Sons of the Forest PC Errors And Fixes: Performance Issues, Can’t Drink Water, and More

Endnight Games’ Sons of the Forest is a massive success, with over two million copies sold in its first 24 hours of release on Steam Early Access. Of course, given the number of complex systems and things going on, a few bugs and performance issues are to be expected. For its part, the developer has been quick in fixing issues, particularly when it comes to Kelvin chopping down trees where a player’s base is situated. So that’s an improvement.

What do you do with other issues? Let’s take a closer look, but before that, please be advised that the following methods are to be used at the sole discretion of the system owner. GamingBolt or its staff members take no responsibility for problems or issues that may occur from trying the below. Remember that official support is always the best support.

PC Requirements

First, let’s look at the system requirements. Windows 10 64-bit, DirectX 11 and 20 GB of installation space are required for all configurations, so keep that in mind.

Minimum Requirements:

• CPU: Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 3 3300X
• RAM: 12 GB
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (3 GB) or AMD Radeon RX 570 (4 GB)
• Storage Type: HDD works, but SSD is preferred

Recommended Requirements:

• CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
• RAM: 16 GB
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
• Storage Type: HDD works, but SSD is preferred

Now, let’s look at some of the most common issues.

Performance Issues

Unfortunately, even with updates, players are still reporting performance issues. A lot of this comes down to not getting high frame rates even with hardware much higher than the recommended requirements, random drops that can occur at sunset, while looking at a body leaking blood, and so on.

First, you’ll want to update all your drivers, especially the GPU (download them from the official websites of Nvidia and AMD). Ensure you Verify the Integrity of Game Files by right-clicking on the game in your Library, going to Local Files and then selecting the option. Any files that have been corrupted or are missing will be reacquired.

Based on settings, the most GPU-intensive option is Cloud quality, so turn this down if you’re experiencing issues. Shadow Quality and Grass are also moderately intensive, while Draw Distance is mildly intensive on the CPU. Adjust these per your needs.

If you’re looking for balanced performance, turn Fog Quality off while lowering the quality of Clouds and Water. You can set the Draw Distance to High while Grass and Billboard Quality are Medium. Switching off Parallax Distance and Screen Space Reflections provides even greater performance gains.

Disabling any overlays, particularly the Steam Overlay, should also help since it causes GPU utilization to be lower than expected. Right-click on the game in your Library, go to Properties and then look for the Steam Overlay option to disable it. While some have suggested using Nvidia DLSS 2.5.1 since it improves upscaling quality on RTX Series GPUs, Endnight recently updated the DLSS dll to support 3.1.1, the latest version. Try the newest version for potential performance gains.

Of course, your mileage will vary – this is early access, so expect further improvements and optimization over the coming months.

Vibrating Weapons and Flashlight

An odd bug that’s cropped up for some players when using guns causes the player model to vibrate. It affects weapons and the flashlight, causing them to vibrate continuously and messing up one’s aiming. A fix for this is to open and close the inventory. Restarting the game may also help.

Can’t Open Inventory

Several bugs affect your inventory and crafting book. Crouching, cutting and eating a cannibal’s leg suddenly makes it impossible to open either, but there’s a quick fix. Restart your game, and both should be usable again.

Can’t Drink Water

You’ll need to satisfy hunger and thirst to survive, but that can be difficult when drinking water is impossible. A bug has been identified where equipping the spear makes it so you can’t drink water. There is a quick workaround – equip some other item, and the symbol for drinking it will appear.

Check out our review for Sons of the Forest here, and stay tuned for further updates.

Note: Given the wide range of PC hardware available and the general flux of early access, some of the fixes mentioned here may or may not work for you. However, it’s worth giving them a shot since these have worked for some players.