The Finals Heaven or Else LTM map FPS drop

[JpsCrazy]

In the game The Finals for PC on Steam, the new map for the limited time mode Heaven or Else has significant FPS drops when you look down. 

Other reports all occur for Arc A series cards. 

Normally get 80-100 FPS, and if I keep my camera up I can maintain that in the new map, but as soon as I look down my FPS tanks to <30 FPS, persists as long as I'm looking down, and returns to normal after I look up. Its at its worse when I'm in the air and have a clear view of the lava.

Cleared shaders, updated drivers/PC, restarted, turned off XESS, set XESS to ultra performance, adjusting game settings, attempted windowed mode, etc.
FPS in top right of gameplay screenshot; private match, only difference was the angle I looked at. 

Ryzen 7 5700X3D
Intel Arc A770 
32 Gb 3466hz DDR4 RAM
Windows 11; desktop

My report: https://discord.com/channels/1008696016318513243/1423452777396572281

ARC A770 LE https://discord.com/channels/1008696016318513243/1424131646948642917

ARC A750 https://discord.com/channels/1008696016318513243/1182969786293039114/1424142767361228882 

[DeancR_Intel]

Hi JpsCrazy,

Thank you for reporting this specific performance issue with The Finals on your Intel Arc A770. I understand how frustrating it must be to experience such dramatic FPS drops (from 80-100 FPS down to <30 FPS) when looking down at the lava in the new "Heaven or Else" map, especially when the performance is otherwise excellent.

I appreciate you providing the detailed information about your system configuration and the troubleshooting steps you've already attempted (clearing shaders, updating drivers, restarting, adjusting XESS settings, windowed mode, etc.). I can also see the graphics settings you've shared. The fact that this issue is consistently reported across multiple Arc A series cards suggests this may be a specific compatibility issue with this particular map's rendering.

To help investigate this performance issue further, I'd like to gather some additional diagnostic information:

System Information: Please provide an Intel SSU (System Support Utility) report:

• Download link: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005567/processors.html

If you're not comfortable sharing the SSU report, please provide:

• Your current Intel Arc graphics driver version
• Have you tested with the latest driver version 32.0.101.8135? If not, please try:
  • Driver download: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/785597/intel-arc-graphics-windows.html
  • Consider using DDU for a clean installation: https://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html

Performance Data:

• Can you confirm the FPS drops occur specifically when looking at the lava/ground areas in the Heaven or Else map?
• Please capture CapFrameX data during the FPS drop occurrence for detailed analysis

For comprehensive issue documentation, please follow our detailed bug reporting guidelines: https://community.intel.com/t5/Intel-ARC-Graphics/Need-help-Reporting-a-bug-or-issue-with-Arc-GPU-PLEASE-READ-THIS/m-p/1494429#M5057

If you'd prefer faster real-time assistance to work through this issue, I can arrange a phone call to expedite the troubleshooting process.

This appears to be a specific rendering issue with The Finals' new map content, and your detailed report will be valuable for our engineering team to investigate and potentially address in future driver updates.

Please let me know which information you can provide, and we'll work together to document this issue thoroughly.

Best regards, 

Dean R. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[JpsCrazy]

Please find my SSU log attached.

Confirmed, the FPS drops are only this impactful/consistent while looking down in the Heaven or Else map. I may experience some FPS drops otherwise, but I'd be shocked if they dipped below 60 FPS (compared to 15FPS here)

Confirmed I'm using 32.0.101.8135. I'll attempt to uninstall with DDU and reinstall.

Attached is CapFrameX data, however I'm not able to attach .json files to this forum so I've appended .txt.

[DeancR_Intel]

Hi JpsCrazy,

Thank you for providing the Intel SSU report and CapFrameX data! This is exactly what we need to investigate the Heaven or Else map performance issue with your Intel Arc A770.

I can see you're confirmed to be using the latest driver version 32.0.101.8135, and I appreciate you confirming that the severe FPS drops (down to 15 FPS) are specifically occurring when looking down in the Heaven or Else map, while other scenarios rarely drop below 60 FPS.

Your plan to perform a DDU clean installation and reinstall is excellent, this may help resolve any potential driver conflicts that could be contributing to this map-specific rendering issue.

Quick Question about the CapFrameX Data: To ensure we have sufficient data for a thorough analysis, could you confirm if the CapFrameX recording you provided represents approximately 5 minutes of gameplay? This duration would give our engineering team the comprehensive performance data needed to identify the specific rendering bottlenecks occurring in the Heaven or Else map.

