Performance Issue ARC Raiders

ARC Raiders Low FPS & Frame Drops - Performance Fix Guide

📅 Published: 2026-02-05 🔄 Updated: 2026-02-05 👥 Reports: 2 ⚡ Severity: 🟢 Low

🎯 Quick Answer

Force the game to use your dedicated NVIDIA GPU through Windows Graphics Settings and the NVIDIA Control Panel to resolve incorrect GPU selection, the most common cause of severe FPS drops.

SECTION 1: OVERVIEW

The performance degradation error in ARC Raiders manifests as sustained low frame rates and frequent frame drops below the display's refresh rate, despite meeting or exceeding the game's minimum and recommended system specifications. This error affects the Windows PC platform. It occurs across all publicly available game versions, including early access and subsequent updates. The error frequency is classified as common among systems with hybrid graphics configurations or specific driver versions. The severity impact is game-breaking, as sub-30 FPS performance severely hinders gameplay responsiveness and visual fluidity. No exact error codes are generated; the symptom is observed purely as a performance metric failure within the game engine's render pipeline.

SECTION 2: SYMPTOMS

The application renders frames at a consistently low rate, typically between 25-35 FPS, regardless of in-game graphical preset changes from Ultra to Low. Frame time inconsistency results in perceptible stuttering during character movement and camera panning. Performance monitoring software confirms high GPU utilization on an integrated graphics processor or low utilization on the primary dedicated GPU. The issue persists across different game modes and maps. Reducing the render resolution via external tools like the NVIDIA Control Panel fails to yield expected performance scaling, indicating a bottleneck unrelated to pixel throughput.

SECTION 3: COMMON CAUSES

Category: Configuration Error Specific technical explanation: Windows Graphics Settings or NVIDIA Optimus incorrectly assigns ARC Raiders' executable to use the integrated Intel UHD Graphics instead of the dedicated NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti. Why this causes the problem: The integrated GPU lacks the processing power for the target resolution and graphical features, creating an immediate and severe bottleneck. Category: Software Conflict Specific technical explanation: NVIDIA Display Container LS service or NVIDIA Overlay (ShadowPlay/Instant Replay) conflicts with the game's anti-cheat or rendering pipeline, causing intermittent thread stalls. Why this causes the problem: Background service interrupts introduce latency in the frame queue, manifesting as frame drops and inconsistent frame times. Category: Configuration Error Specific technical explanation: The game's internal render resolution scale is set above 100% despite a low graphical preset, or NVIDIA Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR) is active, forcing rendering at a higher resolution than displayed. Why this causes the problem: This silently increases the GPU workload beyond what the selected in-game resolution suggests, leading to unexpected performance loss. Category: Game Bug Specific technical explanation: The game engine fails to properly utilize multiple CPU cores, creating a single-thread bottleneck on the Intel i5-9600K despite acceptable overall CPU utilization. Why this causes the problem: Modern game engines require parallel processing; a main thread bottleneck limits draw call submission rate, capping FPS. Category: Configuration Error Specific technical explanation: Power management settings in Windows or the NVIDIA Control Panel are configured for "Optimal Power" or "Power Saver," preventing the GPU from reaching its maximum performance state. Why this causes the problem: The GPU clock speeds and voltage remain artificially low, unable to meet the performance demand of the game. Category: Software Conflict Specific technical explanation: Outdated or corrupted Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables or DirectX runtime components required by the game engine. Why this causes the problem: The game falls back to less optimized software rendering paths or encounters runtime library errors that degrade performance.

