Uncovering the Real Reasons Behind Baldur's Gate 3 Act 3 Performance Issues on PC

Highlights

The performance of Baldur's Gate 3 Act 3 on specific PCs is being affected by its intensive requirements, primarily related to the increased number of non-playable characters and the frequent switching of camera angles during cutscenes and conversations.

The CPU limitations in Act 3 are magnified according to the analysis conducted by The Digital Foundry, presenting difficulties for certain players to handle the expanded content. Unfortunately, there is currently no solution accessible for this issue. Larian Studios, the developer of the game, has not provided any comment on the performance problem. However, they have expressed their intention to release a significant update and have actively been addressing the issue with frequent hotfixes.

Analysis has discovered that some PC users are experiencing performance problems with Baldur's Gate 3 Act 3 due to its higher technical requirements compared to the rest of the game. Baldur's Gate 3 has gained great popularity among RPG enthusiasts. Set in the world of Dungeons and Dragons, Baldur's Gate 3 is both expansive in scale and intricacy.

Occupying an impressive 122GB, Baldur's Gate 3 maximizes its size with a campaign divided into three Acts and an abundance of content that captivates players for hours. Each Act of Baldur's Gate 3 focuses on a different aspect of the main campaign, introducing new locations and progressing the story towards the main threat. However, the extensive content of Baldur's Gate 3 is causing difficulties for certain PC players, and recent analysis has revealed the reason behind this.

Digital Foundry recently released a video examining Baldur's Gate 3 Act 3, revealing that the performance issue encountered by certain PCs is due to the larger number of NPCs in this section of the game. The team at Digital Foundry was provided with a 99-hour save file to investigate Act 3 using PCs with varied configurations. They observed that the densely populated Baldur's Gate City puts a significant strain on the CPU compared to the rest of the game. Additionally, there is a noticeable problem with camera transitions during cutscenes or conversations, which occur more frequently in Act 3. Players who choose to play as a Sorcerer in Baldur's Gate 3 may face even more difficulties, as summoning creatures increases the risk of decreased performance and inconsistent frame rates.

The analysis concludes that Act 3 of Baldur's Gate 3 poses challenges for certain PCs, as the increased processing requirements exacerbate CPU limitations. Unfortunately, there is no known solution to address this problem. The analysis suggests that playing the game at the lowest settings only results in a modest 14% improvement in average performance. In light of these findings, Digital Foundry urges Larian Studios to enhance overall performance, particularly for Baldur's Gate 3 Act 3.

Larian Studios has yet to address the performance problem arising from Act 3 of Baldur's Gate 3. However, they have already announced plans to release a significant update prior to the game's arrival on PS5. As the studio has been actively working on resolving issues through regular hotfixes, players are eager to see if the performance problems in Baldur's Gate 3 will be resolved soon.

Baldur's Gate 3 is currently available on PC and will be released on PS5 on September 6, with an Xbox Series X/S version also in the works.