As one of the latest titles developed using Unreal Engine 5, Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl offers visually stunning graphics. However, it falls short in terms of performance and optimization. Players with high-end systems often find themselves grappling with CPU-bound limitations. Consequently, adjusting individual settings may lead to minimal improvements in performance. Nevertheless, by fine-tuning certain in-game graphics settings and applying some external tweaks, it is possible to enhance the overall gaming experience.
Optimal Graphics Settings for Stalker 2
While individual settings tend to have a marginal impact on performance in Stalker 2, there are still settings that can provide enhancements over the default Epic preset. This trend is common among many Unreal Engine 5 titles. Below, you’ll find our suggested graphics settings designed to achieve a balance between visual fidelity and performance gains:
| Graphics Setting | Recommended Value |
|---|---|
| Texture Quality | High (or Epic) |
| Hair Quality | High |
| Object Details | High |
| Effects Quality | Medium |
| Materials | High |
| Post Processing | High |
| Antialiasing | High |
| Motion Blur Strength | 0% (Personal preference) |
| Depth of Field | Low (Personal preference) |
| Light Shafts | Enabled |
| Sharpness | 20% |
| Shading Quality | High |
| Global Illumination | High |
| Reflections | High |
| Shadow Quality | Medium |
| Fog | High |
| Sky Quality | High |
| Foliage Quality | Medium |
| Environment Draw Distance | Medium |
Players typically spend a considerable amount of time outdoors, making the above settings an excellent option for balancing visuals with improved performance. For instance, during testing with my 4070 Super and Ryzen 7 5700X3D at a 1080p resolution with DLAA enabled, I achieved a notable 19% increase in frame rates compared to the default settings.
To illustrate the impact of these optimized settings, refer to the screenshots below, showcasing Stalker 2 at both the optimized and the highest available settings at 1080p with DLAA:
The performance burden of foliage settings is particularly significant, making it one of the most demanding aspects of Stalker 2. Fortunately, selecting the medium quality setting offers a visually acceptable compromise with minimal impact on foliage density:
If you’re aiming for additional performance gains, consider lowering the following settings in order of their impact:
- Global Illumination
- Shadow Quality
- Shading Quality
- Effects Quality
- Sky Quality
Utilizing Upscaling and Frame Generation
For players equipped with an RTX GPU, enabling DLSS is an effective strategy for performance enhancement. Those with AMD graphics cards should take advantage of FSR or XeSS. Implementing upscaling technology can lead to a noticeable boost in performance, especially at higher resolutions like 1440p or 4K, where the image quality remains comparable to native resolution, particularly when using the Quality preset.
Furthermore, if you’re using an RTX 4000 series GPU, activating frame generation can significantly enhance performance with only marginal input delay added. While AMD’s FSR 3 also improves frame rates, it introduces a more considerable input lag.
It’s essential to note that frame generation should be implemented only if your system can comfortably achieve at least 60 FPS without it. If not, the overall gaming experience is unlikely to benefit.
Employing an External Framerate Cap
Regardless of your graphics settings or the strength of your CPU-GPU combination, encountering CPU limitations can still lead to stuttering and frame drops. To mitigate these issues, it’s advisable to set an external framerate cap, improving overall frame time consistency and delivering a smoother gameplay experience.
Avoid using in-game methods for this adjustment; instead, implement a cap at the driver level for more stable results.
Set the framerate cap to a level your system can sustain 99% of the time; for mid-range GPUs, a cap of 60 FPS is advisable.
Updating GPU Drivers
Keeping your GPU drivers updated is crucial for optimal performance, especially if it has been some time since your last update. Drivers are available for download from the following links:
Players may frequently experience CPU limitations in Stalker 2 due to complex NPC behaviors in towns and outposts. For those with older CPUs, such as the Ryzen 5 2600 or 3600, significant frame drops may occur. Setting a framerate cap can help stabilize the FPS and reduce stuttering caused by abrupt fluctuations, particularly during combat sequences or when navigating through dense areas.
Ultimately, Stalker 2’s performance is notably CPU-limited, and we hope future updates will address these optimization issues. Players with older graphics cards like the GTX 1060 will likely find it challenging to achieve a playable experience, even on the lowest settings.
In addition to performance revisions, you can enhance your Stalker 2 experience by disabling the vignette effect, tweaking the field of view, and turning off mouse smoothing.
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