The Black Desert lagging issue on Steam can be caused by different factors. It could be due to a game bug, outdated drivers, corrupted game files, internet connection, or even hardware compatibility issues. To fix this you will need to perform several troubleshooting steps.

Black Desert is a fantasy oriented MMORPG developed and published by Pearl Abyss which is currently available on the Steam platform. The game story revolves around the conflict of two rival nations, the Republic of Calpheon and the Kingdom of Valencia. Aside from combat there are a lot of things you can do in this game such as farming, trading, horse training, fishing, sailing, crafting, and cooking just to name a few.

How to fix Black Desert lag

One of the issues that you might encounter when playing Black Desert Online is the lag problem which might occur for no apparent reason. Lag problems are usually defined as the delay between the action of the players and the reaction of the game server. This places you at a disadvantage in combat situations as your character won’t be able to react on time.

Here’s what you can do to fix the Black Desert Online lag problems.

Solution 1: Check your PC hardware components

The first thing you have to do is make sure that your PC meets at least the minimum system requirements to play the game. If you are running Black Desert on an underpowered system then you will usually experience this lagging issue since your computer will have a hard time rendering the graphics or processing the game information.

Minimum system requirements:

OS: Windows 10 (32-bit or 64-bit)

Processor: Intel Core i3-530 2.9 GHz

Memory: 4 GB RAM

Graphics: GTS 250, GeForce 9800 GTX, Radeon HD 3870 X2

Network: Broadband Internet connection

Storage: 39 GB available space

Additional Notes: Screen Resolution: 1280×720

Recommended system requirements:

OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)

Processor: Intel Core i5-650 3.2GHz

Memory: 8 GB RAM

Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 970, AMD RX 480

Network: Broadband Internet connection

Storage: 39 GB available space

Additional Notes: Screen Resolution: 1920×1080 or higher

Solution 2: Check your internet connection

One factor that can cause the Black Desert lag is your internet connection issues. Since this is an online game it will need a good internet connection with the lowest ping as possible to avoid any ping problems. If you are playing the game on a computer that is connected wirelessly to your home network then you should try switching to a wired connection.

You will need to check the status of your internet connection by doing a speed test.

Wait for the results then take note of the ping, download, and upload results.

A low ping between 50ms to 100ms is good to average. Anything above this is considered as a high ping which will affect your Black Desert Online gaming experience. Your download and upload speeds should match what you are subscribing for from your internet service provider.

If there are issues with your internet connection then you can do the usual network troubleshooting steps.

• Turn off your computer.
• Unplug your Modem and Router from the power source.
• Wait for a minute then plug your modem and router back into the power source.
• Wait until the lights turn back on.
• Turn on your computer.
• Reconnect your computer to the internet.

If the internet connection problem persists then you should consider contacting your ISP.

Solution 3: Update your graphics card driver

You will face lag issues when playing Black Desert Online if your graphics card driver is not optimized for the game. This usually happens when you have not updated the card driver. It’s best to check for any new driver update as this will have several performance enhancements as well as bug fixes that could address the Black Desert lag issue you are experiencing.

Update graphics driver

Right click on the Start button.

Click on Device Manager.

Click the arrow before Display adapters.

Right click on the selected graphics card then choose Update driver.

Select Search automatically for drivers.

You can also download the latest graphics driver by using the Nvidia GeForce Experience app if you have an Nvidia gpu or the Radeon Software if you are using a Radeon card.

Once the latest driver has been installed you should restart your computer then check if the Black Desert lag issue still occurs.

Solution 4: Lower the Black Desert Online graphics settings

If your are playing Black Desert Online with the highest possible graphics settings on a low end graphics card then it’s very likely that the game will lag. This is because your video card will have a hard time processing the images causing a delay. Try lowering the game graphics then check if this fixes the problem.

Take note that lowering the graphics setting will affect your gaming experience as the graphics won’t be rendered beautifully.

• Open the Black Desert Online game launcher.
• Click the Start button.
• Click Settings.
• Click Display Settings
• Click Display Quality.
• Change Texture Quality to low or medium.
• Change Graphics to low or medium.
• Click Apply then Confirm.

Try to check if the Black Desert lag issue still occurs.

Solution 5: Close background applications

There’s a possibility that the Black Desert Online crash issue is due to too many applications running in the background. You should make sure that no other applications are running while you are playing Black Desert Online since these programs will use your computer system resources leaving a less amount of CPU, GPU, and RAM resource available for the game.

Close programs using task manager application

Open task manager application by right clicking the Start button then select Task Manager.

Make sure to click on More details.

Click on the Processes tab.

Right click on the apps running and select End task.

Try to check if the Black Desert lag issue still occurs.

Solution 6: Try switching to different game servers

Sometimes your laggy gaming experience can be caused by issues with the game server you are connecting to. Black Desert has several game servers which you can connect to. Try connecting to a different server then check if the same issue still occurs.

Solution 7: Verify the integrity of game files

There’s a possibility that the problem is caused by a corrupted game cache or missing game files. To fix this you will have to verify the integrity of Black Desert Online using the Steam game client.

Verifying integrity of the files

Open the Steam client.

Click on your Steam Library.

Find Black Desert then right click it then click on Properties.

On the new window that appears click on Local Files.

Click Verify integrity of game files…

Once the game files have been fixed try to play online and check if the game still lags occurs.

Solution 8: Reinstall Black Desert Online

If you are still experiencing the Black Desert Online crashing issue at this point the you need to uninstall the game and reinstall it.

Uninstalling the game

Go to the Steam Library tab.

Right click on Black Desert then click on Manage then uninstall.

Click on Uninstall again to uninstall the game.

Installing the game

Go to the Library tab.

Right click on Black Desert then click on install.

Click next to proceed with the installation.

With the game newly installed, try to play BDO and check if the lag issue still occurs.

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