Fix: World of Warcraft Stuttering, Lags, or Freezing constantly

Blizzard Entertainment is a well-known game developer that creates action-packed video games and RPG titles. One of their most popular games is World of Warcraft, which was first launched in 2004 and still has a dedicated following among players. However, some PC players have reported experiencing stuttering, lagging, and freezing problems after a recent update.

Running the game requires a sufficiently powerful hardware configuration, especially for PC since not everyone may have adequate hardware to run the game in full resolution with higher FPS. This is a common issue for most PC titles since they are performance-hungry. If you are experiencing issues with Marauder’s Stuttering and lag, we can help you resolve them with the following steps.

It’s unfortunate that some World of Warcraft PC players are experiencing multiple issues like stuttering, lagging, crashes, and frame drops while in gameplay. Depending on compatibility, these issues can severely impact some PCs. It’s always better to fix the issue so that you can play the game with a respectable FPS count. There may be several reasons behind such issues, which can be resolved by following this guide.

Check System Requirements

Check out the system requirements of the World of Warcraft game below to ensure that your PC configuration is meeting the game’s system requirements.

Fix: World of Warcraft 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 recommend you try following all the methods one by one until the problem gets fixed or reduced. 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 up to some extent depending on which resolution and quality you’re playing the game, apart from FPS count.

1. 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.

2. 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 Battle.net client as an administrator on your PC. To do this:

• Right-click on the World of Warcraft 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.

3. 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 World of Warcraft game task.
• Select Set Priority to High.
• Close Task Manager.
• Finally, run the World of Warcraft game to check for the issue.

4. Verify the Integrity of Game Files

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

1. Launch the Battle.net client on your PC.
2. Now, click on the World of Warcraft icon you’re trying to repair.
3. Click on the cogwheel icon (settings) next to the Play button.
4. Select Scan and Repair > Click on Begin Scan.
5. Wait for the repair to finish > Once done, close the Battle.net desktop and reboot the PC to apply changes.

5. Change GPU Settings

Make sure to change the graphics card settings on the PC by following the steps below to check whether the problem has been fixed.

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 ‘World of Warcraft’ 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

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

7. Update World of Warcraft

If, in case, you haven’t updated you’re World of Warcraft 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 Battle.net desktop app on your PC.
• Now, click on the World of Warcraft icon you’re trying to repair.
• Click on the cogwheel icon (settings) next to the Play button.
• Finally, select Check for Updates and wait for the process to be completed. [If there is an update available, make sure to download and install the game update]

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