Weird stutter/hitch occurs randomly.

Just as the title says. For months now I have been battling a weird stutter/hitch that seems to happen randomly at any given time.

When I turn on a frame rate counter like RTSS my game will for the most part be locked at 60fps with zero issues. However out of no where my fps will drop by either 1 or 2 frames. Causing a hitch/stutter.

This can literally happen anywhere. I could be completely alone just randomly flying on my mount and the game will randomly stutter. It happens in raids and trials too. It's 100% random from my experience which is what makes this issue more frustrating. It's hard to reproduce it.

However it happens often enough to be annoying. I have tried different Nvidia drivers, lower graphic settings, even changing settings on the Nvidia control panel but nothing seems to fix it. This isn't game breaking of course but it is very annoying since my game is usually locked at 60fps with no issues until the random and completely out of no where stutter/hitch rears its ugly head.

If anyone can offer some helpful tips it will be greatly appreciated.

PC is a 13600k/RTX4080/32gbs ram and NVMe ssd.

I am following this thread too! Since this is exactly what happens with me.
The game will run smooth as heck @ 75fps (75hz monitor) but once it even hits 74/73 fps i get something that can be best described as a hiccup or hitch.

I'm having this same problem. I've been exhausting all options I can think of to discover a fix. I've forced v-sync off in Nvidia's control panel. I've shut down background programs. I've reinstalled video drivers. I've tried different video drivers. Nothing has worked.

Haha yes I have literally tried everything and nothing fixes it. I did some digging around and came across an old thread and someone seemed to have the same issue when reducing their fps to 60 from a 120hz monitor (this was back in Endwalker though), however EveningBird has a 75hz monitor and its happening to him.

Supposedly playing at 120fps was perfectly fine but their game would have this weird random stutter/hitch if they set their fps to 60hz.

I have literally tested all the Nvidia drivers all the way from early 2024 to the newest one that came out a week ago. All suffer from the same exact problem.

However from what i've seen in my research, driver 556.12 and driver 561.09 seem to have this issue the least.

So far i'm using driver 561.09 and the random stutter/hitch only happens once in a while. I noticed that with the newest driver 572.16 the stutter/hitch happens a lot more frequently.

It still happens on 556.12 and on 561.09 but no where near as frequent as it does on 572.16.

So for now I suggest you guys give these older drivers a shot. It kinda sucks though since we have to use older drivers though.

Hopefully SE can fix this issue or Nvidia. I have a feeling it's an Nvidia problem though.

This problem isn't game breaking by any means, but as I said in my previous post, it's very jarring when the game is running at a perfect 60fps to all of a sudden have a 1fps drop that causes a hard stutter/hitch.

Also as I said before this can literally happen anywhere, in trials, raids, just randomly flying on my mount, when i'm completely alone etc etc. I can literally be alone in the firmament doing some crafting and out of the blue the game will stutter for no reason then go right back to a locked 60fps.

What driver do you recommend we use? Since you used plural. 556.12 or 561.09? I have tried other drivers too to try and troubleshoot this issue, but unfortunately it's been a no go so far.

edit: tried 556.12, unfortunately the stuttering persists in the same manner. I've also tried playing at 60hz @ 60fps, but also there, once it goes below 60, it will stutter. This makes me believe it's game related and not my hardware. It could also be a Windows thing (as if not).

The problem persist on both 556.12 and 561.09 but at least in my findings it's less than say the newest driver (572.16). I felt like the stutter/hitch problem was happening quite often on 572.16.

However it's really hard to know as this problem seems to be completely random. There's no way (as far as i'm aware) to recreate the problem.

It seems like a bug in the game or in the drivers themselves. Sadly I do not own a AMD card to test it to see if it does it on AND as well.

I have tried both Windows 10 and 11 and it happens on both.

As of right now I would recommend either 556.12 or 561.09. These seem to be the smoothest drivers for me.

Some of the later driver in 2024 are broken in other ways so I don't recommend them. For example, some break Digital Vibrance (resets after each restart or power off/on), others break DSR ( no more down sampling) and they also break the windows 10 transparencies (Only affects windows 10 users).

Yeah I am still having the issue unfortunately. It seems to just stutter once it gets 1fps under my refresh rate, it's so weird. I never had this issue before. Like a month or so ago it worked just fine.

Having the same issue and I've tried so much to fix it. I'm able to get 80+FPS normally but the stutter will send it down to 20FPS for 1 second. Often it will cycle back and forth between 60 and 20 for a few seconds before going back up to 80.
It most definitely has nothing to do with the driver because none of my other, more graphically intensive games are behaving this way. FFXIV itself is just not cooperating at all with the GPU's vsync and frame creation.

Yeah I suspect now that the issue lies within the game too. I see more and more posts like these. Driver wise it doesn't matter which I pick, all have stutters and weird frame drops. My current system is 6 months old, so that cannot be it. I also tested my temps and they are fine, so it's no throttling issue.

