Path of Exile (PC, PS4/PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S) has been struggling with lags and performance issues for quite some time now. The developers have now stated that they are working on the problem and have already integrated a new streaming system with Echoes of the Atlas.
What has been the problem so far? Players have repeatedly reported stuttering and frame drops in the game for a considerable time now. The issue is related to the reloading of assets such as textures, which can cause the hack and slay to stutter.
Chris Wilson from Grinding Gear Games explains it this way:
For example, when using a skill for the first time, there was a bit of stutter while the relevant shaders and textures were loaded from the hard drive. We have alleviated this somewhat with various preload systems. In these, the game loads assets in advance when it “knows” that you will encounter them – but it wasn’t really a perfect solution.
Chris Wilson, GGG
A new technology helps with performance
What has changed now? With the release of the new expansion Echoes of the Atlas, the developers introduced a streaming system into the action RPG. This is meant to lead to a stable frame rate.
This means you can already play while shaders and textures are slowly reloaded. However, this currently has the disadvantage for some players that when they enter a new area, the textures there are initially displayed in low resolution before the system reloads them in higher resolution. The system is still not running optimally at the moment.
Chris Wilson explains that there are further improvements:
Ideally, this means that the new system can only have advantages – a stable frame rate and no prolonged period of dreadful load-ins of textures for some players. We currently have no timeline for this, but hopefully it will be ready in a week or two. Rest assured that we will continue to work on it until it allows for a good gaming experience.
Chris Wilson, GGG
What other advantages does the new technology have? The system is also optimized for Path of Exile 2, the sequel that the developers are currently working on. PoE 2 is supposed to look even better than the current game. Higher resolution assets will be used. And these are to be reloaded quickly, without stutter and without loss of quality.
What do the players think about it? The PoE community is excited. Although there are still problems that the team is working on. Especially the transparency with which GGG talks about this topic is well-received by the players.
- Priz writes on the official forum: “This is all that most of us wanted: transparency.”
- iHahu says: “With today’s patch 13.1, the game runs much better. I would still prefer the performance from before Echoes of the Atlas, but if there are one or two more patches that improve the engine’s performance as much as this one does, texture streaming will be fine.”
- winniethewhor is not yet convinced by the new system: “I WANT texture streaming in the game, but the implementation is currently poor for many users. It needs to be optional, or temporarily disabled, or significantly improved in a short time.”
Did you also experience performance issues in Path of Exile? Has the new streaming system helped you?
The hack and slay is currently very well received: Path of Exile breaks player record – What makes the Atlas add-on so good?
