WoW has been unplayable for weeks now. Framerates drop, the screen freezes, char keeps moving with no graphic update. There’s no point questing. World and dungeon combat is impossible. This has gone on way too long without any comment from Bliz. What a disgraceful way to treat your customers.
I reported the problem to Bliz and they suggested:
Reset your user interface to make sure your files and addons are not corrupted.
https://battle.net/support/article/7549Run Software Update to check for pending updates to software, drivers, and firmware.
https://battle.net/support/article/31024Close all other applications to resolve software conflicts and free up resources.
https://battle.net/support/article/23848Overheating can cause performance issues, game crashes, and full computer lockups. Check for overheating components.
https://battle.net/support/article/31363
I renamed the Cache, Interface, and WTF folders. I used Scan and Repair from the Battle.net Options menu. I quit all MacOS apps including all launch apps (check your top menu bar on your MacOS Desktop. The problem seems to be resolved.
Make sure you keep track of any Addon settings such as ElvUI profiles, Weak Auras, etc. I suspect something got corrupted in the 9.0.5 update. I’ll gradually turn on MacOS utilities and WoW addons to see if there is some other reason for this problem.
Thanks Bliz for a prompt reply.
Another update to this issue.
I followed the suggestions from Bliz (reset user interface) and also used Scan and Repair then tried out some quests and world combat. The game seemed to work OK and the extensive graphics freezing was not encountered.
Until I entered Torgast to continue the war campaign. As soon as i got into combat with trash the screen froze and I found myself running into walls and the trash smashing my HP for up to 10 seconds before I got the screen back. So the game was still completely unplayable.
Back to Bliz with an update to the support ticket and got this response:
Thank you for this information. We have received reports from other players about crashing and stuttering with newer Mac systems running macOS 11 with M1 chips. The QA team is investigating this and working with Apple to find a solution.
For now the most consistent things that have helped is lowering the resolution and making sure Vsync is not on. Aside from this I’m sorry to say there isn’t something we can do to directly fix this issue since it is related to the operating and/or chipset.
If you do find that the issue happens consistently in any other areas please post this information on the Official Mac tech support forums. This way we can narrow down the cause of this problem:
https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/c/support/mac-technical-support/16I hope that information helps explain this a bit. If you have any other questions feel free to contact us again… Have a good rest of your day!
So I now have Graphics Quality set to 3 and Vsync disabled. I’ll update the support ticket and this post with more info later today once I’ve had a chance to look at it further. But it is interesting that this problem does seem to be sensitive to location: Torgast, WQ, combat, etc.
I’m not convinced that this is entirely an Apple o/s or chipset problem. I don’t recall any issues prior to 9.0.5. Nor am I having any other problems with other apps on my M1 Mini. It’s amazingly hard to run something that maxes out CPU on this machine apart from MP4/MKV recoding or BR ripping and coding. So this is unlikely to be a CPU or graphics maxing issue.
I’m going to spend some time with low-level alts to see if this is a specific Shadowlands issue. I encourage other players to both submit support tickets and post in this Mac Technical Support forum to see if we can gather additional information on where/when/why this problem exists.
Finally, what pisses me off is that I passed my custom gaming spec Win 10 PC on to a mate when I saw the initial performance of WoW (and other apps) on my new Mac M1 Mini (16GB memory & 2TB SSD). In all other respects, this is an awesome box badly let down by Blizzard atm.
Cheers, Daldi
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I have disabled Vsync and set Graphics Quality to 3. I was able to complete one WQ with minor (sub-second) stutters but then the game locked up the computer when I was handing in a quest. I had to force a power shutdown and restart the computer. So we have to consider 9.0.5 completely broken and unplayable at this point. At least on a Mac M1.
Bloody disappointing.
2 Likes
same conclusion here. Low power issue.
Response from Bliz:
Thank you for contacting Blizzard Entertainment.
I’m sorry to hear that the issue persists.
