How to Fix FPS Drops While Playing League of Legends

It's annoying that the framrate slownings that make League of Legends lag or freeze are onsets when action is at its most crucial moments. This is due to your computer's inability to bear up with the graphics' demands of the game. The most common causes of this would be using outdated graphics drivers, setting up the game incorrectly, or having too many programs working at once in the background.

Warcraft III: The Core

Other causes include overheating, which may result in thermal throttling, and lack of sufficient memory, which indirectly affects performance.

Now that you know the answers, let's discuss the 'how' of implementing them.

1. Find out the maximum frame rate.

Limiting your framerate can help your GPU from overworking to achieve really high FPS, helping maintain consistent performance without overheating or even frame rate fluctuations. Ease the stress on your system, and you won't have to worry about any performance dips in the most heated action moments. This keeps the game from stuttering or running slowly.

Open League of Legends and go to a custom game. Press the Esc key.

Under the Video tab, there is the Frame Rate Cap box.

Check it for capping at 60 FPS. League of Legend frame rate capping option

Under the Game tab, in the 'Gameplay', check the box for Movement Protection; un-check it.

Click OK to close and save your changes. Then, launch the game client again to test whether the issue is gone.

2. Disable Overlays

Third-party overlays include Discord and GeForce Experience. League of Legends may drop frames due to these third-party overlays. They use system resources, which could lead to performance concerns. Disable them if you want the game to work smoother and use fewer resources.

Click the icon of the gear to open User Settings.

From the list under the menu Activity Settings, scroll down and locate Game Overlay.

Using the toggle, enable in-game overlay.

3. Disable Overclocking

Though it may seem great for gaming, overclocking tends to result in instabilities by pushing your system beyond what it can handle. You can prevent overheating with your CPU and GPU and frame rate drops by turning off the overclocking. It will also make the gaming smoother.

To get an overview on overclocking, you can have a look at our post.

4. Set Power Options to High Performance

Maximum Performance" in the power settings will help prioritize your computer's resources for maximum performance during playing. You allow full functioning of the CPU and GPU by letting them fully utilize without the throttling mode caused by power-saving modes. It can prevent hardware from being power-saving, which may lead to sudden dips in frame rate when gaming becomes serious.

Press the Windows + R buttons and click Enter. The Control Panel opens; from there, select large icons and then click on Power Options. Power settings - System Control

Click on the Exit tab and then move to Maximum performance. Power option high performance—Control Panel

Now, open League of Legends and see whether the frame rate drop has been fixed.

5. Modify Game Configuration File

We can try altering the League of Legends settings file. Every time League of Legends launches, it pulls game settings from a file stored outside of the game. Sometimes these settings become corrupted or set to an incorrect value. We will try replacing these settings, and see if that fixes the problem.

Close League of Legends.

Download the attached ZIP file below and save it to a location that is easy to access.

The Config folder is inside the League of Legends installation folder.'game.cfg' — path where League of Legends was installed

To back up, duplicate the currently existing "game.cfg". Then, find a folder with your hardware settings in the one you downloaded and paste the config into the LoL config folder. When asked, click "Yes" to replace.Player profiles for League of Legends' system requirements

If you happen to experience reduced frame rate, then feel free to restart your computer. You can easily go back or try an alternative setting in the configuration file when necessary.

You can optionally add the below lines at the end of your configuration file using Notepad: The UnitRenderStyle object Zero inking Zero for AdvancedReflection Originally, 1 by default, change to 0 to Set PerPixelPointLighting to 0 instead of the default 1 Change from 1 to 0.

6. Modify Display Properties and Full-Screen Optimization

Turn off full-screen optimizations to let the game take priority over other Windows processes that may cause slowdowns. You can also change DPI settings for proper in-game resolution without unnecessary scaling, which is very good for performance. These patches finally allowed League of Legends to take the reins of its own display resources and increased performance quite a bit, especially on higher-resolution screens.

Start League of Legends and open the install directory. In the search bar enter ".exe" and press Enter.

To open the properties for an executable, right-click on one in the results and select Properties.League of Legends file extension search results

On the Compatibility tab click on Change high DPI settings.Game options for League of Legends compatibility

Check the box that says Choose Application from drop-down menu, and uncheck the high-DPI scaling check box. Click OK to apply your changes. Change the way League of Legends does Scaling at high DPI

Repeat this process for each of the executable files that appear in search results. Then save and exit.

When your PC restarts check to see if the framerate dip is resolved.

7. Install New Graphics Drivers

Running older versions of graphics drivers might cause a lower frame rate and other anomalies while gaming. Updating it is one surefire way to make it ready for any new game or system upgrade, providing it with new patches and improvements. Here's the solution if your frame rate is low: the game runs smoother, there are less problems, and your GPU is running better.

Go to www.nvidia.com and see what is in store for you from Nvidia. Open the official website of Nvidia.

In the menu bar, locate and click the Product button. Click on Product followed by clicking on Software.

Under "Gaming and Creating", click "GeForce Experience.". In the "Gaming and Creating" category click "GeForce Experience."

On the GeForce Experience dashboard, click "Download Now." Then click the "Download Now" button.

Double-click the downloaded file to begin installation. Open the Downloaded file.

Install it using these easy prompts. Install using the easy prompts.

Launch GeForce Experience from either the Start menu or the desktop. Launch the GeForce Experience.

Log in to your existing Nvidia account or create a new one absolutely free. Log in or Create a new one.

GeForce Experience will scan your system for updates. It will scan for updates to your system.

Now click on the DRIVERS section. Go to the menu option: DRIVERS.

Click "Download" to install the latest driver.Download by clicking this image.

Install by clicking "Express Installation" after downloading. Your screen will flicker a few times.Install Express now.

Restart your PC after installation is doneRestart your machine.

8. Enable Low Spec Display Mode

Where in this case, you can enable Low Spec Mode if you have a pretty weak PC while playing League of Legends. When you enable the mode, by default, it switches to low graphics settings. That is how the game starts working smoothly. If your problem disappears when you are under this mode, that may indicate either that your hardware is outdated or that your slow internet might be the culprit.

Open League of Legends.

Find and click the gear icon (Settings) in the top right corner. League of Legends Accessible Presets

Check Low Spec Mode, then click Done. League of Legends Low Spec Mode Can Be Enabled

If you continue having frame rate issues, try the following: Close League of Legends, then restart your computer and reopen League of End.

If you follow these steps, then you should find and be able to resolve the main cause of FPS drops in League of Legends for a smoother, more enjoyable game.