Armored Core 6 Performance Guide: Stuttering, Low FPS Fix

Ah, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, where high-speed mech warfare meets unparalleled gameplay experience! There's nothing quite like donning that virtual pilot suit and blasting away in your customized mecha—until you're hit by performance issues in Armored Core 6 like stuttering, low FPS, and frame drops. It's like piloting a jet with the speed of a tricycle. Unbearable! Fear not, warrior; this guide aims to tackle precisely those issues. Here, we'll dissect various ways to boost your FPS and fix performance hitches step-by-step, because nothing should come between you and your well-earned victory.

How to Boost FPS and Fix Performance Issues like Stuttering, Low Frame Rate, Frame Drops in Armored Core 6

Before you delve deeper into the warzone, let's get that mecha running smoothly. We're going to take you through a list of essential fixes to eradicate low FPS, stuttering, and frame drops in Armored Core 6.

1. GPU Drivers

Keeping your graphics drivers up-to-date is a golden rule for gaming. Outdated drivers are often the culprit behind low FPS and stuttering in Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon.

NVIDIA users: You can download the latest drivers here.
AMD users: Get the latest drivers from AMD’s website.
Intel users: Your latest drivers can be found here.

2. Best NVIDIA Control Panel Settings

Right-click on your desktop and select NVIDIA Control Panel.
Go to 'Manage 3D settings' and click on the 'Program Settings' tab.
Choose Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon from the list.
Set 'Power Management Mode' to 'Prefer Maximum Performance'
Set 'Texture Filtering Quality' to 'High Performance'
Turn off 'Vertical Sync'

3. Best AMD Software Settings

Open AMD Radeon Software.
Navigate to the Gaming section and select Armored Core 6.
Turn off Chill and Enhanced Sync
Set Texture Filtering Quality to Performance.

4. Intel Hyperthreading

Disabling hyperthreading has worked like a charm for some Armored Core 6 players, mitigating all stuttering and frame drop issues and making the game actually playable.

Restart your PC and enter BIOS setup (usually by pressing F2, F10, or Del).
Locate the CPU settings section.
Find the 'Hyperthreading' option and disable it.
Save changes and restart.

5. Disabling Easy Anti-Cheat

Sometimes, third-party programs like Easy Anti-Cheat can interfere with your Armored Core 6, causing performance hiccups like stuttering. If you've exhausted all other options and are still facing issues in Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, disabling Easy Anti-Cheat might just be your saving grace. Here's how to do it:

Navigate to the location where you've installed ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON in your Steam library. Usually, it will be something like this: ...\steamapps\common\ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON\Game

Once you're in the game's directory, locate the file named start_protected_game.exe. Rename this to something else; for instance, backup.bkp
Now, find another file named armoredcore6.exe. Rename this file to start_protected_game.exe

Once you've made these changes, simply run the game through Steam as you normally would.

By following these steps, you disable Easy Anti-Cheat from running when you launch Armored Core 6. While this might be helpful in resolving performance issues like stuttering, low FPS, or frame drops, please note that disabling anti-cheat features could limit your ability to play online multiplayer modes. Use this fix at your own risk and ensure you're not violating the game's terms of service.

6. Disabling CPU 0

If you're running Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon on a CPU below the 12th generation, you may still encounter stuttering and performance hitches even after applying previous fixes. Another solution involves setting CPU affinity in Task Manager. However, this action requires turning off Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC), which you can do by following the steps in the "Disabling Easy Anti-Cheat" section.

Step-by-Step Guide to Disable CPU 0

Open Task Manager (you can do this by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc simultaneously or by right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting Task Manager).
Navigate to the Details tab.
Find Armored Core VI in the list of processes, right-click it, and select Set Affinity.
In the Set Affinity window, you'll see a list of CPUs that the game is utilizing. Untick CPU 0 from this list.
Click OK to confirm the changes.

Important Notes

Remember, this setting is not persistent and will need to be reapplied every time you launch Armored Core 6. Also, keep in mind that since you'll be disabling Easy Anti-Cheat to apply this fix, you may not be able to play online multiplayer modes. Proceed with caution and be aware that you might be violating the game's terms of service.

7. Intelligent Standby List Cleaner

If you've been dealing with stuttering or frame drops in Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, then Intelligent Standby List Cleaner (ISLC) could be your knight in shining armor. This utility frees up your system’s RAM, which can significantly reduce performance issues.

Here's how to fine-tune ISLC for Armored Core 6:

Download and Install

First off, download Intelligent Standby List Cleaner from Wagnardsoft’s website.

Run the Program

After installing, run ISLC as an administrator (right-click the application and choose 'Run as administrator').

Configure Settings

You'll notice various options on the ISLC interface. We'll focus on the most relevant ones:
- Total System Memory: This shows your total RAM. Don't touch this.
- Free Memory is Lower Than: This is where you specify a threshold for free memory. When your free memory drops below this, ISLC will begin its cleaning process. Setting it to 1024 MB is usually a safe bet.
- Standby List Memory is Greater Than: This defines another threshold. When your standby memory reaches this amount, the cleaner will be triggered. A setting of 1024 MB or 2048 MB generally works well here.
- Polling Rate: This specifies how often ISLC will check the system's memory status. The default 500ms is usually sufficient.

Additional Options

There are two checkboxes at the bottom:
- Enable Custom Timer Resolution: This can make your system’s timer more precise, which can be beneficial for some games. It's worth toggling this option on and off to see if it helps.
- Start ISLC Minimized: If you'd rather not see ISLC every time you boot up your PC, check this box to start the program minimized to the taskbar.

Start the Cleaning

Finally, click on the 'Start' button. This will activate ISLC, and it will start monitoring and cleaning based on the thresholds you’ve set. You can minimize the application; it will keep running in the background.

By properly setting up Intelligent Standby List Cleaner, you're giving your Armored Core 6 experience a fighting chance against stuttering and frame drops. This utility might just provide that performance edge you've been missing. So go ahead, set up ISLC and reclaim the battlefield, Pilot!

8. Best Graphics Settings for Performance

Ready to supercharge your mech's battlefield performance? Optimizing your graphics settings in Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon can do wonders to keep those FPS numbers high and stuttering at bay. Let's dig into the settings you should tweak for the best gameplay experience.

Navigate to System > Graphics Settings in Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon and adhere to the following:

Set Screen Mode to Fullscreen.
Limit Frame Rate to 120.
Turn off V-Sync and HDR.
Turning on "Auto-Detect Best Rendering Settings" may seem like a quick way to optimize performance, but be cautious. For some Armored Core 6 players, enabling this feature has led to stuttering and sudden frame drops. If you experience such issues, it's best to disable this setting.
Depending on your system capabilities, set Quality Settings to High or lower.
For more detailed tuning, click 'Edit' next to "Quality Settings (Detailed)" and adjust as needed.
Absolutely turn off "Ray Tracing Quality"

Other settings that can severely impact your performance include Volumetric Fog Quality, Shadow Quality, Lighting Quality, Shader Quality, and depending on your VRAM, Texture Quality. So you should lower them to boost the performance in Armored Core 6.

By the end of this guide, you should be flying high and smooth in your mech. So go on, unleash the true potential of Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon without any stuttering, low FPS, or annoying frame drops. War awaits, Pilot!