Borderlands 3 has had a bit of a shaky launch with some console users complaining about the performance while others are experiencing a severe lag in split-screen mode, and now PC gamers are running into problems with Microsoft’s latest DX12 API. Borderlands 3 has been optimized for AMD graphics cards from the ground up, but it seems like some proprietary features are malfunctioning because of a broken DX12 implementation. It’s important to note that the issue is not exclusive to AMD graphics cards only, most Nvidia cards have been struggling to load the game with DX12 as well. According to the reports, the DX12 API is broken and causes elongated load times, even on PCs with higher than recommended specifications.

Asynchronous Compute is AMD’s proprietary performance-enhancing feature that has been implemented in Borderlands 3, but AMD graphics cards are unable to make the most out of this feature without DX12. “Developed from the ground up with AMD, Borderlands 3 will take full advantage of the most powerful PC hardware available,” claimed the developer in a press release, “and is optimized for top performance and incredible gaming experiences on AMD Radeon graphics cards and Ryzen CPUs.”

However, the support for DX12 API is still in beta stages for the game, so the issue will likely be fixed soon with an update, but it’s up to Gearbox Software to deliver the update in a timely manner. It’s still unconfirmed if this particular issue affects all the users out there or only a few, but there’s definitely a vocal majority complaining about it online. On the bright side, players who opted to play the game in DX11 mode are all set because it works perfectly fine in DX11 mode.

For those who are regretting opting for DX12 in-game, there is a simple way to revert back to the DX11 mode and enjoy the game with AMD’s FidelityFX image sharpening tool which is available for DX11. Here’s how to fix the DX12 issue in Borderlands 3.

  • On a Windows PC, go to Documents > My Games > Borderlands 3 > Saved > Config > WindowsNoEditor In WindowsNoEditor, open the file titled GameUserSettings. (Right-click the file and open with Notepad) In Notepad, find the line where it says PreferredGraphicsAPI and change DX12 to DX11, and save the file.

With this done, Borderlands 3 players on PC can resume hunting down legendary weapons like the Rick and Morty shotgun and fighting their way through the game’s main story.

Borderlands 3 is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with a Stadia version also in development.