Optimal PC Settings for Helldivers 2 to Enhance FPS and Gameplay Experience

Helldivers 2 immerses players in a chaotic universe filled with alien adversaries, compelling you to deploy your most effective strategies in the fight for freedom. To enhance your gaming experience, it’s essential to configure your PC settings for optimal performance.

The latest updates have introduced a series of performance enhancements across all platforms. As the Galactic War gathers steam with more players joining, you must ensure your graphics settings are dialed in to achieve maximum frames per second (FPS) and take full advantage of your system’s capabilities.

Updated December 31, 2024, by Saqib Mansoor: Recent patches have significantly improved Helldivers 2’s performance, allowing it to run efficiently even on older hardware when optimized correctly. However, the Illuminate update appears to have impacted some players, resulting in FPS drops, particularly on new urban maps. The following settings have been refined to help you get the best FPS performance available.

Best Optimized Graphics Settings for Max FPS in Helldivers 2

To achieve the best performance in Helldivers 2, it’s crucial to balance visual fidelity with gameplay smoothness. With the right adjustments, even mid-range systems can deliver impressive FPS without sacrificing too much graphical quality.

As a reference, the following settings should yield approximately 70-80 FPS on an older Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 or an AMD equivalent. Depending on your specific hardware, feel free to adjust these settings further.

Start by accessing the “Display”menu. Set the “Render Scale”to either Ultra Quality for better FPS, albeit with some blurriness, or Native for superior graphics but at the cost of lower FPS. Make an informed decision based on your preferences for visual quality versus frame rate.

Always ensure your graphics drivers are updated through the official Nvidia or AMD websites, as outdated drivers can lead to significant performance problems.

Setting	Value
Motion Blur	0
Depth of Field	Off
Bloom	On
Sharpness	1
Texture Quality	High
Object Detail Quality	Medium
Render Distance	High
Shadow Quality	Medium
Particle Quality	Low
Reflection Quality	Low
Space Quality	Low
Ambient Occlusion	On
Screen-Space Global Illumination	Off
Vegetation and Rubble Density	High
Terrain Quality	Medium
Volumetric Fog Quality	Lowest
Volumetric Cloud Quality	Lowest
Lighting Quality	Medium
Anti-Aliasing	On
Async Compute	No

Players have reported performance issues on the new Illuminate maps, affecting both new and older hardware, without a clear explanation for the drops in FPS. Some workarounds have worked for select players, but there’s no guaranteed fix until further performance patches are introduced.

Low FPS and Performance Fixes in Helldivers 2

As Helldivers 2 significantly relies on CPU performance alongside the GPU, players encountering low frame rates or stutter should first check their hardware specifications against the recommended requirements.

It’s also important to note that the game may become increasingly demanding with each update. If you have met the hardware recommendations and are still experiencing issues, consider the following troubleshooting steps to potentially enhance performance:

Implement the Nvidia App Fix

The new Nvidia app, now outside of beta, has replaced the GeForce Experience but may inadvertently cause FPS drops due to its overlay. Navigate to Settings > Features > Overlay > Game Filters and Photo Mode, and disable it. The latest GPU drivers provide this fix too—ensure that overlay is turned off for optimal FPS.

Clear the Shader Cache

Press the Windows Key + R, input “%appdata%”, access the Arrowhead folder, and delete the shader_cache folder. On your next launch of Helldivers 2, it will recreate the folder with only essential files, which can help with performance.

Switch Between DirectX 11 and 12

Some players found increased FPS by setting Helldivers 2 to run in DirectX 11 instead of 12. If you want to try this, right-click the game in your Steam Library, go to Properties, and enter “–d3dx11″in the launch options. If you encounter issues, simply remove the command to revert to DirectX 12.

Check the CPU and GPU Temperatures

Monitor your hardware temperatures using the Task Manager or any specialized tool. As Helldivers 2 demands maximum performance, overheating components can lead to game freezes or crashes.

Rollback GPU Drivers

While keeping your GPU drivers updated is crucial, recent updates may introduce optimization problems. Consider rolling back to a previous driver version to check if it enhances your gaming experience.

Best Gameplay Settings to Change in Helldivers 2

Beyond graphics, adjusting certain gameplay settings can significantly improve your overall experience. These modifications don’t necessarily increase FPS but enhance critical gameplay aspects like visibility and navigation.

Tab	Setting	Value	How It Helps
Gameplay	Remember Aim Mode	Per Weapon	Streamlines scope adjustments for weapons.
	Remember Weapon Functions	Yes	Stores the firing rate of the last weapon used.
	Auto-Climb During Sprint	No	Prevents accidental climbing on supply drops.
Display	Vertical Field of View	90	Enhances peripheral visibility at the cost of some distortion.
	Display Mode	Fullscreen	Maximizes immersion and reduces background notifications.
	Framerate Limit	Off	Limit FPS from GPU control settings instead of the game.
Audio	Voice Chat	Push-To-Talk	Minimizes static and noise during gameplay.
HUD	HUD Scale	0.75	Improves visibility by reducing HUD size.
	Reticle Visibility	Visible	Constantly shows crosshair for better aiming.
	Compass Ordinal Directions	Visible	Enhances team communication with clear cardinal directions.
	Map Navigation Mode	Separated	Facilitates quick pinging and location marking on the mini-map.
Accessibility	Reticle Color	Customize	Aids in targeting priority enemies effectively.
Mouse & Keyboard	Mouse Smoothing	Off	Disabling ensures no unintended adjustments affect accuracy.
	Mouse Acceleration	0.00
	Toggle HUD	Mouse 5 (Default)	Use this feature for immersive screenshots.

How to Show FPS Counter and Ping in Helldivers 2

To keep track of your performance metrics while playing, Helldivers 2 does not feature a direct setting for an FPS counter. Instead, you can enable it by pressing either F2 or F5 during your game session. This will display real-time information, including FPS, VRAM usage, active threads, and vital network stats like ping and latency.

Source & Images