SECTION 4: SOLUTIONS

Solution 1: Enforce Dedicated GPU Usage

Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 5 minutes Success Rate: High Prerequisites: None Steps:

Press Windows Key + I to open Windows Settings. Navigate to System > Display > Graphics.
Click Browse under "Custom options for apps." Navigate to and select the ARC Raiders executable. The default path is typically C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\ARC Raiders\ArcRaiders.exe or the equivalent Epic Games Store installation path.
Click Options. In the pop-up window, select High performance and ensure the specific NVIDIA GPU (e.g., NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti) is listed. Click Save.
Open the NVIDIA Control Panel. Navigate to Manage 3D settings > Program Settings.
Select ARC Raiders from the dropdown menu or add its executable manually. Set Preferred graphics processor to High-performance NVIDIA processor. Set Power management mode to Prefer maximum performance. Click Apply.

Technical Explanation: This solution overrides the default Windows GPU assignment logic, forcing the discrete NVIDIA GPU to handle all rendering tasks for the game executable, eliminating the bottleneck caused by the integrated graphics. Verification: Launch ARC Raiders and open the in-game performance overlay or use MSI Afterburner/RivaTuner. Confirm the GPU utilization metric corresponds to the NVIDIA RTX 3070 Ti, not the Intel UHD Graphics.

Solution 2: Perform a Clean GPU Driver Reinstallation

Difficulty: Medium Time Required: 10 minutes Success Rate: High Prerequisites: Internet connection to download driver Steps:

Download the latest NVIDIA Game Ready Driver from the official NVIDIA website.
Download the Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) utility from https://www.guru3d.com/download/display-driver-uninstaller-download/.
Boot Windows into Safe Mode. Restart your PC, and during boot, press F8 or use System Configuration (msconfig) to set a Safe Mode boot.
Run DDU. Select NVIDIA as the device type and click Clean and restart.
After the PC restarts into normal Windows, install the previously downloaded NVIDIA driver. Select Custom (Advanced) installation and check the box for Perform a clean installation.

Technical Explanation: A clean installation removes corrupted driver files, registry entries, and old configuration profiles that can cause conflicts with the game's rendering API calls, ensuring a stable foundation. Verification: Check the NVIDIA Control Panel System Information to confirm the correct driver version is installed. Monitor for driver-related crashes or timeout errors in Windows Event Viewer under Windows Logs > System.

Solution 3: Optimize In-Game and Engine Configuration Files

Difficulty: Advanced Time Required: 15 minutes Success Rate: Medium Prerequisites: Text editor (Notepad++ recommended) Steps:

Navigate to the game's configuration directory. The typical path is C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\ARC Raiders\Saved\Config\WindowsClient.
Open GameUserSettings.ini in a text editor.
Locate the [ScalabilityGroups] section. Ensure the following lines are present and set as below:

` sg.ResolutionQuality=100.000000 sg.ViewDistanceQuality=0 sg.AntiAliasingQuality=0 sg.ShadowQuality=0 sg.PostProcessQuality=0 sg.TextureQuality=0 sg.EffectsQuality=0 sg.FoliageQuality=0 sg.ShadingQuality=0 `

Add or modify the following lines in the [/Script/ARC Raiders.ARC RaidersGameUserSettings] section:

` bUseVSync=False FrameRateLimit=0.000000 bUseDynamicResolution=False `

Save the file. Right-click the file, select Properties, and check Read-only to prevent the game from overwriting your changes.
In the same directory, open Engine.ini. Add the following lines at the end of the file:

` [SystemSettings] r.TextureStreaming=False r.Streaming.PoolSize=4096 r.ShaderPipelineCache.Enabled=True `

Save the Engine.ini file.

Technical Explanation: Manually editing the configuration files enforces low-level graphical settings, disables frame rate limiters and dynamic resolution, and allocates a fixed texture pool, reducing runtime configuration overhead and CPU-side management tasks. Verification: Launch the game. The in-game settings menu will reflect the low preset. The frame rate cap and V-Sync options will be disabled. Performance monitoring will show consistent GPU utilization.