I'm running latest drivers with no issues. Maybe this cloud help.

I have 2 monitors:
- Main (3440x1440) locked at 60hz | g-sync enabled.
- Side (1920x1080) locked at 60hz | g-sync disabled.

My husband had FPS problems only when both monitors had g-sync enabled.
- Main (3440x1440) locked at 120hz | g-sync disabled.
- Side (2560x1440) locked at 60hz | g-sync disabled.

All the monitors and game FPS match. Meaning my monitor is set to 60 FPS everywhere. Monitor settings, windows settings, Nividia settings, and game graphic settings.

Toggling the v-sync off is the first thing everyone who has this problem has tried.
It doesn't matter on or off, any hz number, FPS capped or not, the game still stutters the same exact way with every single setting.

I have a "basic" setup. It's a 4K monitor at 60hz. It's a photo creation monitor and not a gaming monitior. So no gsync or anything like that.

Normally the game runs perfectly fine. It's always at 60fps even in Limsa when it's full. I have the in game fps at 60 and my windows 10 refresh rate at 60hz etc etc. However changing these settings doesn't do anything to fix the issue.

It's funny because the "random" stutter usually always causes a 1fps drop on the fps counter. So it will be a perfect 60 and once in a while for literally no reason (as far as I can tell) the fps will drop to 59 causing a little hitch/stutter.

The hitch/stutter is strong enough to be annoying when it does occur.

When I say it's random I literally mean random. For example yesterday I did a run of the newest alliance raid (Jouno or whatever it's called). Right before entering the first boss room for no reason the game stuttered then at the very end while fighting the final boss randomly again it stuttered when he was in the middle of his "sword attack" (when he slashes certain parts of the map).

Now today on reset I did it again for my coin, with zero stutters haha.

Other times it can also just randomly stutter on the first boss too (while fighting her).

It's always a 1fps drop (at least according to the RTSS app).

It's like the game "pauses" for a split second.

I hate when it happens during raids like the newest unreal. Funny enough this week when I did my unreal I had zero stutters. Last week I had a couple.

You see what I mean by random?

At this point I kinda just deal with it now sadly. It's not game breaking just annoying.

I have the exact same issue.
I have a 75hz monitor, i cap it at 75fps, the game is inevitably gonna stutter once it drops a frame. I have a greesync monitor, but ive tried various combinations including turning freesync off, to no avail.
I knew I wasn't crazy... More people have this issue. It would explain why it started so randomly

The only "workaround" i have for now is setting my fps lkmot at 70/69fps. Which is not ideal, but eh.

I remember reading that the in-game FPS limiter behaves differently when the game is running Full Screen V.S Borderless Windowed. Hence why people report having this issue with FF only and not any other game.

Sometimes NVIDIA update changes game settings for some people.

If your default preference is Full Screen, it sometimes changes the Presets and Frame Rate under System Configuration.

Negative.
I've tried Borderless, Windowed and Fullscreen. All have the stutter.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/s/hGIa6XGmfR

This reddit post caught my attention. Seems windows 11 24H2 update has caused problems for some players.

Edit: Another discussion on the matter
https://discord.com/channels/1004639...68236551737385

Yeah but the thing is, I've tried it without freesync and it still causes trouble.

Ok so I would like to give an update on my situation just to bring some awareness or hopefully can help someone else.

I decided to dig up an old driver from late 2023 to see if it would make a difference. I got the last driver I used in EW when my game was still running perfectly smooth with zero stutters or hitches. That driver being 537.58 from October 2023.

To my surprise using this old driver my game works perfectly. Those weird random 1-2 frame stutters/hitches that would randomly pop up while doing raid/dungeons/pvp/or just randomly in the world are completely gone now. My game is perfectly smooth. I been playing with it for the past 2 days and I can confidently say that it fixes my issue.

I knew it was the drivers. I say this because even back in EW certain driver revisions would cause this issue. However the 537.58 driver fixed that issue (even back in EW).

Also anything starting from at least 555.99 has this issue (the random stutter/hitch). Unfortunately Nvidia no longer has drivers from Nov 2023 to May 2024 so I can't test those out.

But anything from 555.99 all the way to the newest one 572.47 has this annoying issue.

I would also like to add that I play on a "normal" basic 4K monitor at 60hz (nothing fancy like freesync/gsync).

With this old driver my fps stays locked at 60fps with zero stutter or hitches.

The only problem now is that if I want to have perfect smooth 60fps gameplay on DW I have to use an old driver from late 2023 hahaha. Luckily DW works well with it I don't see any visual differences with 537.58 vs any of the newest drivers. But again it sucks that I have to use a driver from over a year ago to get the game to stop stuttering/hitching randomly.

Sadly it doesn't fix it for me. I've tried these drivers two times (537.58) and other drivers too, my stutter issues persist.

