Fix: DotA 2 FPS drop on Windows 10/11 [2022 Guide]
- If you played Dota 2 and your FPS happened to drop, then one cause could be that your drivers are out of date.
- Try using the dedicated tool we recommend in our guide to scan your system and provide the necessary updates.
- A problematic factor is the Steam app, so you should definitely check the video settings.
Dota 2 is a highly addictive game, but sometimes the gaming experience is affected by various problems.
In this article, we’re going to focus on FPS (frames per second or frame rate) issues and list a series of quick workarounds that you can use to fix them and improve Dota 2’s performance.
What causes a FPS drop when playing Dota 2?
As you will see from our guide below, there is a myriad of possible causes for FPS dropping in Dota 2.
However, most of them are related to graphics drivers or 3D settings but they may also originate from the Xbox or Steam apps.
Also, Dota 2 can be a pretty demanding game for older PCs with lower configurations so first of all, make sure that your machine is on par with the system requirements listed in the screenshot above.
The following solutions are suitable for micro stutters, low FPS issues, and graphical glitches, which appear especially when you play a game on your PC.
How do I fix Dota 2 FPS issues in Windows 10 & 11?
1. Check your drivers for updates
1.1. Perform a manual update
- Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager from the list.
- Right-click on the device from the list and select Update driver.
- Select Search automatically for updated driver software.
- If Windows doesn’t find the updates, then you need to go to the manufacturer’s official site and download the new files from there.
Performing a manual update of your Windows 10 system is an efficient solution to get your device running smoothly again and also repair certain errors like the one you encounter in Dota.
1.2. Use an advanced tool
A great solution for the Dota FPS problem is a professional tool that is able to scan your PC for out-of-date drivers and provide you with a detailed report on every issue found.
Big-time gaming can be done without crashes, lags or freezes by keeping all drivers up to date and error-free. Manual checks are hard to perform, that’s why we recommend using an automate assistant that will scan for fresh driver versions daily. Here is how to use it:
- Download and install DriverFix.
- Launch the software.
- Wait for the newly installed app to detect all your PC’s faulty drivers.
- You will be presented with a list of all the drivers that have issues, and you can choose the ones that you want to fix.
- Wait for the driver download and fixing process to complete.
- Restart your PC for the changes to take effect.
DriverFix
Do not let a bad driver interfere with your games and installed software. Use DriverFix today and run them without a single issue.
Disclaimer: this program needs to be upgraded from the free version in order to perform some specific actions.
2. Fix Dota 2 capped FPS
2.1 Disable the Xbox app in Windows
- Right click the Start button and select Windows PowerShell (Admin).
- Type or paste the following commands and press Enter after each to execute:
Remove-AppXPackage Microsoft.XboxApp
Remove-AppXPackage Microsoft.XboxLIVEGames
- Reboot and the Xbox integration will be history.
Disabling certain conflicting apps on Windows 10 such as the Xbox app, may cap the FPS to 60 on your device.
2.2 Disable Vsync from your GPU driver:
- Open your graphics card control panel.
- Set FPS_max in the console to 120.
- Find the 3D settings section, go to the Program Settings, select Dota 2, then turn off the Vertical sync option. Our example is from the NVIDIA Control Panel but you will find the similar setting for AMD.
- Check your autoexec / config for mat_vsync 1, change the value to 0.
- Disable Vsync completely from your GPU driver panel, it overrides the game settings.
Disabling the Xbox app in Windows, as well as disabling the Vsync from the GPU driver, are two helpful steps that can help you solve the Dota 2 capped FPS error.
3. Fix Dota 2 micro stutters
3.1 Add Dota 2 to the firewall exclusion list
- Click the Start button and select Settings.
- Go to Update & Security.
- Then select Windows Security from the left and click on Firewall & network protection.
- Now, click on Allow an app through firewall.
- Select Change settings from the top, then choose Allow another app.
- Click the Browse button, find the Dota 2 executable file, select it and hit the Add button.
3.2 Disable Steam beta participation
- Open Steam, click on the menu button from the top left corner, and select Settings.
- Then click Account, and click the CHANGE button under Beta participation.
- Now select NONE from the drop-down menu and click OK.
- If the Workshop update is stuck on downloading pages of Steam, you need to reinstall Steam.
To get rid of any stutters, it’s also recommended to open Task Manager and disable any processes you don’t need at the moment.
We also recommend using a good VPN for Dota because it might get you closer to that game server you want to play on.
