Severe Performance Issues in PoE2. Persistent Lag & Incomplete Map Loading

Dear GGG team,

I would like to report ongoing performance issues in Path of Exile 2 that I’ve been experiencing consistently.

During gameplay since patch 0.4, I encounter significant lag spikes, stuttering, and situations where maps do not fully load. This heavily impacts gameplay and, in some cases, makes the game nearly unplayable.

I’ve already tried extensive troubleshooting on my end, including:

- Updating GPU drivers
- Verifying game files
- Adjusting in game graphics settings (both low and high)
- Testing different resolutions and window modes
- Monitoring CPU/GPU/RAM usage
- Checking network stability

Unfortunately, none of these steps resolved the issue. The problems persist across multiple sessions and areas.

Given the amount of troubleshooting already done, this seems unlikely to be a local hardware or configuration issue. It feels more like a performance optimization or streaming/loading issue within the game itself.

I really enjoy PoE2 and want to keep playing, but the current performance problems make that difficult. I hope this can help the team identify and investigate the issue further.

Thanks in advance for looking into this.

- reinstall GPU driver with "DDU"


after that, do this:

copied from my discord:

* Open the Start menu → type `cmd` → right-click **Command Prompt** → select **Run as administrator**
* Execute the following commands **one by one** (wait for each to finish before continuing):

```
ipconfig /flushdns
netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset
netsh interface ip delete arpcache
dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
sfc /scannow
```

✅ Then **restart your PC**

### 🔄 **What this does:**

* Clears DNS cache and old network assignments
* Resets network protocols and the Winsock catalog
* Checks and repairs corrupt system files if necessary
* Often helps with: **lags, teleport bugs, high ping, packet loss**

same, ping spikes/lags/stutters all the time - only in poe2. cant be client side, i cba trying anymore fixes. pls do something against it

Quick update in case this helps others:

I managed to fully resolve the performance issues I mentioned earlier. The cause turned out to be that POE2 was installed on an HDD.

After moving the game to my SSD, all issues disappeared:

- No more lag or stuttering
- Maps load correctly and fully
- Overall gameplay is smooth again

PoE2 appears to stream a lot of data during gameplay, and the HDD simply couldn’t keep up. Once installed on an SSD, the difference was immediate and significant.

So if anyone is experiencing similar issues (lag, stutters, incomplete map loading), I strongly recommend checking whether the game is installed on an SSD rather than an HDD.

Thanks for the responses and hope this helps someone else.