Hogwarts Legacy - License Denuvo VS Empress Cracked

Hogwarts Legacy - Empress Cracked VS License Denuvo (Steam/EGS) | RX 6600 XT | Ryzen 5 3600 | Performance test | Fps test | Detailed Benchmark

Is Denuvo completely cut from Empress version or not? Perhaps part of Denuvo's functionality has been removed. Perhaps there were some other optimization methods. Maybe it's all about different versions of the game (I doubt it). All this is not important. The important thing is that Empress version works much better (depends on CPU) than the official version. At the same time, Empress version looks no worse than the official one on the same graphics settings. The greatest performance gain is achieved in scenarios in which GPU was not loaded at 100%. If GPU was loaded at 100% in the official version, then the performance gain will tend to zero when switching to the hacked version.
I did a lot of runs to eliminate the random factor. The weather is always random when loading the game, even on the same save. Therefore, the picture in the video may differ slightly. Nevertheless, the official version didn't even come close to the hacked one in any of the runs. Empress did a great job.

PC specs:
CPU: Ryzen 5 3600
RAM: 32GB DDR4 3200 MHz
Chipset: X570
GPU: RX 6600 XT 8GB
Amd driver: new
Windows 11 22H2
SSD

Thanks for watching 🙂

[GT_Benchmarks]

PC: RX 6600 XT + R5 3600 + 32GB DDR4 3200 MHz + SSD
Settings: High + 1080p
Is Denuvo completely cut from Empress version or not? Perhaps part of Denuvo's functionality has been removed. Perhaps there were some other optimization methods. Maybe it's all about different versions of the game (I doubt it). All this is not important. The important thing is that Empress version works much better (depends on CPU) than the official version. At the same time, Empress version looks no worse than the official one on the same graphics settings. The greatest performance gain is achieved in scenarios in which GPU was not loaded at 100%. If GPU was loaded at 100% in the official version, then the performance gain will tend to zero when switching to the hacked version.
I did a lot of runs to eliminate the random factor. The weather is always random when loading the game, even on the same save. Therefore, the picture in the video may differ slightly. Nevertheless, the official version didn't even come close to the hacked one in any of the runs. Empress did a great job.

Update:
The fact is that the content of my config files is the same for the license and Empress version. Absolutely the same fog at 0:14 in the video and this doesn't save the licensed version. But to clear my conscience, I installed "Better Graphics and No Fog" on the licensed version (after this test). And even so it loses Empress (without mod). I even tried setting Fog to low. All to no avail. It's not about that.
Fog adds load to GPU, not CPU as far as I know (even in the graphics settings it is written about it). The problem with the licensed version is that it significantly loads CPU with unnecessary work (I don’t know what caused it yet), which is why the difference in fps appears. There is almost no difference between the licensed version and Empress in R9 5900X + RTX 3070 Ti (I checked). Therefore, graphically, both versions most likely do not differ.

1) avg fps(steam w/o overlay): 58 vs avg fps(Empress): 62 (Hogsmeade)
2) avg fps(steam w/o overlay): 63 vs avg fps(Empress): 68 (Hogwarts)
1) avg fps(steam w/o overlay): 57 vs avg fps(Empress): 61 (Hogsmeade)
2) avg fps(steam w/o overlay): 63 vs avg fps(Empress): 68 (Hogwarts)
But Steam overlay is enabled for 99% of Steam users and this is not an excuse for the licensed version 🙂



P.S: I'm done with Hogwarts Legacy. I said everything I wanted to say and now I will focus my efforts on testing other games. I shouldn't be investigating a licensed version issue. That's what Avalanche Software is for. Thank you all and especially Empress.

[TylerMBuller]

I'm glad people are making these vids people need to see just how bad drm really is. Most cracked versions of games are literally better then what the paying customer gets it's like you get punished for paying for the game. To top it all off alot of games are unoptimized to begin with then they throw nasty drm on top of it. I'm playing the definitive edition and it runs better smooth just like in this vid lol.

