Best Settings For Destiny 2 – Optimize FPS, Better Performance

Destiny 2 for PC has finally launched on Steam and consoles, and it’s time to get started!

Like with all games, you’ll want to optimize Destiny 2 as much as possible, especially if you’re into competitive gaming.

First off, make sure you meet the recommended system requirements. If you don’t meet at least the minimum system requirements, we’d advise you against buying the game as you won’t enjoy it nearly as much.

Our target is an average of 60 FPS for each of the main resolutions in gaming (1080p, 1440p, 4K).

If you want to go even higher than 60 FPS, you need to either lower your settings, lower your resolution in the game or get a better GPU.

Recommended GPUs For Destiny 2

Screen Resolution	Detail Level	GPU
3840×2160 (4K or 2160p)	High-Highest	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
2560×1440 (1440p)	High	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
1920×1080 (1080p)	High	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060

If you want to target 120 FPS, use a resolution below the GPU. For example, you’d use a GTX 1070 for 1920×108 at 120FPS and a GTX 1080 Ti for 2560×1440 at 120FPS.

Destiny 2 Graphics Settings

Set the Graphics Quality option to Custom and apply these recommendations to optimize Destiny 2.

Window Mode: Fullscreen

Anti-Aliasing: SMAA

Comparison: 4K – 1080p

Setting this to SMAA will cost you roughly 2 FPS, while FXAA will cost you 0.5 FPS.

Screen Space Ambient Occlusion: HDAO

Turning this to HDAO only costs about 2 FPS and it’s definitely worth it.

Texture Anisotropy: 16x

Comparison (16x vs off): 4K – 1080p

Turning this setting to 16x only costs about 2 FPS, which is okay considering the benefit you get from it.

Texture Quality: Highest

There should not be any performance costs if you set this to Highest if you have the necessary VRAM for it, which is 3GB for 1080p at 100% Render Resolution.

Shadow Quality: Medium

Depth of Field: High or Highest

Comparison (Highest vs Off): 4K – 1080p

Comparison (High vs Off): 4K – 1080p

Setting this to High will only cost around 2 FPS while Highest will cost around 6 FPS.

Field of View: Your Preference

Having a higher Field of View (FOV) allows you to see more, giving you a competitive edge. You’re able to see people before they see you if they have a lower FOV than you.

You can select between 55 to 105 degrees. Choose carefully because there’s a performance loss of around 12 FPS from 55 degrees to 105 degrees. Nonetheless, we recommend you set this as high as you can.

Environment Detail Distance: Medium

Comparison (High vs Low): 4K – 1080p

Character Detail Distance: High

Comparison: 4K – 1080p

Foliage Detail Distance: Medium

Comparison: 4K – 1080p

Foliage Shadows Distance: High

There’s no apparent FPS loss setting this to High, so just pick that option.

Light Shafts: High

We didn’t notice any performance loss setting this to High, so you shouldn’t either.

Motion Blur: Your Preference

We like to enable this option as it almost eliminates blurring effects from the game.

Wind Impulse: On

Setting this to On will only cost you 0.1 FPS and will add an extra touch to Destiny 2’s gameplay, so we’d say it’s definitely worth it.

Render Resolution: 100%

Comparison (200% vs 100%): 4K – 1080p

HDR: Depends on your display

The majority of people don’t have an HDR display, so you can just leave this Off. If you happen to have an HDR display, then turning this On will greatly improve color and the overall visual look of the game.

Chromatic Aberration: Your Preference

This setting is basically making the area around your reticle more focused than other areas of your screen. It adds a “realism” effect to the game, but some users dislike it.

Film Grain: Off

Destiny 2 Controls Settings

Aim Smoothing: Off

Thanks for checking out our guide. If you want in-depth knowledge about the settings of Destiny 2, we recommend checking out NVIDIA’s own guide.

You can also use NVIDIA’s own GeForce Experience software to optimize the game with one click and over 500 other games.