Divinity II - 2024 Improvements

Bugfixes and getting your game to run properly in 2024.

This guide is pulling from other guides and fixes found online, trying to get a streamlined process instead of bouncing between multiple guides.

My first guide, i'll update if i find issues.

Step 1 : The Big Fixes

The big fixes for a smooth experience

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1. Too be able to run the game on modern hardware, allowing higher FPS, we will need to add the div2patcher. This adds exe's that have the 4gb patch and fps fixes. In step 4, we will use Nvidia Profile Inspector to set the FPS fixes.

(from page 4 of 60 choppy stuttery any fix)

Originally posted by Caesar:

the provided exes come from the latest game version 1.4.700.56/1.4.700.57 (unofficial Y-Axis HotFix) and have the following changes:
Large Address Aware flag enabled in the PE header (aka 4GB patch)
codecave to load up the main patch (divinity2.dll)
there are currently 3 patches available; all of them can be turned on/off via editing divinity2.ini with a text editor:
BorderlessWindow: removes borders from the game window when playing in windowed mode (Fullscreen=''0'' in graphicoptions.xml)
RemoveInGame50FPSCap: removes the internal 50 fps limit (~45 fps in main menu, ~40 fps ingame). needs more testing
RemoveMainMenu30FPSCap: removes the 30 fps limit from the main menu

Link : https://www.reddit.com/r/Divinity2DKS/comments/18r6s68/div2patch_v095/

Follow the link from the Divinity 2 DKS reddit and download the latest Div2Patch version.

Extract with 7zip (or app of choice) and move the bin and data folder to the Divinity install folder. Yes to replace files. (backup old exes if needed)

! RUN THE GAME ONCE TO GENERATE FILES !

As stated in other guides, it's a safe practice to create a shortcut to Divinity2.exe and place on your desktop to make sure that launches the game properly. Needs further testing to see if you still need to do this.

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2. Manually set correct resolution for your monitor

Open: AppData\Local\Divinity 2\Profile\graphicoptions.xml with your text editor of choice
(graphicoptions will only generate once the game has been launched once)

Once opened, adjust parameters: ScreenWidth=" " ScreenHeight=" " to screen resolution.
Example: My monitor is 3840 x 2160. ScreenWidth="3840" ScreenHeight="2160"

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Step 2 : The Improved Textures

How to install the improved texture mod

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1. Download the Improved Texture Mod here

2. Once downloaded, extract archive to Divinity 2 install folder. You really only need the TPF files and Texmod.exe

3. Open the Texmod.exe file in the folder, and a program will open up. Once it is open, click the folder button to add the Divinity2.exe as executable. (Divinity2.exe is in the bin folder)

4. Select the folder icon that is located under logging mode, select browse.



From here, ctl + left click every TPF file in the install folder.

5. Once all tpf packages are loaded, click Run on the bottom. This will load the textures into the game.

! YOU ONLY NEED TO DO THIS ONCE. YOU DO NOT NEED TO KEEP LAUNCHING THE GAME FROM HERE !

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Step 3 : Beautification

Using ReShade for those important looks

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! DIVINITY 2 HAS ISSUES WITH ANTI-ALIASING, AMBIENT OCCLUSION AND OTHER GRAPHIC SETTINGS THAT MAKE THE GAME WORSE VISUAL WISE. RESHADE HELPS FIX THOSE ISSUES !

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1. Before installing ReShade, disable these options in the in-game settings from the main menu. We will also disable a few other things to make Step 4 a little quicker.

Starting from the top of the Graphic settings:

• Disable VSync
  
• Disable Screenspace Anti-Aliasing
  
• Disable HDR
  
• Disable Depth of Field
  
• FPS Cap all the way to the left (Deactivated)

Feel free to tweak the rest. The ones above are important.

2. Install ReShade from the website https://reshade.me/

3. Once you launch the .exe, make sure to select "Divinity 2 (Divinity2.exe)" then select Next

4. Select DirectX9 for rendering API

5. Under 'effects to install', make sure to have the following checked:

• Standard effects
  
• SweetFX by Ceejay
  
• qUINT by Marty McFly
  
• Legacy effects *IMPORTANT*

6. Launch the game. You should see a popup indicating that ReShade is installing. Once in the main menu you should be able to hit the 'Home' key to open the settings.

7. Only enable and use the following:

From "Definitive Bugfix & Improvement Guide" by Tamaster :

Originally posted by Tamaster:

SMAA, all the setting bars to the far right
FXAA, leave as default
MXAO, amount=0.600 and sample range=1.400, everything else as default
FakeHDR, leave as default
AdaptiveSharpen, leave as default
AmbientLight, leave as default

These can be adjusted to user preference.

Step 4 : The FPS Fix

This section is to set the game at 60fps and hopefully resolve the camera stutter and camera movement problem

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1. Make sure that you have Vsync, FPS Cap and Screenspace Anti-Aliasing turned off from step 3. For now, disable Lockstep Mode as well.

2. Download the latest Nvidia Profile Inspector [github.com]

3. Once installed, under Profiles, select the Divinity 2 profile. You can just type in Divinity and it will be easier to find.

4. Configure the following options:

From Stutter Fix + MSAA (for Nvidia GPUs) by iriyap

Originally posted by iriyap:

Frame Limiter V3: 60 FPS (or your monitor's refresh rate)
Maximum Pre-Rendered Frames: 1
Triple Buffering: On
Vertical Sync: Fast Sync

(Optional, can be GPU intensive depending on your resolution/framerate)
Antialiasing - Compatibility (DX9): 0x000010C1 (just copy and paste this)
Antialiasing (MSAA) - Mode: Override any application setting
Antialiasing (MSAA) - Setting: 4x [4x Multisampling]
Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling: 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling

5. REMEMBER TO APPLY CHANGES ON THE TOP RIGHT

! THESE OPTIONS OVERRIDE THE SHADERS FROM RESHADE. DO THIS AFTER YOU DO RESHADE !

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Troubleshooting

1. FXAA can cause blurriness, i haven't experienced it in the game but disable it in the ReShade if you have issues.

2. Try enabling Lockstep Mode if camera tearing/stutter is persistent.

References

"60 choppy stuttery any fix" - page 4, quote from Caesar

"Definitive Bugfix & Improvement Guide" by Tamaster

"Stutter Fix + MSAA (for Nvidia GPUs)" by iriyap

If i missed information from a guide, i will update.

[AngelicGhoul]

Let me see if I can recreate the issue by reinstalling and going step by step. Could be that the mod is ood or something else is interfering.

[Shadow87]

my game crashes after loading the textures (hitting run) when i hit continue or new game. it goes to the start screen but crashes on load game

[AngelicGhoul]

@Drakkhaldane62 thank you for letting me know, it seems the URL was changed to something else. i have included a link from the Div2patcher author's post on reddit. Should be good to go now

[AngelicGhoul]

Ill see if i can find a new link for it, havent checked the link since i used it last

[Todd Gens Too Much Neco-Arc]

beware guys. the mediafire link op posted leads to malvertising malware. i almost got a virus from trying to download this crap.

[Kareisha]

if you also want to use the 'large font mod' then rename the 'd3d9.dll' file to 'dxgi.dll' in the bin folder (from reshade), then install the mod (the mod is a d3d9.dll file)

[Kareisha]

thanks for sharing!

[taffe]

Amazing guide! Game runs perfectly now, thank you very much!

[iggy]

Thanks for the guide, but no matter what I do, reshade can't be installed. The setup cannot recognize the API game is using, for some reason. It worked with every other game before. Could it have something to do with div2patch?