Yesterday, Nintendo put out an update for Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and their patch notes are just about the most Nintendo thing ever: “Adjustments have been made to make for a more pleasant gaming experience.” In reality, they have made some huge frame rate improvements.
Whereas in the past, walking through the Korok Forest could send the game’s frame rate plummeting to 20fps or lower, it’s now running at a stable 30 frames per second, based on some quick tests I ran this morning on the Switch (in handheld mode). The frame rate appears to be improved across the board. Now all we need is button remapping and we’ve got ourselves a perfect video game.
I don’t know what else Nintendo has adjusted to make for a more pleasant gaming experience, but I’m sure it’s very pleasant. Chime in below if you’ve noticed any major changes to Breath of the Wild since the patch went live.
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5 responses to “New Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Patch Fixes Frame Rate Issues”
Wii u?
And a patch to select JPN voice over with Eng subtitles… then it’ll be perfect.
The big problem with botw is that the double buffer vsync locks the framerate in steps. As soon as the game can’t maintain 30 it drops straight to a locked 20. I don’t believe it ever goes lower than that, but the flip-flopping is eww.
The new patch almost eliminates the drops to 20 in handheld mode (docked mode is slightly more pervasive). Korok forest has some drops still, but since there’s no combat it’s acceptable.
The rest of the game is almost entirely locked to 30 now, even in docked mode. The first area outside the shrine of resurrection is now flawless, and I can’t recall any combat at the lower framerate since the patch.
I just finished the game last night, what a ride!
Is this patch for WiiU as well?
Yes, the wii u was also patched, but I’m not sure how much the performance has improved in that version.
Is docked mode any better though? Because that was where the real frame rate issues were occurring based on Digital Foundry’s research.
I’ve read the dock performance improvements were more pronounced than undocked, so seems like it has been.
Docked performance is like night and day. There are very few drops anymore. Much more enjoyable. Still can’t believe I’ve punched in 60 hours plus and haven’t finished this game yet. So much to do so much to see and now at better performance.
Now they just need to fix it so you dont get Blood moons 4 times in one day.