If the current recording is shorter, it would be helpful to capture a longer session (around 5 minutes) that includes:

• Normal gameplay with camera looking up/forward (good performance)
• Transitioning to looking down at the lava areas (performance drop)
• Multiple instances of this performance variation

Next Steps:

1. Complete the DDU clean installation and test the results
2. Confirm the CapFrameX recording duration for our analysis
3. Our team will analyze the provided data alongside the SSU report

This appears to be a specific rendering optimization issue with The Finals' Heaven or Else map content, and your detailed documentation is invaluable for our engineering team to investigate and potentially address in future driver updates.

Please let me know about the CapFrameX recording duration and the results of your DDU reinstallation.

Best regards,

Dean R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JpsCrazy]

Attached is ~5 minutes of normal gameplay.

I updated my Arc's driver with the recent update, choosing a clean install. I still experienced the issue. 

[DeancR_Intel]

Hi JpsCrazy,

Thank you for providing the 5-minute CapFrameX recording and for completing the DDU clean installation with the latest driver. I appreciate your thoroughness in testing - this gives us exactly the comprehensive data we need for analysis.

I understand that the issue persists even after the clean driver installation, which confirms this is a deeper compatibility problem with The Finals' Heaven or Else map rendering rather than a simple driver conflict.

Your CapFrameX data showing normal gameplay with the severe FPS drops when looking down at the lava areas, combined with your SSU report, provides me with all the necessary information to investigate this map-specific rendering issue. The fact that you're experiencing drops to 15 FPS in specific viewing angles while maintaining 60+ FPS in other scenarios gives us clear performance patterns to analyze.

To complement the CapFrameX data, could you also share a short video clip demonstrating the FPS drop issue? This visual evidence would help me better understand the exact rendering behavior when the performance drops occur in the Heaven or Else map.

Best regards,

Dean R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JpsCrazy]

Attached is a clip representative of the issue

[DeancR_Intel]

Hi JpsCrazy,

Thank you for getting back to me for providing the requested clip of the issue. I will be checking this internally and get back to you once the information you need is available.

Best regards,

Dean R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[DeancR_Intel]

Hi JpsCrazy,

Upon checking the SSU you have provided earlier; it seems that you have the outdated version of the Graphics Driver. I suggest trying the latest driver 32.0.101.8136 in this link: Intel® Arc™ Graphics - Windows*.

Also, please apply clean installation to remove the remnants of the old driver. Let me know if the issue still persists with this specific driver.

Best regards,

Dean R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JpsCrazy]

At the time of the report, 32.0.101.8135 was current. I did update the driver with a clean install for the 5 minute capture of gameplay and frame data.

Attached is my updated SSU

[DeancR_Intel]

Hi JpsCrazy,

Thank you for the clarification and for providing the updated SSU report. You're absolutely right that 32.0.101.8135 was the current version at the time of your initial report, and I appreciate you confirming that you performed a clean driver installation for the 5-minute CapFrameX capture.

I will be checking this internally and will get back to you once I have more information available regarding the Heaven or Else map performance issues you're experiencing with your Intel Arc A770.

Thank you for your patience and for providing such thorough documentation of this issue.

Best regards,

Dean R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[DeancR_Intel]

Hi JpsCrazy,

Thank you for your patience as we investigated the Heaven or Else map performance issues, you're experiencing with your Intel Arc A770.

To help analyze this further, could you please provide the JSON file from your CapFrameX performance recordings? This will give detailed frame time data that will be valuable for our continued investigation of the stuttering issues.

You can attach the JSON file to your response, and this additional data will help us better understand the performance patterns you're experiencing in Heaven or Else.

Thank you for your continued cooperation and detailed documentation throughout this process.

Best regards,

Dean R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JpsCrazy2]

Two were posted earlier in the thread. You don't allow uploading .json files so I had to upload them as .txt. Remove .txt or add .json to the file extension and make sure you have it enabled to display file extensions in your Windows settings.

Unrelated but Intel didn't recognize my email for my account so I had to make a second account with the same email. 

[DeancR_Intel]

Hi JpsCrazy2,

Thank you for providing the CapFrameX JSON files (uploaded as .txt) for the Heaven or Else performance analysis. I can see you've been very thorough in documenting the stuttering issues with your Intel Arc A770.

I understand the frustration with having to create a new account due to Intel not recognizing your original email - technical issues like that can be quite inconvenient when you're already dealing with performance problems.

Since you're now using a new account (JpsCrazy2), I'd recommend creating a fresh support thread for this issue. This will ensure proper case tracking and allow our team to provide you with focused support under your new account credentials. It will also help avoid any confusion with previous correspondence that may have been tied to your original account.

When you create the new thread, please feel free to reference this current discussion and include the CapFrameX data you've already provided. This will me the complete context they need to continue investigating the Heaven or Else performance issues effectively.

I apologize for any inconvenience this account situation has caused, and I appreciate your patience as we work to resolve both the technical and administrative aspects of your support experience.

Best regards,

Dean R.

Intel Customer Support Technician