Call of Duty: Black Ops III

Call of Duty: Black Ops III

103 ratings
BO3 Optimization & Known Issues
By Prism
This guide lists all known fixes in BO3 for issues such as FPS loss as well as a streamlined guide to optimization and the best settings for a fluid experience.
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Introduction
This guide was inspired by multiple users who wrote similar guides with unnecessary and outdated information, they weren't complete or they were inaccurate. If any user notices any mistakes simply write a comment or if you're not comfortable doing so contact me on Discord at Thanasoles.

My goal is to make this guide as simple to follow and as accurate as possible, it's good to remember that we all make mistakes, even those who push to be perfect.

If this guide helped you it would be heavily appreciated if you liked, favorited or commented on it!

If you're feeling charitable feel free to give me some steam points ~ check below for how!

Optimized Settings - All Modes
Optimized Quality Settings

Texture Quality: Extra (Highest VRAM Can Handle)
Texture Filtering: High
Mesh Quality: High
Shadow Map Quality: Extra
Dynamic Shadows: On
Subsurface Scattering: On
Order Independent Transparency: High
Volumetric Lighting: Medium
Anti-aliasing: Filmic SMAA 1x (Clarity) - Filmic SMAA T2x (Better Anti-Aliasing)
Ambient Occlusion: Medium
Motion Blur: Disabled (Subjective)

Optimized Balanced Settings

Shadow Map Quality: Extra
Subsurface Scattering: Off
Order Independent Transparency: Medium
Ambient Occlusion: Low

Optimized Low Settings

Shadow Quality: High

Optimization Tips
1. Setting texture quality to extra can cause severe stuttering. If this is an issue you experience now or in the future it is recommended you play on high instead, the difference in quality is negligible. This glitch can happen randomly and is more prevalent on certain maps/custom zombie maps

2. Black Ops 3's task priority is set to low by default which is horrible and is another culprit of stuttering as Windows thinks the task is idle. The following tweak should automatically set it to high everytime you launch the game. Create a text file and paste this into it: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT \CurrentVersion \Image File Execution Options \BlackOps3.exe]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options /BlackOps3.exe/ PerfOptions] "CpuPriorityClass"=dword:00000003

Afterward rename the .txt to .reg then double click on it and click yes. If high is too much for your computer to handle though due to limited resources you can at least set it to normal by changing the 3 at the end to a 2.

Robot Mic (Discord)
I'm unsure as to a fix for this, but if anyone knows of one please let me know. I just know it is a very common problem that your microphone will become robotic in Discord when you're on BO3.

It is also very common for the microphone to peak on Discord when you boot up BO3, the fix for this is to simply wait it out as your microphone will return back to normal once you've been in the game for a bit.
Closing Remarks
If you have any questions regarding ANY of the above fixes or content please feel free to leave a comment below or add me on Steam and DM me. I also recommend checking out my other guides here to see if there are any guides for games you actively play or would like to play!

19 Comments
toadnica 6 Jul, 2024 @ 10:15pm 
my buddy has had that mic glitch for ages everytime hes opens any cod nevermind bo3, he fixes it by either adjusting his levels in his mixer (which it does literally turn up for some reason) or jus recently he found out that if he opens the logitech app (his headphones) itll fix itself, hope this helps some1
PTBStraightEdge 28 Jun, 2024 @ 5:48pm 
Should Shadow Map Quality be Extra in both Quality and Balanced categories? If so, why mention it? Based on your formatting you would only include the things that change from top to bottom. Thanks!
Kyfo 18 Jun, 2024 @ 10:12pm 
idk if its still an issue but if you install the entire game it runs better than just installing parts.
Sparky! 15 Jun, 2024 @ 8:11pm 
@finddantehere it could be cause you are using a mod check to see if you are using aae, this often kicks me out of certain maps
Prism  [author] 8 Jun, 2024 @ 4:48pm 
I would recommend verifying file integrity and doing a full reinstallation of all modded files.
FindDanteHere 8 Jun, 2024 @ 1:54pm 
I am having an issue where every time I try to play a custom zombies map, I get the loading screen for the map and then the screen blacks out, I get a coding error message and the game crashes essentially?
dogman420 19 Mar, 2024 @ 9:19am 
install t7 patch i use medium settings to
PhoenixFlames 10 Mar, 2024 @ 10:55pm 
If you want a fix to the FPS, download the T7 patch by serious. MrtLexify has a video about it
Fear 23 Feb, 2024 @ 3:32am 
bro and why the hell i bought bo3 and the game broke my pc, my graphic card stop working
Gator Jones 19 Feb, 2024 @ 6:13pm 
the easiest way to fix the stuttering and low fps is to download every dlc you own