Troubleshooting lags and latency problems in World of Warcraft

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games have been around for years now, but it’s taken this long for the genre’s breakthrough hit to finally emerge – World of Warcraft is indeed that game. It is just an amazing accomplishment and an incredibly fun game above all else. It’s filled with basically everything that’s ever been great about the massively multiplayer online RPG genre, and it delivers a lot of new stuff, as well as filling you with a sense of wonder as you explore the game’s incredibly huge and beautiful world. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience, and it’s something that’s recommendable to pretty much everyone. So regardless of what you may think of this style of gaming, this is the sort of game that you owe it to yourself to check out. It’s just really a mind-blowing and staggering that makes you glad that you’re someone who plays games and feel sorry for people who don’t. One of the most striking things about World of Warcraft is that the game takes place in this incredibly huge and seamless world.

Today, we are going to address an issue that is hindering many players from enjoying World of Warcraft. They have been complaining that the game lags so much that it is literally unplayable, and this is very frustrating. That is why we will show you how to get rid of the WoW lags. Make sure you go through all the solutions until you find the one that works for you.

Table of Contents

1. Make sure that your computer meets the requirements to run the game
2. Power cycle your router
3. Make sure that your drivers are up to date
4. Reset the WoW interface
5. Decrease your game’s resolution
6. Switch from fullscreen to windowed mode
7. Repair your Registry files
8. Change Power management mode to Prefer maximum performance (Nvidia users)
9. Disable shader cache (Nvidia users)
10. Set the game to high priority in the Task Manager
11. Turn off visual effects to increase PC performance
12. Connect your laptop to power
13. Make sure you are using a wired Internet connection
14. Disable background apps

Solution 1. Make sure that your computer meets the requirements to run the game

One of the first things for you to check before buying is the system requirements for running the game. You need to make sure that your computer meets the minimum requirements or, better yet, the recommended requirements. If your PC does not meet the minimum requirements, your game may not even start at all. If it meets the minimum but not the recommended requirements, your game will run but with lags and low FPS. So, it is very important for your PC to meet the recommended requirements. Here are the required specs to run World of Warcraft:

Minimum requirements:

• Operating system: Windows® 7 64-bit
• PROCESSOR: Intel® Core™ i5-760, AMD FX™-8100, or better
• VIDEO: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560 2GB, or AMD™ Radeon™ HD 7850 2GB, or Intel® HD Graphics 530 (45W TDP)
• MEMORY: 4 GB RAM (8GB for Intel HD Graphics 530)

Recommended Requirements:

• Operating system: Windows® 10 64-bit
• PROCESSOR: Intel® Core™ i7-4770 or AMD FX™-8310 or better
• VIDEO: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 960 4GB, or AMD™ Radeon™ R9 280, or better)
• MEMORY: 8 GB RAM

If you do not know the specs of your computer, use the following instructions to check:

• Press the Windows logo key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
• Input dxdiag into the search area, and press Enter. This will open the DirectX Diagnostic Tool window.
• Under the System tab, you will find information about your operating system, processor, and memory.
• Navigate to the Display tab and check the graphics card which is installed on your PC.

Solution 2. Power cycle your router

Power cycling your router can help with the lag or low FPS because it refreshes your network connection. The router works round the clock without rest. Sometimes, commands accumulate, and the router is slow to send signals. When you power cycle the device, all of the commands are refreshed and it can start sending signals at a much faster rate. This is in effect will stop the lag in World of Warcraft because the internet connection is better now. Use the following steps to power cycle your router:

• First, you need to turn off all the devices that are connected to the router.
• Now, turn off the router and unplug it from power, and let it stay like that for about 60 seconds.
• Plug the router back into the power outlet and turn it on, then wait for some time for it to boot completely.
• Now, turn on your computer and let it boot up completely.
• Once this is done, start your game and check if the lag issue has been solved.

Solution 3. Make sure that your drivers are up to date

Every gamer should know the importance of having updated drivers, especially graphics drivers. Normally, drivers are the middleman between the operating system and the device. If they are corrupted, missing, or outdated, the communication is severed and the device will not work to its full potential. Signals will not be transmitted well. That is why it is very important to keep all your drivers up to date. Here, we are going to show you the best methods to update and install all your drivers:

Method 1. Download and install Auslogics Driver Updater.

This is one of the easiest ways to get all your drivers. It is very fast and reliable. This tool will scan your computer for all drivers that need updating and download and install the latest manufacturer-recommended versions. You will be able to download all your drivers in just one click. Using this tool, you do not need to know any extra information about the device whose driver you want to update, and it will do everything for you. You just need to sit back and relax while the tool is doing the job.

Method 2. Download the driver from the manufacturer’s site

Getting the driver from the manufacturer’s site is a very reliable way to get what you need. There you will be able to find the latest versions of the drivers. The drivers are usually located in the support section of the website. The problem with this method is that you will need to know the key information about the device whose driver you want to update. Also, this method is time-consuming, as you will have to download each driver separately and install them individually. Manufacturers have noticed this drawback and created clients that will scan your computer and direct you to the website to download the specific driver which is missing.

