I'll confess that when Capcom announced its multi-patch performance improvement plan for Monster Hunter Wilds, I was skeptical about just how much it would accomplish—especially when the first of the regimen's updates delivered the same mixed results as Capcom's previous attempts to address Wilds' technical woes. The early details for this month's PC-specific follow-up patch, which touted additional graphics and CPU options alongside the vague promise of yet more "CPU/GPU optimization," didn't inspire confidence either.
I'm pleased to say that, for once, I was wrong to doubt. The Steam-centric patch arrived last night, and—while I wish it hadn't taken almost a year for me to be able to write this—it certainly seems like a Monster Hunter Wilds performance improvement patch has finally, substantially improved performance. Sometimes when a patch note says "CPU/GPU optimization," it really means it.
Still, I'm going to ask that we all limit any sudden movements or loud noises. I don't want to break the spell.
After 11 months of Wilds patches producing reports from players saying their performance had inexplicably gotten even worse, seeing hunters sharing positive responses to the latest optimization fixes is downright refreshing. On Reddit, users are reporting vastly improved frametime lows; others claim "every performance issue I've had is fixed."
The patch is even being received warmly on Steam, where Wilds' harshest critics have been happy to unload their grievances since launch. There's been a massive uptick in positive reviews in the last 24 hours, with players saying they can now "wholeheartedly recommend" the game.
"After almost a year I can finally recommend this game after today's performance patch," says another reviewer with a staggering 1,042 hours of Wilds playtime. "We all expected this update to be a nothing burger but it's actually really good."
Some players are even finding settings configurations to get respectable performance on Steam Deck (with some hefty concessions in visual quality, of course).
Anecdotally, I was very pleased after knocking out a couple hunts to give the patch a test run: While fighting a few monsters during Windward Plains sandstorms and the Scarlet Forest's lighting-intensive plenty season, my 4070 was able to maintain a smooth, 70+ framerate running DLAA without frame gen enabled, and without any of the hitching I'd come to expect prior to the update.
Mileage will, of course, vary based on your own hardware, and you shouldn't expect the game to suddenly run flawlessly if it was genuinely unplayable for you before. But after so many months without seeing Capcom make any real headway on Wilds' performance faults, it's a very welcome change of pace.
That said, the fact that it took this long doesn't do much to dispel the sense that Wilds might have been better off launching this year instead. Better late than never.
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