For the best balance of high frame rates and readable image quality in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, start with the High preset, use DLSS or FSR in Native AA or Quality mode, and lower Shadows and Vegetation before reducing textures. At 1080p, stay with Native AA or Quality unless your GPU is the clear limit; at 1440p, start with Quality; at 4K, try Balanced. For the absolute highest benchmark number, use lower settings and more aggressive upscaling—but judge the result by 1% lows and frame-time consistency, not average FPS alone.
Best KCD2 settings for maximum FPS
This is a practical starting point, not a guaranteed benchmark result: performance depends on your CPU, GPU, memory, resolution, game build, and location. Choose High for a capable modern PC or Medium for a weaker system, then tune the most expensive settings individually.
| Setting | Recommended starting point | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Quality preset | High; Medium for weaker systems | High is a strong general baseline. Avoid Ultra or Experimental when frame rate is the priority. |
| Upscaler | DLSS on compatible RTX cards; FSR on compatible hardware | Compare image quality at your target resolution rather than assuming one option always looks best. |
| Upscaling mode | 1080p: Native AA or Quality; 1440p: Quality; 4K: Balanced | Move one step more aggressive only if the GPU is limiting performance and the softer image is acceptable. |
| Shadows | Medium | A useful first reduction when GPU-limited. |
| Vegetation detail | Medium or High | Lower it if outdoor scenes or dense foliage are particularly slow. |
| Object quality | Medium or High | Lower it if performance dips around settlements or distant objects. |
| Lighting and global illumination | Medium or High | Try Medium if GPU use remains high in towns or interiors. |
| Volumetric effects | Medium | A possible reduction for foggy or atmospheric scenes. |
| Particles | Medium | Usually a lower priority than shadows, vegetation, and object quality. |
| Textures | High if VRAM allows | Lower textures if VRAM pressure causes stutter or streaming problems; do not lower them first as a general FPS fix. |
| Post-process quality | Medium | Adjust to taste if you need another reduction. |
| Motion blur and depth of field | Off if available and preferred | Primarily clarity choices; do not expect a large FPS gain. |
| Ultra or Experimental | Avoid for max FPS | In PC Gamer’s test set, Ultra averaged about 26% slower than High, and Experimental about 30% slower than Ultra. Results are specific to that testing. |
PC Gamer recommends starting at High and reducing Shadows and Vegetation when performance is borderline. Its testing also found Ultra’s visual improvements over High often subtle; Experimental emphasizes denser foliage and detail with a steep performance cost. An RTX 4080 Super did not maintain 60 FPS at 4K Experimental in that test. PC Gamer’s performance analysis is a useful reference, but its figures are not promises for other systems or later builds.
Choose a profile for your resolution
1080p
- Set High or Medium, then use DLSS/FSR Native AA or Quality.
- Try Medium Shadows and Vegetation; leave Object quality at Medium or High.
- Use Balanced only if GPU utilization is near maximum and you accept a softer image. Performance mode can make books, inventory text, and distant detail noticeably blurry.
At 1080p, a powerful GPU can expose a CPU limit. If lowering resolution does little to improve FPS, further image-quality cuts may not help much.
#1 Best Overall
- Experience the events with the eyes of Heinrich, a young man who moves away to avenge the murder of his parents
- The authentic rendition of 15th century bohemia gives you the opportunity to experience this fascinating environment like never before
- Customise Heinrich's appearance, skills and equipment as you like
- Feel the clinking of steel and the relentless battle in thrilling real-time battles
1440p
- Start at High with DLSS or FSR Quality.
- Use Medium Shadows, and lower Vegetation to Medium if outdoor or settlement performance is weak.
- Try Balanced when you need more GPU headroom, then inspect fine detail and 1% lows.
In PCGamesN’s test, an RTX 4070 averaged about 74 FPS at 1440p Medium with a 61 FPS 1% low. Treat that as one system’s result, not an expected frame rate for every RTX 4070 or game build. PCGamesN’s settings test provides the test context.
4K
- Start at High, or use a lower preset if the GPU cannot sustain your target.
- Try DLSS/FSR Balanced first. Performance mode is an option when the extra speed matters more than sharpness.
- Reduce Shadows and Vegetation before dropping textures, provided VRAM is not under pressure.
PCGamesN recorded about 59 FPS average and 50 FPS for 1% lows with an RTX 4070 at 4K Medium in one configuration. In another, 4K Balanced DLSS averaged about 72.5 FPS but had a 29 FPS 1% low. Different settings and test conditions matter; these results illustrate why the average alone can conceal uneven performance.
Which settings should you lower first?
Make one change at a time and retest the same scene. If GPU utilization stays near 95–100%, work down this list; if it does not, diagnose a possible CPU or system bottleneck instead.