Method 3. Update your driver using the Device Manager

This is a built-in tool which manages your devices. You will find all the information regarding all your devices there. Use the following instructions to update your graphics drivers:

• Right-click on the Start or Home button and select Device Manager from the context menu.
• In the Device Manager window, click on the small arrow next to Display adapters to expand it. There, you will see the graphics device which is installed on your computer. You will see a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark next to it indicating that the driver is out of date.
• Right-click on the graphics device and select Update driver.
• In the next window, select the option which prompts you to download and install the driver from the Internet.
• Windows will now download the best driver for your device and install it.
• Once you are done, restart your computer and launch your game.

Solution 4. Reset the WoW interface

To resolve the Wold of Warcraft lag, you can try resetting its user interface. Use the following instructions to do it:

• Exit from World of Warcraft completely.
• Remove all the addon managers that were added to the game.
• Now, go to Blizzards battle.net, click on Options and select Show in Explorer.
• Now, navigate to World of Warcraft > _retail_ folder.
• In this folder, you will have to rename the Cache, Interface, and WTF folders to CacheOld, InterfaceOld, and WTFOld respectively.
• Once this is done, start your game again and check if the lag issue has been resolved.

Solution 5. Decrease your game’s resolution

When your game meets only the minimum but not the recommended requirements, you will experience lags and fps drops. Decreasing the resolution of the game can significantly help with the situation. To do this, you need to get into the game’s display settings and change the resolution to either medium or low. You can also decrease other display settings to help with the lags.

Solution 6. Switch from fullscreen to windowed mode

You can also do this from the Display settings of the game. All you need to do is launch World of Warcraft and go to Display settings. Here, you will see windowed mode; switch to it. This will also help you with the lags and low FPS.

Solution 7. Repair your Registry

Most, if not all, of the information about your system files and settings is stored in the Registry. If it is corrupted, you will start encountering various issues with your PC. World of Warcraft lagging will be among the least of your worries. That is why you have to fix any errors with your Registry files. To do this, you can look on the internet for a Registry editor that will fix any errors with your registry. Before making any changes to the Windows registry, you will need to create a backup. This is because making errors while modifying the registry can result in irreversible damage to your operating system. To perform a Registry backup, use the following steps:

• Press the Windows logo key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
• Input regedit into the search area and press Enter. This will open the Registry Editor.
• Right-click on Computer and select Export.
• In the next dialog box, select a location and save the file. It is saved as a .reg file.
• Any time you need to use it, you can just go to the same location and run it.
• Now, you can edit your Registry without worries.

Solution 8. Change Power management mode to Prefer maximum performance (Nvidia users)

• Right-click on your desktop and select Nvidia Control Panel.
• In the next box, select Manage 3D settings in the left panel.
• Now, scroll down and select Power management mode, then choose Prefer maximum performance from the drop-down menu.

Solution 9. Disable shader cache (Nvidia users)

Again, you have to go to 3D settings in the Nvidia control panel and turn off the shadow cache feature. This will greatly improve the performance of your game and stop the lagging.

Solution 10. Set the game to high priority in the Task Manager

Setting your World of Warcraft to a higher priority in the Task Manager means that more system resources will be allocated to the game. This in return will make the game perform better and eliminate all the lagging. To do this, use the following steps:

• Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.
• Navigate to the Processes tab and click on the World of Warcraft process running and set its priority to high.
• This is not a lasting change because every time you restart your laptop, the priority will be reset to its original state.

Solution 11. Turn off visual effects to increase PC performance

• Click on the Start menu and input Control Panel into the search box, then choose Control Panel from the list of results.
• Click on System and Security, then select System.
• Now, select Settings under Performance and choose Adjust for best performance.
• Click Apply and OK to confirm the changes you have made.

Solution 12. Connect your laptop to power

Maybe you have not noticed, but your laptop performs better when connected to power. This is because when it is not connected to power, it conserves energy by disabling some processes to keep running for a longer period of time. The processes which it disables are vital for the smooth running of your game. That is why you experience lag when the laptop is disconnected from power.

Solution 13. Make sure you are using a wired Internet connection

If you are experiencing the lags when playing online, the first thing you want to check is your Internet connection. Using a wireless connection will greatly affect the game’s performance, and you will experience lags. It does not matter how good the connection is. This is because a wireless connection is not stable, so you will have high ping in some instances. When playing online, you should always use a wired connection, which is more stable, and you will not experience any lags or decreased FPS.

Solution 14. Disable background apps

Background apps can be running on your computer without you knowing. These apps can significantly affect the performance of your game because they drain your computer’s resources. This causes you to start experiencing lags and low FPS when playing games. Use the following instructions to disable background apps:

• Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
• Go to the Processes tab and disable any apps which you are not using.

Note that some processes are vital for the functioning of your operating system, and if you disable them, your computer may have issues. That is why we recommend you to download and install Auslogics BoostSpeed. This tool will clear your computer of junk files and folders and disable all unnecessary background apps that are draining your computer’s resources.

We hope that this article has shown you how to fix WoW latency. Share it with others who experience such issues.

We appreciate your ideas and comments, and we are ready to answer all your questions regarding this topic.