◈ Navigation Index ▼
- 01 Understanding Helldivers 2 Performance
- 02 Optimal Display Settings
- 03 Recommended Graphics Settings
- 04 Advanced System Optimizations
- 05 Essential Gameplay Settings & Keybinds
- 06 HUD and Accessibility Settings
Comprehensive Guide: Best Helldivers 2 PC Settings for Performance and Gameplay
Helldivers 2 is a demanding title on PC, often taxing the CPU heavily, especially during intense combat scenarios with numerous enemies and effects. Achieving a smooth and visually appealing experience requires careful optimization of in-game settings and, in some cases, system-level adjustments. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the best settings to enhance both performance and gameplay.
Understanding Helldivers 2 Performance
Unlike many games that are primarily GPU-bound, Helldivers 2 frequently bottlenecks the CPU. This means that even with a powerful graphics card, your framerate can suffer if your CPU is overwhelmed by calculations for AI pathfinding, physics, and stratagem tracking. The game also launched without modern upscaling technologies like DLSS or FSR 2, relying instead on a basic spatial upscaler that trades image quality for performance. If lowering graphics settings doesn't significantly change your FPS, your system is likely CPU-bound.
Optimal Display Settings
Display settings are crucial for balancing visual clarity and framerate.
Resolution: Start with your monitor's native resolution. If you're struggling for FPS on a GPU-limited system, dropping from 1440p to 1080p can significantly boost framerates.
Render Scale: This is arguably the most impactful setting for performance.
* Ultra Quality: Offers a good balance, providing approximately 40% more FPS with only slight image softening.
* Quality: Delivers about 53% more FPS but results in a noticeably softer image.
* Native: Recommended only for high-end GPUs where clarity is prioritized over raw framerate.
* Balanced: Can be a good option for handhelds like the ROG Ally, aiming for 35-40 FPS with slightly lower image quality.
* Avoid 'Performance' and lower settings, as they can make the image too blurry for accurate shooting.
V-Sync: Generally, turn this Off to prevent input lag. Instead, use an in-game or driver-level frame limiter.
Sharpness: When using any upscaling mode, set sharpness between 0.75-1.0 to help restore lost clarity. Values between 50 and 70 are also suggested.
Vertical Field of View (FOV): While some handheld guides suggest 55, many PC players prefer to maximize it to 90 for a broader view of the battlefield.
Motion Blur, Depth of Field, Bloom: It is widely recommended to turn all of these Off. They can obscure enemy movement, add cinematic blur that hinders visibility in combat, and introduce unnecessary visual noise. Some sources suggest setting these to taste.
Anti-Aliasing: Keep this On despite a potential 8% performance cost, as turning it off can lead to shimmering and jagged edges. If you are using an external upscaler like DLSS or FSR, you might be able to disable in-game TAA as the upscaler handles edge smoothing. FXAA is considered the lightest option without an upscaler.
Recommended Graphics Settings
These settings significantly impact performance. Prioritize 'Low' or 'Lowest' for the most demanding options to boost FPS.
Texture Quality: This is primarily dependent on your GPU's VRAM.
* Low: 3-4GB VRAM
* Medium: 6GB VRAM
* High: 8GB VRAM
* Ultra: 10GB+ VRAM
Shadow Quality: A major performance hog. Set to Low or Lowest for significant FPS gains. Medium offers a good balance. High quality shadows have minimal visual gain for their high cost.
Particle Quality: This setting is CPU-dependent and critical for stable combat FPS. Set to Lowest for optimal performance. Low or Medium can be used for a balance.
Reflection Quality: Screen-space reflections can heavily impact performance. Set to Lowest for better FPS. Low or Medium can offer a balance.
Volumetric Fog Quality: This effect is visually appealing but expensive. Setting it to Lowest or Low is recommended for performance.
Volumetric Cloud Quality: Similar to fog, setting this to Lowest is recommended, as its visual impact is often minimal, especially on smaller screens.
Lighting Quality: Avoid going below Medium for a decent visual experience. Low is recommended for devices like the ROG Ally, while High can improve visibility in dark areas.
Object Detail Quality: Medium is a good performance-oriented choice. High offers better model quality with a minor performance cost.
Render Distance: This setting is important for gameplay visibility and does not heavily impact performance. Setting it to High is generally recommended. Medium is an option for performance.
Ambient Occlusion: Turning this Off can provide a small FPS boost, though some prefer it On for better visuals.
Screen-Space Global Illumination (SSGI): Turn this Off for a noticeable FPS gain and potentially less blurry visuals.
Vegetation and Rubble Density: Medium is a balanced setting. High can be used for enhanced visuals.
Terrain Quality: Medium provides a good balance. High can be chosen for better visuals.
Advanced System Optimizations
Beyond in-game settings, several system-level tweaks can further improve performance.
