Hello there. I’m hoping to get some help on this issue if possible. I’ve seen alot of posts like this when there’s been an update or a patch etc.
I thought I’d hop back in and get ready for Shadowlands. The last time I played was January 14th 2020, at the release of N’zoth. I did not have the following issues back then. And I’ve never had issues what-so-ever with WoW or any other game.
After 5-10 minutes of playing after I updated the game yesterday I started to feel heavy eye strain, it was a weird feeling since I’ve never experienced it before, but highly unpleaseant and actually quite painfull. I started looking into my graphical options, ended up with trying every single option there was one by one to see if I could rule out the problem. Nothing helped.
I completely wiped my graphic drivers and installed the newest ones, again without success. I’ve re-installed the game, run it without any kinds of addons. which actually made it even worse.
I can play any other game without any kinds of problem. Also I could play WoW without any problems like this since vanilla throughout all expansions up to, apparently now.
I’d like to know what you’ve added graphically to the game as of after feb 2020 if possible to help me narrow down the problem. Or if someone who’s had the same problem came up with some kind of a solution, or just anyone with ideas would be very helpful.
I think you should see an ophthalmologist/GP to see what’s actually causing the issues with your eyes. I don’t think it’s the actual game that’s doing it to you. It’s a condition you’ve developed, Even if I’m wrong it’s better to make sure anyway? Your eyes could have developed a condition in that timeframe or you might need certain glasses, all of a sudden.
Few years ago I was getting eye strain, and the occasional headache. Turns out I needed to wear glasses while using the computer or reading. I never really thought about it because my eye sight felt totally fine, until I had my regular checkup with the optician. It may be worth visiting one if you haven’t been in a while.
I don’t think there has been graphical improvements or changes in BfA so like others I would suggest considering getting the eyes checked just in case.
To start ruling things out, since people are saying there’s no really game related stuff I can change as in like graphical options or so… I’ll go and check my eyes. Got an appointment on wednesday, will get back to you after. If it turns out I’ve got some error, this might encourage people to do it as well.
Did you maybe disable Antialiasing?
Or do you have microstuttering?
Some PC specs would be nice too.
Also your display Hz and res.
Did you change the renderscale below 100%?
Setting every simple graphical option to the lowest eliminates the problem.
Before I tried one by one as an elimination process to see if I could find the option that causes this problem. Turning everything off/or to a minimum solves it. But the game looks like crap obviously. Anyone has a suggestion of what options I should start with improving to see if I can find which one that causes my problem ?
WIN 10
Display 144hz 1920 x 1080 - I’ve tried 120hz aswell without any change.
GeForce GTX 1060 6gb
Intel Core i7-6700 CPU @ 3.40 GHz (8 CPUs), ~ 3.4GHz
24576MB RAM
144Hz, so are u using Gsync or Freesync?
Disable Vsync in WoW if you do.
Set to fullscreen(windowed) and DX12.
Are you running it maxed out ususally?
You won’t get close to stable 120-144hz with that CPU, so lowering the settings will increase the FPS and that could be the reason for your eye problem.
144Hz I’m running just because I’ve done some research about it on which would be the better one to use. Everyone said 144Hz because of the less input lagg.
I’m far from a technical updated person as of now so I had to google up Gsync and Freesync. Since I have Nvidia I probably don’t have Gsync since my BENQ XL2411 Moniter doesn’t provide it.
So is running 144hz 1920x1080 a problem with not having a Gsync thing ?
And what should I try instead ?
Not maxed out. I’m running it on Optimal settings in the NVidia Geforce experience panel and it looks really great visially and graphically with good FPS.
But most of the sliders and options in game is maxed out or in a high position.
But doing it like this just brings be back to the first problem, the eyes strain and headaches.
Your Monitor does not support either Gsync nor Freesync, that’s not good…
Basically both of those features are there to automatically adjust the refreshrate of the display dynamically to the current FPS (does not work below 45 or something).
So you will have no tearing even without Vsync and less inputlag.
Since you don’t have that option, you will have to use Vsync with triple buffering enabled under the advanced tab if you are having problems with tearing or stuttering.
If not, leave Vsync off or just compare both if one is better for you.
I would not recommend letting Geforce Experience adjust the settings for you, sometimes it sets them too high or low or just some weird stuff.
Does it set the renderscale above 100%?
That should be set to 100% on your system.
Try setting the grfx slider to 7, Antialiasing to MSAA 4x, renderscale 100% and Vsync off or on with triple buffering. Also try DX 12 and if you are having problems set it to DX11, under advanced.
Okay I understand. I bought two BenQ XL2411 since they were considered the best at the time and you could play 144hz on 1920x1080 solution. That was about 4 years ago so in the technical world I guess that’s ages.
I’ve tried Vsynd on and off, I don’t see any difference. I do get a slight FPS drop if I have it off.
Yeah I normally don’t use it for optimization in games, but actually for WoW I found it to be the best option both visually and FPS wise.
It does set the renderscale to 100%. And that’s what I’ve been using. I’ve tried adjusting this by having it set to pretty much all even numbers on the scale without any change to my problem.
I will try this and see how it feels and get back, thanks for replying and taking time.
Sorry for necro, but I believe i have found the solution for that problem. For years i had the same problem: immediate eye strain and light dizziness from just looking at the game screen, even at login, only from WoW. 30 min later the eyes started going red and it felt like i was playing 10+ hours straight. I thought maybe that was all just because of the 60Hz monitor, but i could play all day long in any vivid fast paced FP Shooters, with no bad effect to my eyes.
A couple of weeks ago i bought a new monitor, IPS, 144Hz, same 1080p res. It didn’t help, even with freesync and stable high fps. But then i saw some additional ingame video setting, that when activated make appear a slider. Im talking about System-Advanced-Ambient Occlusion Type - FidelityFX CACAO - now check it and to the right of it push the slider “Resample Sharpness” to the “2.0” position, far to the right. Apply. Difference is immense. That’s all, nothing else in the graphic setting seems to help, thought i did restrict max fps to make it a stable number, disabled V-sync, depth effects, SSAO.
Long story short, i figured out i have astigmatism, a light version. The advice above helps, but even if you have a great and sharp eyesight (like me), but still have difficulty playing WoW and WoW only, better pay a visit to the ophthalmologist (i have read that advice countless times and it gave me bh, but in the end they were right). With new glasses for astigmatism and game settings set to FidelityFX CACAO - slider Resample Sharpness to the 2.0 position i have no previous signs of eye strain or nausea and vertigo.
Are you the OP of the thread? Great to hear that you solved your problem in either case. Astigmatism can be quite annoying as if it’s small enough it is easily ignored because eye sight can adjust surprisingly well.
And unlike more familiar near- or farsightedness astigmatism applies to any distance which can make it even harder to notice unless there are clear problems caused by it. Many eye problems are hard to notice which is one of the reasons why it is important to seek professional help in case of unclear or weird eye problems even if they seem minor or only happen in specific situations.
It is absolutely great to hear that a solution has been found, and things are being more pleasant now. As a general note: if anything in any of our games is causing physical discomfort or proves troublesome in the accessibility-sense - please let us know. We truly want to find and root out any conditions of this nature, and we can do so a lot more effectively if the people who spot the problems share their insights!