This also happens to me! It seems to only happen in dungeons or areas heavily populated. Never on the world maps.

It makes no sense, no other game does this to me.

Having the same issue. Following for hopeful fix.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EveningBird

Sadly it doesn't fix it for me. I've tried these drivers two times (537.58) and other drivers too, my stutter issues persist.

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Oh that's odd. I have a feeling your issue is not exactly like mine then. What exactly happens on your end? Are you getting a constant stutter? Or does the stutter just randomly "creep" up out of no where from time to time? Also do you play in Full screen mode/Windows mode/Virtual Full screen?

Even back in EW this was an issue for me with certain drivers. Some would fix it and some would bring the issue back. 537.58 is the last known driver to not have this issue (from my testing). Any drivers from 555.99 all the way to the newest one (572.47) have this issue.

From what i've heard from other users this issue only happens when playing at 60hz I heard that it doesn't happen when playing at say 120hz or above. I don't have a high refresh monitor though so I can't test this out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DiasFlacOg

Oh that's odd. I have a feeling your issue is not exactly like mine then. What exactly happens on your end? Are you getting a constant stutter? Or does the stutter just randomly "creep" up out of no where from time to time? Also do you play in Full screen mode/Windows mode/Virtual Full screen?

Even back in EW this was an issue for me with certain drivers. Some would fix it and some would bring the issue back. 537.58 is the last known driver to not have this issue (from my testing). Any drivers from 555.99 all the way to the newest one (572.47) have this issue.

From what i've heard from other users this issue only happens when playing at 60hz I heard that it doesn't happen when playing at say 120hz or above. I don't have a high refresh monitor though so I can't test this out.

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The game runs fine when it's at 75 or 74 fps, once it hits 73 fps it will stutter and hitch. Capping at 73 will just make it hitch indefinitely.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EveningBird

The game runs fine when it's at 75 or 74 fps, once it hits 73 fps it will stutter and hitch. Capping at 73 will just make it hitch indefinitely.

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If these older drivers didn't help you at all like they did with me then I have a feeling you have a completely different problem from me.

What are your systems specs? Can you actually maintain the 75fps for your 75hz monitor? The game can stutter or hitch if you also can't properly reach your monitors refresh rate. Usually in places like Limsa when it's fully packed this can tank your fps due to CPU limitations. How often does this stutter/hitch occur?

For me if using the newest drivers the stutter happens randomly and usually in places that are GPU bound, like dungeons/raids/alliance raids/or just crafting in the firmament. I think it's either a bug in the game or in the latest Nvidia drivers. Some script maybe? Overall the game is perfectly playable with the latest drivers as I still get a solid 60fps I just have to deal with the random stutter that occurs from time to time which can be distracting when it happens especially in raids.

With that old driver 537.58 from over a year ago my game has been perfectly smooth and stutter free at a locked 60fps at all times. I been doing everything, daily roulettes, weeklies, unreal, hunt trains, etc etc and nothing has made the game stutter at all. The newest unreal and the newest alliance raid run super smooth on that old driver. With any of the newest drivers I will for sure get a few hitches here and there on the unreal and alliance raid, but with 537.58 is butter smooth.

For now i'm blaming Nvidia for this and not FF14. As I said before this exact same issue happened in EW too. Some drivers had the stutter problems others didn't.

I hope that some of the newest drivers get this "fix" cuz I don't want to be stuck on a driver from over a year ago. The only positive thing about using this old driver (aside from no more random stutters in FF14) is that I do not play any modern games that need new drivers. The last AAA game that I bought for pc was Shadow of the Tomb Raider like 5 years ago so this old driver works perfectly with all my old games so no issues there. Still though.

Noticing this problem now, where I didn't have it in previous months. When I launch the game it's fine for 5, max 10 minutes. Then it starts dropping fps and turning into a slideshow for 1-3 seconds everybd 5-10 seconds, consistently and on a very even interval! No idea what causes it other than a new issue with Nvidia drivers or an update to the game, or both.

I've tried all the obvious things, changing every vsync, gsync, windowed/fullscreen, etc. setting in every combination possible. Disabling all overlay applications, messing with windows settings for fullscreen apps, nothing helps here. I assume the only thing that will help is an eventual nvidia driver update in another month, if this gets reported properly. Might've been going on all year so far - I've not been logging in for longer than a few minutes since December at least, and wouldn't have noticed.

Hello,

please check if "Don't use optimizations for windows games" is deativated. It should be turned off. Win11 just checked this point for me for FFXIV and it begun to stuttering / no VRR in borderless windows mode.
Please also turn off "Game mode" in Win11. Turn off all options in FFXIV Display Settings below Refresh Rate - select No Limit.

This helped me getting VRR back to work with FFXIV.
Can you try monitor your PC while FFXIV is opened? Use HWInfo64 Sensors, check what happen when the stuttering appears., explecially for GPU usage / temp and CPU usage / temp.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...e-f9389e535952