Starfield update 1.8.86 patch notes: DLSS finally arrives on PC

Check out what the latest patch for Bethesda’s space sensation has to offer

A new update for Starfield has landed, bringing with it a very important technical improvement for PC players: Nvidia DLSS is finally being supported in an official capacity. Community mods have assisted users with this aspect so far, but having the developers support the feature officially is a great help and allows less tech-savvy users to enjoy its advantages as well.

DLSS support arrived late to the party due to Bethesda partnering up with AMD ahead of release in an arrangement that did not please the PC gaming community, which does not want exclusive partnerships between games and GPU suppliers to become a regular thing.

Bethesda pushed out another Starfield update, this time with official DLSS support :: Bethesda / Microsoft

In any case, compatible Nvidia GPUs may now use DLSS Super Resolution, Deep Learning Anti-aliasing (DLAA), Nvidia Reflex Low Latency, and DLSS Frame generation to enhance the player’s experience.

Another highlight of the patch is that users may now eat or drink anything they find in the world directly from there without having to pick it up and navigate through their inventory first.

You can find the full Starfield update 1.8.86 patch notes below.

Starfield update 1.8.86 patch notes

Fixes and Improvements

Performance And Stability

• Addressed a number of memory related issues and leaks.
• Added some GPU performance optimizations, which will be more impactful on higher end cards.
• Improved renderer threading model, improving CPU usage most notably on higher end systems.
• Various stability and performance improvements.

Gameplay

• Added the ability to eat the food placed in the world.
• Adjusted stealth to be a bit more forgiving.
• Fixed an issue where Andreja’s head would stay permanently cloaked.
• Fixed an issue that could prevent players from firing their weapons.
• Fixed issues where some NPC could be seen not wearing clothes (Note: This issue may resolve itself over time).
• Fixed an issue where already in-progress skill challenges could stop progressing after reaching the Unity and starting a new game.
• Fixed an issue that could temporarily prevent opening the inventory or saving after entering the Unity.
• PC: Fixed an issue where mouse movement could be choppy.
• Fixed a rare issue that could cause the home ship to be lost.
• Fixed an issue where the ship services technician might be missing.
• Fixed an issue where occasionally the camera could shake incorrectly during Traveling, Grav Jumping, Docking, or Landing transitions.

Graphics

• Addressed an issue with how ambient occlusion appeared in ultrawide resolutions.
• Optimized initial shader compilation that occurs on start-up.
• Added the ability to adjust Brightness and Contrast in the Display Settings menu.
• Added the ability to adjust HDR Brightness provided that the system supports it. (Xbox & Windows 11 only).
• Addressed a number of materials that could sometimes present an unintended pattern under certain conditions.
• Fixed various visual issues related to the new FOV slider options.
• Improved the appearance of the eyes on crowd characters.
• Addressed a number of minor visual issues related to lighting, shadows, terrain, and vegetation.
• PC: Addressed additional visual issues related to DLSS.

Quests

• All That Money Can Buy: Fixed a rare issue where players couldn’t sit during the negotiation with Musgrove.
• Blast Zone: Fixed an issue where the hard rocks that need to be cleared out by players will not appear on Ngodup Tate’s land.
• Echoes of the Past: Fixed an issue where the Grylloba Queen could sometimes not be reachable during the objective “Secure the Shuttle Bay”.
• Eye of the Storm: Fixed an issue where players' quest progression could potentially be blocked due to a missing docking prompt.
• Grunt Work: Addressed an issue where progress could appear blocked if “Supra et Ultra” was completed while returning to the Lodge during “High Price to Pay”.
• No Sudden Moves: Fixed an issue that could prevent the entrance door to the Scow ship from being opened again.
• Operation Starseed: Fixed an issue where the key that is needed to exit the facility could sometimes not be present.
• Sabotage: Fixed an issue where David Barron could potentially not be found by players.
• Short Sighted: Fixed an issue where players could rarely become control-locked while speaking with Vladimir.
• The Heart of Mars: Fixed an issue where players might not be able to mine the “The Heart of Mars”.

Starfield First Contact quest guide with all routes