While the recent Hogwarts Legacy update has solved many performance issues on PC, it seems only those with Nvidia and AMD’s latest graphics cards are enjoying stutter-free frames. Fortunately, there’s a temporary hotfix mod that might help those still experiencing unplayable frame dips, stutters and intermittent freezing.
Hogwarts Legacy is a juxtaposition. It’s everything we ever wanted in a Harry Potter-inspired video game and more, yet the game has been riddled with performance issues that prevent PC players from enjoying the full magical experience Avalanche has so carefully crafted.
Naturally, the Internet knows no bounds and a slurry of mods are available and ready to provide assistance. In particular, Ascendio appears to be the solution to my stuttering woes, wholly improving my Hogwarts experience. Since release I’ve been plagued with inconsistent frames, and the recent update did nothing but agitate the situation, making the game barely playable. And yes, Adrenaline Software 23.2.1 drivers does very little to resolve the issue, either, believe me I’ve tried.
It seems, in my case at least, this is all boils down to poor AMD graphics card optimisation as you can see above. GPU usage is terribly inconsistent and jumps anywhere between 78 per cent utilisation all the way down to 25 per cent, whether I’m traversing the open world via broomstick, or uncovering the castle’s secrets.
According to mod creator Seifu, Ascendio is an unofficial FPS hotfix that applies Unreal Engine parameters to help address some of the game’s performance issues. “It implements some engine tweaks like force CPU to GPU communication and sync, force frame finalization on stuck, enables texture streaming and tweaks it to work as optimal as possible, and a few more.”
The result? For me the game barely stutters anymore, and my GPU remains at full usage. I do however experience occasional dips, though it is few and far between and a far cry from what it was before.
For those who are interested, be sure to check it out for yourself over here. No worries, it’s safe to use and on Nexus mods, a trusted platform for those who dabble in the occasional mod. It’s easy to implement, too, simply download the Ascendio installer, run, and click install, and Presto! The progress bar should instantly get to 100 per cent and all you have to to do is hit next and close the application.
Should you wish to uninstall the mod for whatever reason, simply follow the same process again, and click uninstall, a pop-up window will signify the process is complete. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. Hope this quick fix helps. Of course, as with any unofficial mod, it goes without saying, proceed with caution; your mileage may vary.