Solution 4: Adjust Windows Performance and Power Settings

Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 5 minutes Success Rate: Medium Prerequisites: Admin rights recommended Steps:

Press Windows Key + R, type powercfg.cpl, and press Enter.
Select the High performance power plan. If not visible, click Create a power plan on the left, choose High performance, and name it.
Click Change plan settings next to the High performance plan, then Change advanced power settings.
Expand Processor power management. Set Minimum processor state to 100% and Maximum processor state to 100%.
Expand PCI Express > Link State Power Management and set it to Off.
In the NVIDIA Control Panel under Manage 3D settings > Global Settings, ensure Power management mode is set to Prefer maximum performance.

Technical Explanation: This prevents the CPU and PCIe bus from downclocking or entering low-power states during gameplay, eliminating micro-stutters caused by latency spikes when the hardware ramps up from an idle state. Verification: Use CPU monitoring software like HWiNFO64 to observe CPU core clock speeds during gameplay. They should remain at or near their maximum turbo frequency without significant dips.

Solution 5: Disable Background Services and Overlays

Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 5 minutes Success Rate: Medium Prerequisites: None Steps:

Open the GeForce Experience application. Navigate to Settings (gear icon) and disable In-Game Overlay.
Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. Navigate to the Startup tab. Disable non-essential applications like Discord, Steam (if not launching the game through it), and various hardware utility overlays.
Press Windows Key + R, type msconfig, and press Enter. Go to the Services tab. Check Hide all Microsoft services. Review the list and disable services for non-essential peripheral software (e.g., RGB lighting controllers, third-party monitoring tools). Click Apply and restart when prompted.

Technical Explanation: Overlays hook into the DirectX/Vulkan rendering pipeline, introducing additional present-time latency. Background services compete for CPU time and can cause thread scheduling conflicts with the game's main render thread. Verification: Monitor CPU usage in Task Manager's Details tab while the game is running. The overall background CPU usage should be below 5%.

Solution 6: Repair System Runtime Libraries

Difficulty: Medium Time Required: 10 minutes Success Rate: Low Prerequisites: Internet connection, Admin rights Steps:

Press Windows Key + X and select Windows Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin).
Execute the System File Checker command: sfc /scannow. Allow the scan to complete and repair any corrupted system files.
Download the latest Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable package from the official Microsoft website. The all-in-one installer from https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x64.exe is recommended.
Run the installer. It will repair or update all Visual C++ runtime libraries.
For DirectX, run the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer (dxwebsetup.exe). This will update only missing components.

Technical Explanation: Game executables are linked against specific versions of Visual C++ and DirectX runtimes. Missing or corrupted DLL files force the OS to use incompatible versions, leading to suboptimal performance paths and instability. Verification: Check the C:\Windows\System32 directory for key DLLs like vcruntime140.dll and d3d12.dll to confirm they have recent version dates. The game should launch without generating runtime library error pop-ups.

SECTION 5: PREVENTION

Maintain system stability by scheduling monthly clean GPU driver installations using DDU. Configure the Windows Power Plan and NVIDIA Global 3D settings to "High performance" as a permanent profile. After every game update, verify that the GPU assignment in Windows Graphics Settings remains correctly set to the dedicated NVIDIA processor. Monitor system thermals using HWiNFO64 to ensure no thermal throttling occurs; sustained temperatures above 85°C for GPU or 80°C for CPU necessitate cooling system maintenance. Create backups of functional GameUserSettings.ini and Engine.ini files before applying new game patches.

SECTION 6: WHEN TO CONTACT SUPPORT

Contact Embark Studios support if all documented solutions fail and performance monitoring confirms 99% GPU utilization on the correct NVIDIA GPU with sustained low FPS, indicating a potential game engine bug specific to your hardware combination. Provide the full diagnostic report from the in-game feedback tool, located in the game's installation directory under \ARC Raiders\Saved\Logs. Include the DxDiag report generated by running dxdiag and selecting Save All Information. Official support channels are accessible through the ARC Raiders website or the game's official Discord server, listed under the "Support" category.