Fix: Dead By Daylight Stuttering, Lags, or Freezing constantly

Behaviour Interactive Inc. released Dead By Daylight in 2016, which has received many positive reviews on multiple platforms. It’s a multiplayer asymmetric survival horror video game available for PS4, Xbox One, Windows, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, etc platforms.

To run Dead By Daylight smoothly on a PC, you need a powerful hardware configuration. Unfortunately, many players face issues like stuttering, lags, crashes, and frame drops during gameplay. These issues can be severe, depending on the compatibility factor, and may prevent you from enjoying the game at its fullest. However, you can fix these problems and play the game with a respectable FPS count by following the steps we’ve provided in this guide. There may be several reasons behind these issues, but we have outlined effective solutions to help you resolve them.

Check System Requirements

Check out the system requirements of the Dead By Daylight game below to ensure whether your PC configuration is meeting the game’s system requirements or not.

Minimum System Requirements:

OS: Windows 10 64-bit Operating System
Processor: Intel Core i3-4170 or AMD FX-8120
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: DX11 Compatible GeForce GTX 460 1GB or AMD HD 6850 1GB
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 50 GB available space
Sound Card: DX11 compatible

Recommended System Requirements:

OS: Windows 10 64-bit Operating System
Processor: Intel Core i3-4170 or AMD FX-8300 or higher
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: DX11 Compatible GeForce 760 or AMD HD 8800 or higher with 4GB of RAM
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 50 GB available space
Sound Card: DX11 compatible

Fix: Dead By Daylight Stuttering and Lags Badly

Fixing in-game lags or frame drop issues isn’t easy because it depends on multiple factors, such as PC hardware, the display resolution of the game, maximum FPS limit count, conflicting third-party apps, and more. So, we will recommend you try following all the methods one by one until the problem gets fixed or reduced a lot. Changing the in-game graphics-related settings or keeping them low can fix several problems in a jiffy.

It may include the Screen Resolution of the game, in-game Texture Resolution, Shadow Resolution, Maximum Frame rate, number of Characters Displayed, or other visual effects that require higher graphics or memory. So, you can follow the steps below to try reducing the lags or frame drops to some extent, depending on which resolution and quality you’re playing the game apart from FPS count.

1. Use Launch Options

Open your Steam client > Go to Library > Right-click on Dead By Daylight.
Select Properties > On the General tab, you’ll find Launch Options.
Enter the launch options -fullscreen = Forces the engine to start in fullscreen mode.

2. Update Graphics Drivers

Right-click on the Start Menu to open up the Quick Access Menu.
Click on Device Manager from the list.
Now, double-click on the Display Adapters category to expand the list.
Then, right-click on the dedicated graphics card name.
Select Update driver > Choose Search automatically for drivers.
An update will automatically download and install the latest version if available.
Once done, make sure to reboot your computer to change the effects.

3. Run the game as an administrator

Run the game exe file as an administrator to avoid user account control regarding privilege issues. It would be best if you also ran the Steam client as an administrator on your PC. To do this:

Right-click on the Dead By Daylight exe shortcut file on your PC.
Now, select Properties > Click on the Compatibility tab.
Make sure to click on the Run this program as an administrator checkbox to checkmark it.
Click on Apply and select OK to save changes.

4. Set High Priority in Task Manager

Make your game priority in the higher segment via the Task Manager to tell your Windows system to run the game properly. To do this:

Right-click on the Start Menu > Select Task Manager.
Click on the Processes tab > Right-click on the Dead By Daylight game task.
Select Set Priority to High.
Close Task Manager.
Finally, run the Dead By Daylight game to check for the issue.

5. Verify Integrity of Game Files

If, in case, there is an issue with the game files and somehow it gets corrupted or missing then make sure to perform this method to easily check for the issue. To do so:

Steam Users:

Launch Steam > Click on Library.
Right-click on Dead By Daylight from the list of installed games.
Now, click on Properties > Go to Local Files.
Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
You’ll have to wait for the process until it gets completed.
Once done, just restart your computer.

Epic Users:

Start by launching the Epic Games Launcher on your PC.
Once the launcher is open, click on the ‘Library’ tab on the window’s left side. This will display all the games you have in your Epic Games account.
Scroll through your library and find the game you want to verify.
Click on the game to see its options. Look for the three dots or a gear icon near the game. Clicking this will open a drop-down menu.
In the drop-down menu, select ‘Verify.’ This will begin the process of checking your game files.
The launcher will now check your game files and compare them with the files on the server. If any discrepancies or corrupted files are found, the launcher will re-download and replace these files. This process can take some time, depending on the size of the game and your internet speed.
Once the verification is complete, you’ll receive a notification. If any files were missing or corrupted, they should now be fixed.
After verifying, try relaunching the game to see if the issue has been resolved.

This process is essential for resolving common issues like game crashes or corrupted files. By following these steps, users can ensure that their game files are intact and up-to-date, often fixing any problems they were experiencing with their games. Remember, this process might take some time, but it is a crucial step in troubleshooting game-related issues on the Epic Games Launcher.

6. Change GPU Settings

Make sure to change the graphics card settings on the PC by following the steps below to check if the problem has been fixed or not.

For Nvidia:

Open up Nvidia’s Control Panel > Right-click on the desktop screen.
Click on Nvidia Control Panel > Click on Manage 3D Settings.
Select Program Settings > Find ‘Dead By Daylight’ and manually add the game if it’s not in the list:
- Monitor Tech: G-Sync (If available)
- Maximum Pre-rendered frames: 2
- Threaded optimization: On
- Power Management: Prefer Maximum Performance
- Texture Filtering – Quality: Performance

For AMD:

Monitor Tech: G-Sync (If available)
Maximum Pre-rendered frames: 2
Threaded optimization: On
Power Management: Prefer Maximum Performance
Texture Filtering – Quality: Performance

7. Disable Fullscreen Optimizations

Full-screen optimization and DPI settings are the default ones on Windows. You should try disabling it by following the steps below:

Locate the Dead By Daylight game directory.
Find and right-click on the Dead By Daylight.exe file.
Select Properties > Click on the Compatibility tab.
Checkmark the ‘Disable Full-Screen Optimizations’ box.
Now, click on the ‘Change high DPI setting button.
Checkmark the ‘Override high DPI scaling behavior’ > Select ‘Application’ from the drop-down menu.
Click on Apply and then OK to save changes.

8. Update Dead By Daylight

If in case, you haven’t updated your Dead By Daylight game for a while then make sure to follow the steps below to check for updates and install the latest patch (if available). To do this: