Using DirectX11 to boost performance

Simple scripts/executable and/or guide to launch the game with DirectX11 instead of DirectX12 to boost performance and clear the game's shader cache.

Although this can be done manually through Steam and Windows Explorer I decided to develop two simple scripts and an exe to automate this and make it easier for end-users to launch the game with both dx11 and dx12 without having to go into launch options every time.

I'd greatly appreciate it if you download and endorse the mod even if you don't plan to use the scripts.

Using DirectX11 helped tremendously on my machine.

My specs

GPU 1060 3gb

CPU Ryzen 3600

RAM 32gb 3200mhz

Gained up to 25 more frames!

GPU 3060 TI

CPU Ryzen 3600

RAM 32gb 3200mhz

Gained up to 10-15 more frames!

Helldivers2_DX11.bat

Very simple one-liner to launch the game with DirectX11. You can place it wherever you want and double-click it to launch the game with DirectX11 instead of DirectX12.

Helldivers2_DX11.exe

The same as Helldivers2_DX11.bat but converted into an executable using Window's built-in IExpress Wizard. It is essentially just a wrapper that extracts, runs and then deletes the bat file. Having it in executable form makes it possible to add the exe into your Steam library along with the original exe.

Be aware that it is going to throw false positives in Virus total and probably whatever anti-virus you're using but it is completely safe. This is unfortunately expected with every un-signed and not popular executable.

Helldivers2_ClearShaderCache.bat

Very simple script to clear the game's shader cache. You can place it wherever you want and double-click it to clear the game's shader cache. You can use this before you launch the game with a different graphics API (DirectX11/DirectX12) although it doesn't seem to be mandatory.

Warning pop-up

If the game doesn't start automatically there's a chance you're getting this warning pop-up:

Just click on Continue to launch the game. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like Steam offers a way to skip/disable it.

Setting launch options manually

1. Open Steam and go to your Steam library.

2. Find Helldivers 2 in your library and right-click it to open up this menu:

3. Click on properties and in the "General" tab put "--use-d3d11" in the "Launch Options" box:

Now the game is going to launch with DirectX11 when you launch it through steam. If you want to launch the game with DirectX12 just remove the line "--use-d3d11" from the "Launch Options" box.

Clearing the shader cache manually

1. Put "%appdata%\Arrowhead\Helldivers2\shader_cache" in a Windows Explorer window like this:

2. Press the "Enter" button. You should be automatically redirected to the game's shader_cache folder: C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Roaming\Arrowhead\Helldivers2\shader_cache

2. 1. You can go there manually by replacing YourUsername with your actual user name.

3. The shader cache file in this folder is named "pipeline_library.cache". You can safely delete it. It will be regenerated when you launch the game.