4. Fix Dota 2 low FPS after hitting ALT-TAB
In order to solve the DOTA 2 low FPS issue, you need to set the engine_no_focus_sleep 0 to your autoexec / console. Doing this will get you one step closer to enjoying the game at optimum capacity.
After completing this action you need to switch to borderless windowed to reduce FPS in case you are running the game on a slower PC. Restart Dota and check if everything functions properly.
5. Fix Dota 2 won’t start from Steam
- Press the Windows key + E to start File Explorer.
- Go to the following location and run dota2.exe:
Steam\SteamApps\common\dota 2 beta\game\bin\win64
- The game will start, but won’t establish any connection to the Steam network.
- Change all the video settings to lowest and set windowed mode.
- Relaunch Dota 2 from Steam client, adjust settings back to normal.
Users reported that they have issues starting Dota from Steam. In order to fix this, it is necessary to start the game and modify the video settings.
6. Fix Dota 2 crashes, texture issues and glitches
- Switch to single display mode if necessary, then go to Dota 2’s config file and delete video.txt:
Steam\SteamApps\common\dota 2 beta\gamedota.cfg - Disable the nod3d9ex command.
- Make sure you’re running both Dota 2 and Steam as administrator.
- Disable VSync.
- Check and update your network driver.
- Remove any enhancement software.
- If you use a multiple graphics card configuration, make sure you’re running Dota 2 on your more powerful GPU.
You need to verify Dota 2’s game cache integrity if you want to fix the problem that causes Dota 2 FPS to drop.
In order to do this, you need to start off by switching to a single display mode and then follow the steps we presented carefully.
7. Fix Dota 2 low FPS
- Don’t forget to restart Dota 2 after each match to reset game memory.
- Disable unnecessary background processes from Task Manager, so that Steam and Dota2 can better access your computer’s resources.
- If you use a high-end Nvidia GPU, open NVIDIA Control panel, go to the Manage 3D Settings page, add Dota 2 as a program in the list.
- If you use an AMD CPU, turn off Turbo Core Control. Download AMD OverDrive, go to the Clock/Voltage tab, untick Enable Core Control. Do this manually after each restart of PC.
- On low-end PCs, turn off the Adobe Flash Player process running in the background.
- Turn off Steam Overlay.
- Run the game in true fullscreen mode on Steam.
- Set the lowest graphics settings possible and lower your resolution as a temporary solution.
- Open the video.txt folder. Change all the settings below setting.nowindowborder to 0 (zero) to improve the performance for the cost of visual quality. Don’t forget to create a backup file before you do this. Here’s where you’ll find the folder:
...SteamApps\common\dota 2 beta\gamedotacfg - Rollback the previous GPU drivers.
- Reinstall your GPU drivers or update them.
- Reinstall Dota 2. Uncheck all the DLC you’ve downloaded before reinstalling the game.
- Download and install CCleaner. This tool checks your registry, cleans unused files, and optimizes your PC.
If you’re wondering how to fix the FPS drop issue in Dota 2, then another method is to disable unnecessary software and then try running the game in fullscreen mode on Steam.
Apply this method that many users confirmed as being of real help when the FPS happened to drop on Dota 2.
How do I fix Dota 2 FPS problems on Windows 11?
This issue is rarely about your system and mostly about your graphics card driver and settings, about Steam or the game itself.
Therefore, all the solutions we outlined above for Windows 10 will also work seamlessly on Windows 11.
With that said, we can conclude this article and we hope that now you are able to enjoy the game at full speed.
We also recommend reading our complete guide on how to fix frequent Dota 2 issues and apply some of the solutions.
In case you have any questions or suggestions on how to improve FPS in Dota 2, feel free to tell us in the comments section below.
Frequently Asked Questions
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A great solution, in this case, is to use a specialized tool like DriverFix that can download the latest updates. See what other solutions we prepared in this article that includes all the fixes on DoTA 2 FPS issues.
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A great way to do this is to lower your resolution. See what other options you can resort to in this article that analyses how to increase FPS on laptop in Windows 10.
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There are certain unused apps that might interfere with the game and this why you should close them. Check out other alternatives in this article on fixingLeague of Legends FPS drops on Windows 10.
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DoTA 2 can run on most PCs and laptops, but if you want to make it smoother, this guide on increasing the FPS in DoTA 2 can help you get the buttery-smooth experience you’re looking for. For even more solutions, we have a guide on improving FPS in all games when using a laptop.