Sadly, as my colleague already mentioned, for now we don’t have more information regarding this, and it’s currently under the investigation.
Apart from the previous recommendations, for now I would suggest periodically checking the patch notes and game forums in case there will be more information regarding this.
I hope this clarifies the issue.
Take care and have a nice day!
Bottom line: Mac owners should just wait until Bliz figures out what the problem is and fixes it. Read a book in the meantime because we won’t be playing WoW. I’ll also be creating a support ticket each week to remind them that Mac owners exist and we have paid our subscription for a game that doesn’t work.
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V-Sync causes the crash. It’s a known bug from the other thread on this forum.
Thank you. They told me the same thing ; just wait and be patient. It’s been a month already…
that is actually cosmetic. I’ve talked with blizz about that. they acknowledge there is probably some issues going on, but it has nothing to do with “low power” being displayed by gpu, that’s just how apple reports running integrated gpu from dedicated. Normally the client hides that on m1 macs but a bug is causing it not tho hide the text but it’s literally cosmetic
The explanation is this:
Dedicated gpu normal mode
Integrated gpu low power mode.
M1 macs don’t have dgpus only integrated. they are technically ALWAYS in low power mode. always has been. Blizz just cosmetically hid this from user so this very conclusion wouldn’t be drawn when actual problems occur. Somehow 9.0.5 broke that hiding though.
So again, not saying there aren’t problems, but it isn’t a “low power” one.
One suspected issue is that prior to 9.0.5 vsync was always on (even if it was off, it was ignored and always on). In other words. prior to this patch users always had vsync on. Now most users have it off. It’s been suggested to me that m1 macs actually run terrible if vsync is off do to a bug on apples end. it should be turned on (not sure why GMs say turn it off, uninformed maybe). turning vsync off results in frame pacing and stuttering issues on m1 macs.
Anyone that has it off should actualy turn it ON
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In my testing, the vsync setting and graphics quality setting are not relevant to the graphics problem. That is, I experience stutters (probably micro-second graphics freezing) through to 5-10 second game lockups and complete computer lockups requiring a hard restart regardless of graphics settings.
It’s clear that the game is still responding to the keyboard but the screen is not being updated and is frozen.
Further, the problems seem to be associated with gameplay status. That is, the graphics problem occurs more frequently and more severely in combat and questing, and in locations such as Torgast. I also suspect that the graphics problem is more frequent in busy areas such as Oribos.
so which one should we have selected… auto detect or low power? Is there a difference?
I have a horrible time in Bastian which is exactly where I am supposed to be leveling. And I tried turning Vsync on and off. The problem persists either or so I just keep it on because from what I am can tell, turning it off just adds to the problems. Not having ANY ISSUES in Kalimdor or Eastern Kingdoms.
It is unlikely that you would be having issues in the older areas. Shadowlands added some additional “glitz” to the game which doesn’t exist in any other expansion zone. Sun shafts for example were a real problem early in the release for many GPUs.
There basically is NO FIX at your end that is going to resolve the issue. It’s up to Apple and Blizzard to resolve it and like most graphics issues, the finger is pointed squarely at Apple since they have total ownership of GPU drivers.
all my performance are crap since this low power, cosmetic or not, appeared with 9.0.5. The game was running smooth everywhere, but now I have to set with quality set at 1 to barely make it 60 fps, shadowlands or old world.
“In other words. prior to this patch users always had vsync on. Now most users have it off. It’s been suggested to me that m1 macs actually run terrible if vsync is off do to a bug on apples end. it should be turned on (not sure why GMs say turn it off, uninformed maybe). turning vsync off results in frame pacing and stuttering issues on m1 Macs.”…do you really think we did not check a v-sync toggle more than a month ago ? It’s not that… GM don’t have the answer, they don’t even respond here and they let us wait when we contact them telling us there will be a fix…
It did not changed a thing. Furthermore, the issue arrived with 9.0.5, not a Big Sur update. Low power or not, the game runs like crap since 9.0.5 on M1 Macs. The only difference I have since 9.0.5 is the low power option and a terrible FPS.
