Seeing frequent frame dropping, lagging or stuttering issues on your Final Fantasy XIV Online game? We know that this is a very annoying problem. In fact, there have been a lot of FFXIV players experiencing this, and luckily, many of them were able to fix it using one of the methods below. You can also give them a try and see if there is any that is helpful to you.
Lower your in-game graphics settings
Perhaps your computer is struggling to bring you smooth FFXIV game experience. In this case, you should try lowing your graphics settings to fix the lagging and frame drop issues.
Step 1: On your FFXIV title screen, click CONFIGURATION.
Step 2: Click the Graphics Settings tab.
Step 3: Turn off or lower some of these settings. We suggest the following changes:
- Disable the Reflection setting.
- Tune down the AA and quality settings.
- Turn off the Shadows settings.
- Turn off the Movement Physics settings.
Now check to see if this fixes your FFXIV frame dropping issues.
Check your background tasks
There may be other programs running in the background that are conflicting with your game or using too many resources of your computer so you’ll see the frame drops in FFXIV. To see if this is the case:
Step 1: (If any) turn off the in-game overlay and screen recording tool that is running on your computer.
Step 2: Press Ctrl, Shift and Esc keys on your keyboard to open Task Manager.
Step 3: Check if there is any task that is using excessive system resources. If so, right click it and select End task.
Step 4: Launch FFXIV and see if this fixed the lagging issue with this game.
Check your firewall or antivirus
Another thing you can check is your firewall settings. You need to check if your antivirus program or firewall is blocking FFXIV. If it is, then you need to trying disabling the antivirus program temporarily (be careful for what you’re browsing when it’s off), and see if the lagging issue disappears.
If turning off the firewall or antivirus really works, then you should contact the vender of the software to see what they can do for you. But if not, then move on to the fixes below.
Check your DNS settings
If your DNS settings are not configured correctly, you can probably experience frequent FFXIV lagging problems. Here is what you need to do fix it:
Step 1: Press the Win and R keys on your keyboard at the same time to launch the Run dialog.
Step 2: Type “ncpa.cpl” and press Enter on your keyboard.
Step 3: Right click your network connection (“Ethernet” for wired connection, and “Wi-Fi” for wireless), and select Properties.
Step 4: Double click Internet Protocol Version 4(TCP/IPv4).
Step 5: Make sure Obtain an IP address automatically and Obtain DNS server address automatically are selected, then click OK. (If they already are then skip this step and go to step 7.)
Step 6: Check if this fixes your error. If not move on to the step below.
Step 7: Select Use the following DNS server addresses, then set the server addresses to the Google public DNS server addresses (8.8.8.8 / 8.8.4.4).
Step 8: Click OK.
Now test to see if this fixes your frame drop issue.
Reset your Windows network settings
This reset your Windows flush your DNS cache and may make your FFXIV less laggy.
Step 1: Press and the Win and R keys on your keyboard to launch the Run box.
Step 2: Type “cmd” and press Ctrl, Shift and Enter on your keyboard. This will run Command Prompt as Adminstrator.
Step 3:
In Command Prompt, enter the following commands:
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /renew
ipconfig /registerdns
Restart your computer and see if resetting these settings works for you.
Use a VPN
Using a VPN can help you bypass the interruptions to your connection to FFXIV, or fix issues such as extra routes or relays, which can be the cause of your FFXIV lags.
Using a VPN usually requires some time and computer skills. If you want an easier option, you should try a VPN service. And we recommend using NordVPN.
NordVPN is an easy-to-use and fast VPN service. You’ll be able to set up a VPN connection with just a few mouse-clicks. And its fast speed servers at multiple locations offers you a comfortable and reliable experience.
To use NordVPN on your computer:
Step 1: Download and install NordVPN on your computer.
Step 2: Run NordVPN and sign in your account.
Step 3: Click the Connect switch. This will automatically connect you to the VPN server recommended for your device.
Now test your FFXIV and see if NordVPN has helped you fix the lags.
We hope that the solutions above have helped you fix your FFXIV lagging or frame dropping issue. If you have any questions or suggestions about them, feel free to leave a comment below!
