Master the Grim Darkness: Optimal Settings to Seamlessly Experience Warhammer 40K: Darktide

Highlights

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is a co-op survival shooter game similar to Left 4 Dead, Back 4 Blood, World War Z, and Killing Floor

Players must collaborate in order to vanquish a Chaos Cult that worships Nurgle, known as the 'Plague Lord', within the Hive City.

The game has been subjected to various updates and patches, yet it still lacks optimization, particularly in terms of graphics. Players might be required to modify graphical settings in order to enhance performance.

Optimize performance in Darktide by experimenting with Fullscreen and Borderless Windowed modes, utilizing Performance Mode on Xbox Series X, adjusting CPU Worker Threads, enabling DLSS and FSR, deactivating Ray Tracing, implementing a framerate cap, and modifying Anti-Aliasing and Volumetric Fog settings.

Akin to games like Left 4 Dead, Back 4 Blood, World War Z, and Killing Floor 2, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is a cooperative, level-based survival shooter. Within this game, players must collaborate to survive and cleanse Hive Tertium, part of the Hive City, from the Chaos Cult that worships the 'Plague Lord' Nurgle. Players can select from four distinct playable Operatives, including the Ogryn, Psyker, Veteran, and Zealot.

Updated October 10th, 2023 by Jacob Buchalter: Warhammer 40,000 Darktide has undergone significant improvements since its release. The developers at Fatshark focused on enhancing the gameplay experience, particularly with the Class Overhaul patch, which introduced new ways for players to engage with their favorite classes. Despite these positive updates, many players still struggle to optimize the game graphically on their PC setups. In this article, we will explore the important graphical options in Darktide that can help players achieve the best balance between visuals and performance.

8 Fullscreen VS Borderless Windowed

Now, results may vary for this initial option, but if a game is running poorly and a player is unable to determine the cause, it is generally advisable to test its performance in both Borderless Windowed and Fullscreen modes. While Borderless Windowed is undoubtedly the more convenient choice, as players can easily switch tasks while playing, some games may suffer when this mode is enabled.

Although this is not a very common issue among Darktide players, there have been a few individuals who have reported better performance when the game is set to Fullscreen. For those who are unable to figure out why Darktide is not running smoothly, it is worthwhile to conduct tests or, at the very least, explore the use of third-party tools to achieve the benefits of both Fullscreen and Borderless Windowed modes.

7 Performance Mode 'On' For Xbox Series X

Most of the suggestions provided here will primarily focus on the PC version of Darktide. Console games typically have limited options for adjusting graphics settings, usually offering a 'Quality' and 'Performance' mode for players to choose from.

Darktide follows this trend, offering these exact options in the graphics settings, but only on Xbox Series X. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, the Xbox Series S does not have this option, leading to potential performance issues in the game. It would be ideal if Fatshark could release a patch for the Series S that includes a Performance mode, as it seems rather odd for the game to struggle running on lower-quality textures and effects while still maintaining all the lighting, fog, and Psyker Warp magic effects. Therefore, for Xbox Series X players, especially those who are trying out the game on Xbox Game Pass, switching to Performance Mode or slightly reducing the FOV slider should result in noticeable improvements.

6 CPU Worker Threads

The most beneficial setting change for Warhammer 40k: Darktide, both at its initial release and currently, is the alteration of the game's environment. Within the launcher menu, there are various graphical options available, one of which is Worker Threads. While the specific details of Worker Threads and its interaction with the player's CPU are not necessary to understand, it is important to note that enabling fewer threads places a greater graphical load on the player's GPU, which can significantly enhance performance for individuals with newer GPUs but older CPUs. However, this performance discrepancy between the GPU and CPU is not a common occurrence as most setups have CPUs and GPUs of similar quality or a GPU only slightly more recent. Therefore, for the majority of players, this particular setting has a contrasting effect.

Moreover, players who wish to determine the number of cores their CPU possesses (equivalent to their "Threads") should be aware that the Darktide Launcher's setting reaches a maximum of two less than the CPU's total core count. For instance, if the option only goes up to 14, it indicates that the corresponding CPU boasts 16 cores, and so forth.

5 Nvidia DLSS & AMD FSR 1.0 On

Enabling this particular setting choice may result in a noticeable decrease in the visual quality of games. However, it is often necessary to keep it on in most situations. DLSS and FSR, which are Nvidia and AMD's respective implementations of AI technology, aim to balance resolution and frame rate by utilizing upscaling and fine adjustments. These features have become common in most games today, with many new releases heavily relying on them (perhaps too much).

Enabling DLSS/FSR will have a significant impact on Darktide. The Balanced mode is moderately helpful, but the Performance and Ultra Performance modes have proven to be the most popular among fans. It is important to note that enabling this option may cause the game to appear slightly blurry, particularly for experienced players who frequently aim down sights. However, the blurriness is not as severe as it was when the game was initially released. It is disappointing that this graphical setting recommendation has remained largely unchanged since Darktide's launch.

4 All Ray Tracing Settings Turned Off

Ray Tracing has been a long-standing technology in the film industry, but it only made its way into video games with the release of Metro Exodus in 2019. However, Ray Tracing poses significant demands on hardware in games, even with powerful modern GPUs. In Darktide, players can experience a substantial improvement in stability and FPS by disabling Ray Tracing options. Moreover, the resource-intensive nature of Ray Tracing is further amplified when using certain weapons like the Flamer or Purgatus Force Staff, as it tries to accurately handle the lighting effects produced by these weapons. In the past, some players encountered an issue in Darktide where Ray Tracing would stay enabled regardless of the user's preference, but this bug seems to have been resolved.

3 Framerate Cap On

Setting a framerate cap in games is often overlooked but highly recommended for optimal performance. This prevents screen-tearing that can occur with excessively high FPS, especially in difficult gameplay levels with increased enemy spawns. Furthermore, some games may utilize excessive computer resources without any limitations, which has its advantages and disadvantages. To strike a balance, players can set their FPS cap slightly above their monitor's refresh rate, improving performance without sacrificing visual quality.

2 Anti-Aliasing Turned Down Or Turned Off

When optimizing a game's performance, it is important to consider the graphical option of anti-aliasing, such as FXAA or TAA in Darktide. While it can enhance the visual appeal of already stunning games, it requires significant processing power to efficiently smoothen out the lines in real-time. However, it is worth noting that this option can only be adjusted if Nvidia DLSS or AMD FSR is disabled beforehand.

That being said, if a player is encountering performance problems in Darktide, anti-aging is likely the culprit. The game showcases an overwhelming amount of intricate details on the screen, encompassing enemies, gore, backgrounds, and more. Consequently, disabling this feature may result in a slightly more jagged appearance, but it is highly likely to significantly enhance performance. Moreover, following the significant Class Overhaul patch, players now have a plethora of options when it comes to weapons or abilities, which frequently come with an array of visual effects that can exacerbate anti-aliasing issues.

1 Volumetric Fog Set To Medium Or Lower

Volumetric Fog, similar to Ray Tracing and Anti-Aliasing, is a frequently utilized graphical feature in contemporary video games. However, like its counterparts, Volumetric Fog requires significant computational resources.

If both Ray Tracing and Volumetric Fog are enabled, players of Darktide will immediately notice the enhanced atmospheric feel of the maps, especially in the sprawling city of Hive Tertium, with its abundance of steam and fog. However, even with the fog setting turned down, it still adds a significant amount of atmosphere, making it unnecessary to keep it higher than Medium in most cases.

Franchise Warhammer 40KPlatform(s) PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series SReleased November 30, 2022Developer(s) FatsharkPublisher(s) Fatshark