Monster Hunter Wilds: Players Surprised That More DLC Improves Game Performance

In an intriguing revelation concerning the performance issues of Monster Hunter Wilds, a dedicated player has uncovered a correlation between the game’s functionality and the amount of downloadable content (DLC) acquired by users. This investigation has sparked significant interest among the gaming community.

Released in 2025, Monster Hunter Wilds originally received favorable reviews. However, despite ongoing updates from Capcom aimed at enhancing the experience, players have faced persistent frame rate (FPS) drops and other technical shortcomings. The situation has prompted a thorough assessment from players looking for solutions.

A Reddit user, known as de_Tylmarande, delved into this issue and uncovered that the game performs “aggressive checks”in the background to identify which DLC a player owns. They discovered that these checks are significant contributors to the performance difficulties; intriguingly, the game runs smoother with more DLC owned.

The Impact of DLC Ownership on Game Performance

To validate this theory, de_Tylmarande performed tests on two distinct Steam accounts: one belonging to a friend with all the DLC installed and the other to himself, devoid of any additional content. The results were telling; the friend’s account exhibited seamless performance, while the account without DLC endured frequent FPS drops during identical tasks.

Rather than invest hundreds of dollars in purchasing the DLC, de_Tylmarande creatively devised a mod that simulated the presence of the DLC within the game. Although this trick did not provide actual content, it allowed the game’s background checks to operate as if the DLC were installed. The results were striking: once implemented, the performance surged dramatically, displaying a smooth operation without any noticeable hiccups.

MH Wilds – Bad performance mystery (Solved?) by u/de_Tylmarande in MonsterHunter

Interestingly, the mod’s effectiveness varied depending on the number of DLC packs it mimicked. As the number of simulated DLC increased, the game’s performance improved significantly, with a marked enhancement observed from zero to 100 packs. However, after surpassing 101 packs, the performance began to plateau, yet players still noticed fewer drops with each additional piece of content.

The findings have ignited discussions within the community, with many players expressing frustration over what appears to be a “pay to win”situation regarding game performance. Since the game’s launch, numerous DLC options have been introduced, including four major packs priced at $24.99 and various smaller bundles ranging from $14.99 to $21.99.

Despite the issues raised, de_Tylmarande emphasized that their intent was not to criticize Capcom but rather to highlight the findings for the developers’ awareness. Following the initial post, Digital Foundry, a notable software development company, reached out to explore this matter further.

This isn’t the first instance of de_Tylmarande assisting Capcom with game-related issues; they reportedly provided a solution for an FPS concern in Dragon’s Dogma 2 as well, showcasing their commitment to enhancing gaming experiences.

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