
- In the GENERAL section, Uncheck Enable Steam Overlay while in-game.
Launch Dota 2 to see if the game runs smoothly. If the issue persists, try the next fix, below.
Fix 5: Modify Steam launch options for Dota 2
You can also try using Steam launch options for Dota 2. If you want a full FPS boost, you can follow the steps below to Launch the game:
- Launch the Steam client and go to Steam Library. Right-click on Dota 2 and select Properties.
- In the GENERAL section, enter the command into the textbox under SET LAUNCH OPTIONS.
-map dota -high -dx11 +fps_max #
Explanation:
-map dota: lets Steam load the Dota 2 map right when you launch the game.
-high: gives Dota 2 high priority CPU usage.
-dx11: forces your Windows OS run Dota 2 with the Direct3D (-dx11) rendering API. Use this command if your graphics card supports the rendering API DirectX 11.
+fps_max #: sets the maximum frame per second to the number that has been assigned. You can set the value # to 0 in order to uncap the FPS in the game, or let’s say 144 to cap your frame rate to a specific value. You can try to cap your frame rate to a value your computer can consistently hold.
Launch Dota 2 to see if you get a better FPS. If not, try the next fix, below.
Fix 6: Modify the graphics settings
If the FPS in Dota2 still doesn’t improve, you may need to modify the graphics settings. If you don’t know how, just follow the steps below.
Step 1: modify your graphics card settings
Firstly, you need to modify your graphics card settings. Just click on the graphics card you’re using to follow the step-by-step instructions:
Modify NVIDIA graphics card settings:
- On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to open the Run dialog. Then type control and press Enter to open the Control Panel.
- View the Control Panel by Large icons.
- Select NVIDIA Control Panel to open it.
- Click Manage 3D Settings on the left, then navigate to the Program Settings tab. In the Select a program to customize: part, add Dota 2 from the program list.
- In the Specify the settings for this program: part, modify the following settings:
CUDA – GPUs: set it to your dedicated GPU
Power management mode: set it to Prefer maximum performance
Texture filtering: set it to Performance - Click Apply to save the changes.
Modify AMD graphics card settings:
- On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to open the Run dialog. Then type control and press Enter to open the Control Panel.
- View the Control Panel by Large icons.
- Select your AMD Radeon Settings to open it.
- Go to Gaming > Global Settings. Then modify the settings the same way you see on the screenshot below.
Modify Intel graphics card settings:
- On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to open the Run dialog. Then type control and press Enter to open the Control Panel.
- View the Control Panel by Large icons.
- Select Intel Graphics Settings to open it.
- Click 3D to open the 3D settings.
- Click Scan to add the game to the application list.
- Modify the settings the same way you see in the screenshot below.
- Click Apply to save the settings.
Step 2: modify Windows OS graphics settings
To modify Windows OS graphics settings, follow the steps below:
On Windows 10
- On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and type graphics settings. Then select Graphics settings from the list of search results to open it.
- In the Graphics settings window, click Browse to open File Explorer. Then go to the drive where you save Dota 2 game files > Program Files (x86) or Program Files > Steam > steamapps > common > dota 2 beta > game > bin > win64.
- Select dota2.exe and click Add.
- Once added, click the Options button under dota2.exe, then select High performance and click Save.
On Windows 11
- On your keyboard, press the Windows key and the I key at the same time to open Settings.
- Select Gaming, and make sure that the toggle for Game Mode is set to On. Then click the Graphics tab.
- Select Dota 2 from the list of apps, and select High performance.
Step 3: Modify in-game graphics settings
Try lowering the in-game graphics setting to see if you’ll gain a FPS boost:
- Launch Dota 2 and click the cog icon on the upper-left corner to open game settings.
- Navigate to the VIDEO tab and follow the instructions below to modify the in-game graphics settings:
Resolution:
- Check Use advanced settings.
- Select the aspect ratio that suits your monitor.
- Size: Select a resolution that is high enough to have a great gaming experience and low enough to save a lot of resources that can be utilized by other settings. (e.g. 1920×1080)
- Display Mode: Borderless Window.
Click APPLY to save the changes.
Options:
Set the rendering API that is recommended by Steam.
Rendering:
Make sure to use advanced settings.
If your PC has some performance to spare, you can enable the following options:
- Normal Maps
- Ground Parallax
- Grass
- Specular
- Atmospheric Fog / Caustics
- Tree Wind
And disable the rest.
- Texture Quality: Med
- Effects Quality: Low
- Shadow Quality: Off
If you still experience FPS drops, consider lowering the following settings:
- Game Screen Render Quality: set to around 90%
- Maximum frames per second allowed: set to a value above the refresh rate of your monitor and below the maximum FPS you can get.
Fix 7: Set Dota 2 to High priority
By setting Dota 2 to High priority, you can allocate more resources to play in the game and it should increase your performance especially if you have other programs running in the background.
To set Dota 2 to High priority:
- Launch Dota 2.
- On your keyboard, press Ctrl, Shift and Esc at the same time to open Task Manager. You will be prompted for permission. Click Yes to open Task Manager.
- Navigate to the Detail tab. Right-click the process dota2.exe and select High.
Run Dota 2 to see if the in-game FPS improves. If the FPS is still the same, try the next fix, below.
Fix 8: Restrict applications and downloads in the background
The Dota 2 FPS drops issue may occur if too many applications or programs are running at the same time. So try restricting applications and downloads in the background before playing the game to see if this issue reappears. Here is how to do it:
- On your keyboard, press Ctrl, Shift and Esc at the same time to open Task Manager. You will be prompted for permission. Click Yes to open Task Manager.
- Select any other applications and programs that take up a large amount of CPU, memory and network and then click End task to close it.
Run Dota 2 again to see if you can play the game smoothly. if not, try the next fix, below.
Fix 9: Set the Power Plan of your PC for Best Performance
A power plan is a collection of hardware and system settings that manages how your computer uses power. Windows 10 allows you to customize the power plan on your PC.
In most cases, the power plan on PCs is configured to Balanced, which may limit the operating capacity of your graphics card and CPU.
If the power plan of your PC is Power saver or Balanced and you’re experiencing the FPS drops issue, try to change the Power Plan of your PC for Best Performance:
- On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time, then type powercfg.cpl and press Enter.
- In the pop-up window, expand Hide additional plans and select High performance.
Launch Dota 2 to see if you resolve the FPS drops issue.
Hopefully, this article helped you fix the FPS drops issue in Dota 2. If you have any questions or suggestions on this issue, you’re more than welcome to leave us a comment below. Thanks for reading!
