Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — How to Fix Stuttering Issues in TotK

Running into stuttering issues while playing Tears of the Kingdom and wondering if there’s a fix? The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has largely surprised fans with how well it runs on the dated Nintendo Switch. That being said, there are still moments when the power of the hardware makes itself known. Here are some common fixes for TotK stuttering issues.

How to Fix Stuttering in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Make Sure TotK is Updated

This might not be the fix most people are looking for, but it’s an essential one nonetheless. If you bought a physical copy of Tears of the Kingdom and are encountering stuttering issues left and right, you’ll want to make sure you didn’t skip the Day 1 patch. It reportedly solved a lot of these hiccups and made the experience much more consistent.

Your Nintendo Switch should automatically update your software if you have that setting turned on. To manually check if a game is up to date, ensure you’re connected to the Internet and follow these steps:

• Head to the Home screen.
• Hover over The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and click your + button to access Options.
• Scroll to Software Update and select Via the Internet to check for updates.

Play Tears of the Kingdom in Docked Mode

One of the best tips for making any game on the Nintendo Switch perform better is by playing it in docked mode, and that holds true with Link’s latest adventure. As fun as it is to play games on the go, the Switch won’t operate at full power when it’s running off of the battery. Play it in docked mode, and you’re sure to notice a difference and potentially eliminate TotK stuttering issues.

Lower the Switch’s Resolution

If you’re getting stuttering issues while playing Tears of the Kingdom in docked mode, you can compromise further by lowering the resolution that’s being output to your TV/monitor. I suggest switching it to 720p first and then 480p if you’re still noticing hitches now and then. Here are the steps to change Switch resolution:

• Head to the Home screen.
• Click the System Settings Button (Cogwheel icon).
• Scroll down the list until you find TV Settings.
• Click on TV Resolution and choose a different resolution from the list.

Hopefully, one or a combination of these proved to be a fix for Tears of the Kingdom‘s stuttering issues. We have plenty of tips and tricks for your return to Hyrule, from explaining how fusing works to how to build a hovercraft. For all that and more, check out our TotK guide hub.