The Ascent gets another performance patch to address stuttering and bugs

The Ascent
(Image credit: Neon Giant)

The Ascent is a fun cyberpunk-themed shooter but it launched with some performance issues. The most notable was a weird disparity between the Windows Store version of the game and the Steam one, but general stability has also been an issue. If you're still having problems there's a new patch out now.

Stuttering and hitching are the two biggest performance culprits and both are addressed in patch 2, for both DirectX 11 and 12 users. A bunch of unspecified crashes have been fixed, while bugs concerning disappearing weapon skins, character shirts and gear have all been addressed.

Here's the full list (or check it out on Steam here):

Performance (PC Steam & Win10)

  • DX12 is now the default for Windows Store Players.
  • DX11 is now supported for Windows Store.
  • Improvements made to reduce stuttering and hitching, for DX11 and DX12, more work will continue here for future updates.
  • Ray Tracing is set to default ‘off’ on all platforms
  • Improved Hot Joining loading times on Steam & XB Family devices, more work will continue here for future updates

Stability (all platforms)

  • Fixed a number of crashes in Single Player and Coop
  • Save Progress (all platforms)
  • Fixed an issue where Weapon Skins could be lost
  • Fixed an issue where Character Shirts could be lost
  • Fixed an issue where Gear could be lost
  • Fixed an issue where Clients items could be unequipped when a Host disconnects inside a tier elevator
  • Fixed an issue where Clients could lose their save progress when fast travelling in certain circumstances

Gameplay (all platforms)

  • Fixed the issue where sometimes a FullChrome wouldn’t spawn in ‘Mutual Dependencies’ (Mission 2)
  • Fixed an issue where ‘Sell All Duplicates’ worked incorrectly
  • Changed the frequency of Kira lines when civilians are killed (will now trigger less often)

Achievements (all platforms)

  • Fixed an issue with the Achievement ‘Added Extras’
  • Fixed an issue with the Achievement ‘Aficionado’
  • Fixed an issue with the Achievement ‘Helping Hand’
  • Fixed an issue with the Achievement ‘Win’
  • Fixed an issue with the Achievement ‘Fair Trade’

Translation (all platforms)

  • Minor bug fixes in other languages
  • Please note that we are still working on improving the quality of the translation in all languages

Other Fixes (all platforms)

  • Multiple reported minor collision issues have been fixed
Shaun Prescott

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.