It’s no secret that Darktide has had a rocky start after launching back in late 2022, and many players are still experiencing long load times in all stages of the game. Regardless if it’s on start-up, loading into or exiting a match, everyone is experiencing long loading times in Darktide.
While there are not a lot of options for players to change to help eliminate these problems, there are a few steps you can employ to try and reduce your time spent on the loading screen. That is why we are here today to help you reduce your long load times in Darktide today.
Reducing Long Long Times in Warhammer 4000: Darktide
Warhammer 40K: Darktide has a lot of reported issues in their load times. This can be an issue with a faulty gamer server, bad internet connection, Easy anti-cheat problems, or personal hardware issues. Regardless of the problem, here is a list of solutions to try and lower your time on the loading screen.
- Double-check system requirements
- Update GPU Drivers
- Close Background Tasks
- Check for Windows Updates
- Disable Overlay Apps like Discord or Overwolf
- Run the game as Administrator
- Verify the integrity of the game files
- Disable Antivirus
- Restart PC
- Reinstall Darktide
In most cases, if you are still stuck in the loading screen, there are a few settings you can lower in Darktide to improve your load times and overall performance.
Full Screen
Putting Darktide into Full Screen might save you some frame drops due to the visual clutter, VFX, and haze you experience when moving through a level. Keeping the game on Full Screen helps reduce long load times in Darktide, but it’s not a complete game changer.
Motion Blur
Turning off Motion Blur is typically a go-to option for most people, but in case you haven’t already disabled it, try turning it off. Disabling Motion Blur not only makes your screen cleaner during combat but also saves your GPU marginally by not making the game go through the effort to actively blur your screen.
Related Article: Ultimate Darktide Class Tier List
Light Quality & Volumetric Fog Quality
Light Quality and Volumetric Fog Quality are among the more impactful settings to lower in hopes of reducing your load times in Darktide. Lowering the Light Quality by at least down to medium will drastically impact your load times since Darktide uses a lot of lighting in all maps, especially in the overworld sections. Volumetric Fog impacts all the dense fog that is loaded under lights and in the lower parts of the level, which
doesn’t impact your gameplay all that much, and might actually benefit you more to keep lower.
Reducing Depth of Field May Reduce Long Load Times in Darktide
Lowering your Depth of Field lowers the focus effect on objects that are far away. Since Darktide’s levels are mainly close-quarters and have dark environments, you won’t miss out on much detail for leaving this setting off.
We expect a marginal improvement to reduce load times in Darktide by lowering your depth of field setting.
Max Ragdolls + Decal Lifetime
There are hundreds of enemies in Darktide, and killing dozens of Poxwalkers in a matter of seconds can take a toll on your PC. Lowering the number of ragdolls on your Screen can drastically improve your games performance by letting your system limit how many dead bodies are on Screen,
Additionally, lowering the Decal Lifetime will also affect how long certain effects last on Screen, such as blood, scratch marks, bullet holes, and burn marks. Like Max Ragdolls, the lower you put this setting, the less your PC has to retain the number of decals on the screen.
Gore Settings
Lastly, you can lower the amount of gibbing, blood decals, enemy wounds, and ragdoll interactions your game renders. These are all noticeable details, but when there are a ton of enemies on screen, these effects can add up if your PC can’t handle that many minor effects.
Wrap Up on Reducing Long Load Times in Darktide
That’s our short guide on how to reduce your load times in Darktide. Hopefully, some of our setting suggestions have solved your Darktide loading problems, albeit at least slightly. Ultimately if none of our suggestions have helped, when in doubt, turn down your graphics to the lowest settings, then see if your system still struggles.
If so, your hardware might not be able to handle the game. Otherwise, it’s a server-side problem. Hopefully, FatShark can fix these issues in the near future for the betterment of the fanbase and the game’s life.
For more insights into how to enjoy this great game, check out our guide on the best weapons in Darktide for your next Psyker loadout.
For now, Happy Hunting Rejects!
