The game is installed on an M.2 SSD (3500 MB/s read/write)
I have fully updated Windows 11 and the latest NVIDIA drivers installed.
Do you have any idea what else I could try? I have also tried disabling overlays, but that didn’t fix the problem.
The most interesting thing is that the game worked perfectly for years on this PC, but for the past few months I have been experiencing dramatic FPS drops. This only happens with Heroes of the Storm — all my other games run normally.
Hi! Since HotS runs on an older engine (the StarCraft II engine), it is heavily reliant on single-core CPU performance and very sensitive to system hiccups. Here are the most likely causes and how to fix them, including the ones you suspected:
1. CPU Throttling (Overheating)
Even though your other games run fine, HotS hammers one or two CPU cores completely. If your CPU hits its thermal limit on those specific cores, it will drop its clock speed (throttle), causing sudden and dramatic FPS drops.
How to fix: Download a tool like HWMonitor or MSI Afterburner. Run the game and check your CPU temperatures. If they are spiking above 85–90°C, it’s time to clean out the dust, check if your cooler is working properly, or reapply thermal paste.
2. Game Running on Integrated Graphics (iGPU)
Your i7-10700K has Intel UHD Graphics 630 built-in. Sometimes Windows or the NVIDIA driver tries to “save power” on older games by launching them on the integrated GPU instead of your RTX 3080.
How to fix:
Open Windows Settings > System > Display > Graphics.
Find Heroes of the Storm in the list (or click Browse and find HeroesOfTheStorm_x64.exe inside your game folder).
Click Options, set it to High Performance, and make sure it selects your RTX 3080.
3. OneDrive / Document Syncing Issues
HotS constantly reads and writes to your Documents\Heroes of the Storm folder (for variables, replays, and shaders). If Microsoft OneDrive is syncing this folder in the background, it causes massive micro-stutters and FPS drops.
How to fix: Disable OneDrive syncing for your Documents folder, or pause OneDrive entirely while playing.
4. Audio Channels and Replay Savings
The SC2 engine handles sound sequentially with physics. High audio quality can choke the CPU core handling the game.
How to fix: Go to the in-game Sound options. Lower the Sound Channels from 64 or 128 down to 32. Also, consider turning off “Save All Replays” in the Gameplay settings to reduce drive write-cycles during match events.
5. Corrupted Shaders Cache
Since the game ran fine for years, a Windows or NVIDIA update might have corrupted the shader cache specific to HotS.
How to fix:
Press Win + R, type %localappdata% and press Enter. Delete the Blizzard Entertainment folder.
Open the NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D Settings > find Shader Cache Size and set it to 10GB or Unlimited to prevent the system from constantly deleting and rebuilding shaders mid-game.