[ricardosousasoares]

The diference is massive, almost like upgrade a Gpu

[demonsmanifesto]

On this note, see Dying Light 2 second community patch. They removed Denuvo DRM for the 1st anniversary and the developers were able to crank up the detail of the environment significantly by leveraging the resources Denuvo freed up.

The list of changes includes:
- improved LOD (Level Of Detail on distant objects & transitions between them)
- better sky box
- improved particle effects
- increased fog & lights rendering range
- increased number of shadow-casting objects

[MT_Real_]

Devs saying Denuvo doesn't change performance -.-

[igorrafael]

no surprises, its been proved already that denuvo eats at least 10% of your pc performance to make its uncrackable magic.

[dluffy]

I think developers should remove drm if the game gets cracked, there is no point in degrading the performance due to these security implementations.
They would just harm their own sales if people got to know that cracked versions perform better than paid one

[francocavecchia]

I remember this exact same thing happening to me back in 2021. Village demo had dropped, and I wanted to make sure my rig could handle it. It ran flawlessly, all textures and eye candy enabled, save for DoF and motion blur which I've never been a fan of. 82fps average, no dips, no stutter.

Then, the full version released. The performance took a huge blow, dipping below 50fps on average and at times, hitting the low 40s, even if I used the exact same settings, updated my GPU drivers and toyed with the display output (lowering resolution). Guess which was the difference between the demo and the final release?

[-SashaAlex-]

Denuvo makes constant checks so it always works in the background slowing performance.

[jerrythefeared]

I pre-ordered the game and played about 90 minutes. The game was too laggy for my RTX 2080 so I decided to refund it. Last week I cracked it and the game ran so much better than it did before! I had the exact same files I still had downloaded from steam, Only added the crack and it's so much smoother.

[xtxschmidt]

I remember like 10 years ago people were talking about how Denuvo would tank PC performance all for maximization on initial sales. Every AAA game has had it since but some get rid of it months later.

[NuLuumo]

I hope game developers keep this in mind for the future. This proves that denuvo impacts performance, and not having it in games will make the players much happier. More likely to buy it too, I imagine.

[Luckmann]

Even at considerably lower settings, the difference is noticeable. It is not enormous, but it's definitely there. And that's before we consider the fact that with Empress, you get the full game, whereas the Denuvo version is hacked to bits with exclusives and limited-time garbage.

[Devnbp]

I have a 1050ti, I read a lot of bad reviews about the performance of the game, even on high-end computers, so I decided to try the Empress version before buying, as soon as I downloaded the game, I just set the settings that Nvidia Experience recommended to me, then I disappeared... for 50 hours, a whole week until I went through the whole game at 100%, for the whole time I will not have any problems with FPS, but now I understand that it is also thanks to the Empress

[ivanangelov]

Well given that it is already cracked, they'd better remove the drm. Otherwise people would prefer the cracked version, the late birds might even decide not to buy the game first.

[nomshark]

I always experienced major lag and frame drops in MH:W. Until one day i decided "damn, i should play it again" and discovered how.. something changed. That lag? Fps drops? Nothing. Game performance was smooth as butter and i didn't changed my PC specs.
Turns out there was an official update what removed Denuvo completely. THIS is then i learned how bad it is

[zerogclub]

NGL Empress's version is a life savior for the handheld devices like ayaneo2. It runs pretty fluent which is definitely a win for low power devices like this one on which every frame is important both for visual and battery life.

[cabralGZ]

I loved your RTSS overlay! Can you share the preset or tell us the sauce? :)

[glitches]

The empress version runs on my old system with a gtx1060 at a good 60 stable. The steam version won't even hit 30 stable. This isn't my main, but I wanted to try it too. Empress crack made the game better 🤣😂

[deluca]

Wait, I only have a 1050ti and when I searched for the gameplay online it was hovering around 40 fps. Does this mean that if I just download Empress' crack then there's a chance it can go to 60?