“Shadowlands added some additional “glitz” to the game which doesn’t exist in any other expansion zone”… the game was working GREAT in shadowlands before 9.0.5. Stable FPS, high preset, etc… Everything changed with 9.0.5 and same issue on 11.3 or 11.2.2 for multiple users. … Blizzard did something that crippled the performance in the game for us. Furthermore, WoW is the only game/application on my Mac with performance issue.
Reinstalled wow, reinstalled the OS, check V-sync, etc. You’re right, there is basically no fix at our end.
Blizzard have confirmed that there is no fix for this problem. The game is more or less unplayable for Mac M1 customers until further notice.
As for the issue itself, we are unsure what exactly is causing the issue and if it is with something in Mac OS or with WoW. All we can suggest for now, is to be patient and wait.
I suggest that you request an extension to your subscription period via a support ticket.
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I’ve spent about 30 minutes in Torghast using the 9.1 PTR and didn’t experience any graphics problems or crashes. Torghast was unplayable in 9.0.5. I’ll do some WQs in other areas to see whether this issue might have been resolved. Live 9.0.5 is still a problem though.
I’ll be interested in other feedback if you can check 9.1 PTR.
Using Mac Mini M1 2020, 16GB, macOS Big Sur, 11.4, no addons, graphics = 8 at 60 fps
I’m still having this issue. Just non stop graphical glitches/game freezes for 5-10 seconds then back to normal FPS. Any update? Keep this thread alive!
Just a heads up that my MacBook Pro 2019 (Intel processor, not M1) has similar issues (although, admittedly, probably not as bad as some of what you have described).
Processor: 2.3 Ghz 8 Core i9
GPU: AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8GB
RAM: 32 GB
OS: Big Sur 11.5
Issues: Frame rate significantly reduced with 9.1 (at least that is when I started noticing issues).
In 9.0 / 9.0.5, my fps was typically well over 60 and 90+ was not uncommon. I’m now typically around 30-35 fps. FPS drops further in some places / when dealing with some graphic: Taragrue fight in Sanctum of Domination (particularly the Hungering Mists attack), a lot of Ardenweald (particularly if you are facing the anima conductor in Heart of the Forest), Korthia, etc. During these times FPS gets down to 10-12 typically or even as low as 5 fps. If I’m on a mount and running, you can see the legs “freeze” briefly every couple of seconds. I’ve set the graphics slider to 3 for open world and 1 in raids… no improvement.
Tried various things suggested on the forums with no change. Created a ticket last week and, after some initial discussion, Blizzard called me today and we spent about an hour troubleshooting.
We did notice some improvement in open world (can’t really test / troubleshoot in the raid fight) with default UI and no add-ons… but, unfortunately, these didn’t seem to last more than a few minutes (after the call ended, unfortunately, don’t know how I timed it so “perfectly”).
We also had some improvement using the default / built in MacBook Pro display vs my external monitor but, again, was not able to consistently replicate this after the call ended. The external monitor has a lower resolution than the smaller built in display but is, of course, bigger. (27 inch vs the built in display is 16-ish?)
Currently I have WoW in Low Resolution mode and (as part of testing) in game resolution turned down slightly as well… but still getting inconsistent frame rate & stuttering. Frequently still around 30-35 fps but occasional jumps up to 45-50, but also drops down into the 20’s. Just weird and inconsistent.
Fyi… when I pointed to the forum threads of lots of people complaining about lower FPS in 9.1 (or even 9.0.5), the agent said that is not uncommon shortly after a patch drops and they do not view this is a broader issue at this time (they do acknowledge an issue with M1… but consider it anecdotal for the rest of us.)
Anyway, I don’t know how relevant or helpful any of that is… but sharing it on the off chance that it is.
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SO us mac users are just F’ed huh?
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