Fix: DayZ Stuttering, Lags and Freezing on PC

Bohemia Interactive has done a great job by releasing DayZ as a multiplayer zombies survival video game in the post-apocalyptic world back in 2018. This game has received positive responses from players and critics over a period of time. It seems that plenty of DayZ players are experiencing stuttering, freezing or lagging issues on the PC. After working for several years on this game, the initial response by the players or critics wasn’t positive enough. Luckily, devs have fixed plenty of issues recently.

Not a single video game is free from errors or bugs no matter whatever device you’re using. Lags or stutters are quite common among PC games and the same thing is happening with the DayZ game. Though we’re expecting that developers will soon come up with more patch updates to resolve plenty of other issues, we’ve mentioned all the possible workarounds below that should gonna help you out. So, without further ado, let’s jump into it.

Fix: DayZ Stuttering or Lagging on PC

It’s worth mentioning that there are a couple of possible reasons behind such an issue which should be fixed manually. Sometimes compatibility issues, in-game settings, or even issues with the game files may cause stuttering or lagging issues on the PC. It’s better to check out all the steps below.

1. Use Launch Options

• Open your Steam client > Go to Library > Right-click on DayZ.
• 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.
• If there is an update available, it’ll automatically download and install the latest version.
• Once done, make sure to reboot your computer to change effects.

3. Run the game as an administrator

Make sure to run the game exe file as an administrator to avoid user account control regarding privilege issues. You should also run the Steam client as an administrator on your PC. To do this:

• Right-click on DayZ 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 DayZ game task.
• Select Set Priority to High.
• Close Task Manager.
• Finally, run DayZ 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:

• Launch Steam > Click on Library.
• Right-click on DayZ 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.

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 ‘DayZ’ 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 DayZ game directory.
• Find and right-click on the DayZ.exe file.
• Select Properties > Click on the Compatibility tab.
• Checkmark the ‘Disable Full-Screen Optimizations’ box.
• Now, click on the ‘Change high DPI settings 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 DayZ

If in case, you haven’t updated your DayZ 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:

• Open the Steam client > Go to Library > Click on DayZ from the left pane.
• It’ll automatically search for the available update. If there is an update available, make sure to click on Update.
• It may take some time to install the update > Once done, make sure to close the Steam client.
• Finally, reboot your PC to apply changes, and then try launching the game again.

This is how you can easily fix DayZ Stuttering and Lags on the PC.

That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.