Having recently begun to play The Division 2, I experienced random stuttering every few minutes. There didn't seem to be a reason for it, and its impact was:

  • An immediate loss of around 15-30 fps. 
  • An immediate recovery, returning my framerate to 60 fps. 

At most, the stuttering would last half a second, and be more annoying than game crippling. That said, it did cause me to die several times, and lead me down all sorts of paths to try to fix it. Fortunately I have, so I thought I'd share the solutions for anyone experiencing the same issue. For me, I just needed one of the below, but several folks have reported needed multiple. 

Disable Uplay/Geforce Experience Overlay

Both are these issues are reportedly causing hiccups with Division 2 that result in stuttering. Disabling both is easy, and takes just seconds.

  • For Uplay, select Settings > Untick "Enable in-game overlay for supported games". 
  • For Geforce Experience, select Settings > Untick "In-Game Overlay"

Reinstalled Division 2

A known fault of Division 2, partly - we think - because of people also running earlier Beta's, is that upon installing the new client (or the day one updates which replace much of the client), ends up causing some Gremlins in the system. If you can afford the download, uninstall Division 2, and reinstall it. On a good connection, it'll only take 90 minutes.

Turn off Directx 12, and use Directx 11

A major fix for me, turning off Directx 12 instantly cured any issues I had with the game. There's no loss of image quality, and the game won't look any different, but it does remove stuttering. Primarily this is likely as a result of how Directx 12 renders/works with your CPU/GPU in comparison to Directx 11, and with Snowdrop (the Division engine) being a slightly older client, it's likely the studio has some bug fixing to do in this department. Select Settings > Video > Enable DX12 Renderer > No

Remove One Active CPU (Set Affinity)

Having worked for some friends, it's possible to deactivate a single CPU for The Division through the Task Manager/Set Affinity process. Simply press Ctrl + Alt + Delete, or type Task Manager in your search bar. Right click it > Run as administrator > Under Processes, right click The Division 2 > Go To Details > Again under The Division 2, select Set Affinity > Untick one CPU (ideally the highest number). 

Update Your Drivers

Lastly, and as always, I must stress that you should update to the latest NVidia drivers. When you do, be sure to perform a completely clean installation to remove any nasties that might lurky afterwords.


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our The Division 2 Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 17, 2020

About The Author

Lewis is a long standing journalist, who freelances to a variety of outlets.

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