[FIX GUIDE] Solve Shader-Related FPS Drops & Lag Spikes in Path of Exile 2 (PC)

GGG's I have a new Star Forge PC. Your performance is absolute Garbage in some maps and Campaign. I can sit and watch the lag spikes happen. Spend some time and fix your issues rather than publishing new content.

AN ACTUAL FIX, ADDING HERE AS MY TROUBLESHOOTING SEARCHES SENT ME HERE (POE2)
My Build: ROG Strix G35CG - GEFORCE RTX 3080 TI, 11th gen i9-11900, 2TB samsung 990, 64 gb Ram

So I have had an issue with POE 2 running terrible since the first season. Sometimes it would be alright, sometimes not playable. My shader cache bar was always full, and tried these cache suggestions, graphics settings, you name it. I never had issues running 120+ frames, no latency issues whatsoever. I was about to accept the fact that it has to be a GGG issue, but my buddy has the exact same rig setup. I can't tell you precisely what fixed it, but I am going to list all line items that I went through today and changed, with some red flags I found along the way.

1. Clearing NVIDIA-GPU Cache - This is listed first, as I found something odd while attempting. This is easily explained how to do by searching clearing nvidia shader cache. While doing this, you will be in 2 different folders. GLCache, and DXCache. One folder i could open and delete all no problem. The other, it kept saying i couldn't delete like these remaining 15 files as they were open. one i looked up that was odd, and it was microsoft edge game boost or something, "can't find it again, which means it probably just came on the computer... but if you find that issue you'll know what I mean. To uninstall that, you would windows+G, go to widgets-widgets store-installed. Then click the ...-uninstall. The others that wouldn't delete i didnt worry about, as when i researched them it didn't concern me.

2. Nvidia settings app - used to be Nvidia geforce
Here I went to System/Performance tab/ Automatic Tuning. Takes a while, i believe this is pretty much nvidia's own stress test, and optimizes your GPU settings. It states it as an overclock, but my changes were very minor (GPU Tuning: +77 MHz/VRAM Tuning +200 MHz.

3. Nvidia settings app, Graphics optimization:
I'm listing this, although I know this wasn't the fix, but before when I game ran like a dumpsterfire, I had minimal settings, all for performance. Optimized settings: Fullscreen, Dyn. Culling off, Dyn Resol off, Engine Multithread on, Lighting Shad+Glob illum, Max image quality Nvidia DLAA, Number of lights High, Nvidia reflex on, Resolution 2560*1440, shad+GI Ultra, Sun shadow high, Target Frame 120, Texture filter 16x anisotropic, Texture quality high, Triple buff off, Upscale mode Nvidia DLSS, vsync off, Water detail high.

4. Not a change today, but i do have global settings that are not default, so if you would like, just let me know.

5. Storage settings:
Again, don't think this would have helped, but it was something i went into. Just did cleanup recommentdations, as it seemed high (12gb+) This is also my work computer I run a business on FYI

6. After that I Restarted, fired up POE.
Instant difference. Here's the biggest takeaway. I know my shaders were definitely not compiled in the map i went in " tower buffs you click on literally had no head or icon on them, along with effects, chests not showing, etc." But yet, my game felt like i was in real time - fps showed like 80 or 90, but no hitching, felt perfect. Also i was in the map for like 3min and my shader bar was empty! It was literally never finished, ever, even if i just sat in the map and tried to let it finish loading. Everything i do in game now just works, " no weird loading times clicking on maps, loading into maps, etc.

Summary: Like a lot of people in all these threads, nothing listed has helped. These steps actually fixed my game. I really do hope this helps someone else. I don't do threads "clearly" I'm not a super nerd that knows all these ins and outs, but when something is not working that should it typically makes me mad enough to figure it out. But this process has been an ongoing thing since i started playing poe2, and I have 1000+ hours. If you have additional questions just ask!

I appreciate the community's effort in sharing potential solutions for the lag, FPS drops, and shader compilation issues that many players are experiencing.

However, after testing these various suggestions with multiple players who are affected by these problems, I need to report that none of the proposed fixes have provided sustained improvements, and in many cases, they made no discernible difference at all.

As several experienced players have already pointed out, the root cause appears to be server-side and/or related to the underlying program code architecture, rather than client-side configuration issues. This makes sense given the inconsistent nature of the performance problems and their persistence across different hardware configurations and settings.

While I understand the community wants to help, it's worth noting that these proposed solutions come from players who don't have actual insight into GGG's server infrastructure or codebase. We're essentially troubleshooting in the dark.
Request to GGG:

It would be incredibly helpful if the development team could provide an official statement regarding these widespread performance issues. Specifically:

- Acknowledgment of the problem's scope and nature
- Whether the issue is confirmed to be server/code-related
- An estimated timeline for a fix or at least ongoing investigation status
- Interim guidance on what players can (or cannot) do to mitigate the issue

Understanding that complex technical issues take time to resolve, even a brief official update would help the community stop chasing ineffective client-side workarounds and set realistic expectations.

Thank you for your continued work on the game.