Just ahead of Marvel Rivals’ Season 2 debut, NetEase Games has rolled out a helpful new feature for PC gamers dealing with frame rate troubles on systems with 16GB of RAM or less. This experimental tool is called Switch Shader Compilation Mode. It works by compiling most shader caches upfront when you start the game after updates to the content or graphics drivers.
The Switch Shader Compilation Mode is part of the new season, known as Hellfire Gala. This season highlights the addition of Emma Frost as the latest Vanguard, complete with her stylish X-Revolution costume which you can snag from the cosmetic shop. Emma Frost brings her unique style of play focused on her telekinetic powers with an icy twist, offering solid defense for her allies. Season 2 also introduces the eagerly awaited Krakoa map—a nod to the Hellfire Gala hosted by Emma Frost—and kicks off on Friday, April 11, at 4:00 AM Eastern.
The challenge of maintaining smooth performance across various devices is something NetEase is addressing with Season 2’s patch notes. The Switch Shader Compilation Mode is detailed in a blog post, confirming it as an option in the game launcher once the season begins. When activated, it completes shader compilation when Marvel Rivals is first launched after a GPU driver or game version changes.
This initiative aims to alleviate memory and frame rate issues for those on setups with 16GB of RAM or less. Marvel Rivals can be resource-intensive, and systems with limited memory might experience FPS drops or crashes. By frontloading shader compilation, PCs with more modest specs should notice an improvement in performance.
That said, the new feature does come with some potential quirks. Players might see objects and textures briefly render incorrectly during a match before stabilizing, and there could be some stutters when objects load. Players with a 6-core CPU and AMD’s FSR3 Frame Generation enabled may encounter additional stutters as well.
NetEase encourages players with less RAM to give this new mode a shot in Season 2 as they navigate the newly introduced Krakoa map. It remains to be seen how this experiment will unfold, but it’s an exciting step towards enhancing gaming experiences on a broader range of hardware configurations.