DirectX 11 Mode: For some systems, forcing the game to use the older DirectX 11 API via the Steam launch option -use-d3d11 can yield a 10-20% FPS boost. However, AMD users may experience crashes with this option.
NVIDIA Specific Tweaks:
* NVIDIA ReBAR: If you have an RTX 30/40 series GPU, enabling Resizable BAR (ReBAR) through NVIDIA Profile Inspector can provide a 5-10% performance improvement.
* NVIDIA Image Scaling (NIS): This offers a potentially better upscaling solution than the in-game option, capable of a 15% FPS boost with better image quality than the 'Quality' render scale. Enable NIS in the NVIDIA Control Panel, set your desktop to 85% resolution, and then launch the game in Fullscreen, matching the game resolution.
* NVIDIA Control Panel Settings: For Helldivers 2, consider these adjustments under 'Manage 3D Settings':
* Low Latency Mode: Ultra
* Power Management Mode: Prefer Maximum Performance
* Texture Filtering Quality: High Performance
Windows Settings:
* Game Mode: Enable Windows Game Mode via Settings > Gaming > Game Mode. This helps by pausing background Windows tasks during your gaming session.
* Power Plan: Switch your power plan to 'High Performance' under Control Panel > Power Options to prevent CPU throttling.
* GPU Drivers: Always keep your GPU drivers updated. NVIDIA and AMD frequently release game-ready drivers that can offer significant performance improvements.
Essential Gameplay Settings & Keybinds
Optimizing your keybinds and gameplay settings can dramatically improve your combat effectiveness and overall experience.
Crossplay: Toggle On or Off based on your preference or if you encounter connection issues.
Auto Climb: Turn this Off. Accidental climbing into objects while sprinting can be detrimental in combat, especially during critical moments like resupply.
Remember Aim Mode: Set to Per Weapon. This ensures that if you scope in with a weapon, it will retain that aim mode, preventing you from constantly having to switch between first and third-person views.
Remember Weapon Functions: Set to Yes to avoid repeatedly changing weapon fire modes or other functions.
Switch Weapon on Pickup: Set to No to prevent unintended weapon swaps when picking up items.
Mouse Smoothing/Acceleration: Turn Mouse Smoothing Off and Mouse Acceleration to Zero for minimal mouse lag and more predictable aiming.
Stratagem Inputs: Changing the default WASD inputs for stratagems to Arrow Keys is highly recommended. This allows you to input stratagem codes while continuing to move, which is crucial for survival in higher difficulties. Some players also rebind the stratagem activation button to Spacebar or ALT for easier access.
Sprint: Change sprint to a Press (toggle) function instead of 'Hold'. This can give your pinky finger a rest and allows your Helldiver to automatically start sprinting again after aiming and shooting.
Dive/Climb: A popular recommendation is to set Dive to Tap Spacebar and Climb to Hold Spacebar. This creates a logical dual-function control, saving a keybind while being intuitive for quick evasions and traversal. Alternatively, some prefer Dive on Shift.
Quick Stim: Bind this to an easily accessible key, such as Q, for rapid healing in critical situations.
Quick Grenade: Bind this to your mouse wheel button or ALT for faster grenade deployment.
Weapon Swapping: Consider binding 'Change equipment short' to Press X (to cycle primary/secondary) and 'Change Equipment Long' to Long Press X (to pull out your support weapon). This allows for quick and efficient weapon management using a single key. Alternatively, some use mouse wheel up/down for primary/secondary and a side mouse button for support weapons.
Mark Enemies: Bind 'Mark' to Press E and 'Open Comms Wheel' to 'Long Press E'. This enables quick enemy spotting, even through smoke, and combines two functions onto one key.
Crouch and Prone: Bind 'Crouch' to Press Ctrl and 'Prone' to 'Long Press Ctrl' for an intuitive single-key solution.
Switch Aim Side/Melee Combo: If you use a thumb mouse button for melee, consider binding 'Switch Aim Side' to it while aiming, as melee is disabled in aim mode, making it a logical and easily accessible option.
HUD and Accessibility Settings
Adjusting HUD visibility can provide important tactical information.
Camera Shake Strength: Set this to Low or Off to prevent your reticle from moving due to nearby explosions, which can significantly impact your aim.
Primary Objective Visibility: Set to Visible.
Secondary Objective Visibility: Set to Dynamic.
Mission Info Visibility: Set to Visible to always see your level and remaining mission time.
Stratagem Visibility: Set to Header Visible to see stratagem inputs without a large text overlay.
Health Visibility: Set to Visible to constantly monitor your health.
Weapon Status Visibility: Set to Visible to easily track ammunition and weapon status.
Stamina Visibility: Set to Dynamic to see stamina only when it's being used.
Reticle Visibility and Sample Count Visibility: Ensure these are set to Visible.
Hint/Tooltip Visibility: Turn Off if you are familiar with the game mechanics.