- Lower resolution or move the upscaler from Quality to Balanced.
- Reduce Shadows.
- Reduce Vegetation detail.
- Reduce Object quality.
- Lower Lighting, Global illumination, or Volumetric effects.
- Reduce the overall preset from High to Medium.
- Lower Textures only if VRAM is saturated or texture streaming stutters.
- Use Performance upscaling only if the image remains acceptable at your resolution.
PC Gamer measured about a 26% average-performance drop from High to Ultra and about a 30% drop from Ultra to Experimental in its test set. Experimental’s gains are concentrated in foliage, object detail, and distant pop-in, so it is an enthusiast visual-quality option rather than a max-FPS choice.
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DLSS, FSR, XeSS, and frame generation
DLSS and FSR
Use DLSS if you have a compatible RTX GPU; use FSR on Radeon and other compatible hardware. Start with Native AA or Quality at 1080p and Quality at 1440p, then compare Balanced if you need more speed. Check fences, foliage, distant geometry, and text—not just the FPS counter. PCGamesN found FSR handled some aliasing examples better in its test while DLSS retained slightly more detail; that comparison is specific to its test system and should not be treated as a universal winner.
Rank #2
- Epic Solo Campaign: Kingdom Legacy is a solo adventure where players start with just 10 kingdom cards and expand their domain through exploration and decision-making.
- Progressive Gameplay: Over the course of the campaign, players will face tough choices and unlock new game mechanisms that evolve the game as they progress.
- Exploration and Strategy: Each decision impacts the kingdom’s growth, and players must balance exploration with strategic planning to succeed.
- Long-Term Adventure: The campaign offers a rich and immersive experience that unfolds over time, keeping players engaged through multiple sessions.
- Interactive Tutorial: A helpful tutorial video guides players through getting started, ensuring that they understand the rules and mechanics before embarking on their journey.
XeSS and frame generation
PC Gamer’s earlier performance analysis reported DLSS and FSR but no XeSS or frame generation at the time it tested the game. That dated result does not establish what a later build supports. Check the current in-game graphics menu and patch notes before choosing an Intel upscaler or expecting frame generation.
If frame generation is available in your build, remember that it raises displayed FPS but does not make a low native frame rate equally responsive. Artifacts can appear around foliage, weapons, NPCs, or the interface. A stable base frame rate and sensible cap may feel better than the highest displayed number.
Measure FPS and 1% lows consistently
Compare configurations in the same save and repeatable route. Include an open outdoor area, a dense settlement or market, and a combat or NPC-heavy scenario. A quiet field alone will not show how the game behaves in its most demanding locations.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →- Install the game on an SSD, update Windows and your graphics driver, and note the game’s resolution, preset, upscaler, and mode.
- Choose a repeatable route and run it under the same conditions for each setting change.
- Record average FPS, 1% lows, GPU utilization, VRAM use, system RAM use, and frame-time consistency.
- Change one setting at a time, repeat the route, and keep the configuration that improves the experience without unacceptable image loss.
PCGamesN lists Alt + R for the NVIDIA App performance overlay and Ctrl + Shift + O for AMD’s Radeon overlay, and notes CapFrameX and NVIDIA FrameView for capture. Vendor software and shortcuts can change, so check the current overlay settings if these do not work. A practical target cited by PCGamesN is an average above 60 FPS and roughly 40 FPS or better for 1% lows, but your display, tolerance for dips, and play style determine what feels smooth.
Diagnose low FPS, poor 1% lows, or stutter
Check whether the GPU is the limit
- GPU use near 95–100%: Try a lower render resolution, a more aggressive upscaler mode, Shadows, Lighting, or Volumetric effects.
- Low GPU use while FPS is poor: Check CPU limits, background tasks, memory pressure, and whether the problem occurs mainly in NPC-heavy areas. Lowering resolution may not help.
Dense towns, markets, foliage-heavy locations, and streaming-heavy scenes can depress 1% lows more than open countryside. PC Gamer observed that upscaling could raise average FPS without proportionally improving 1% lows on an RX 7800 XT at 1440p Ultra. That is why both measurements matter.
Rank #3
- 29 card expansion for Kingdom Legacy
- This is an expansion for Kingdom Legacy: Feudal Kingdom.
- It offers 3 rounds of play, and 29 new cards to explore by embarking on adventures.
- It will take at least 10 rounds to explore all of them, so the contents of this expansion will overlap with future expansions played, so it is recommended to play this as one of your first 5 expansions.
Separate stutter from low average FPS
Low average FPS is sustained slowness; poor 1% lows mean occasional frame-time spikes; streaming hitches can occur as assets load; and CPU-limited settlement dips may not respond to resolution changes. Check the SSD installation, available RAM and VRAM, background applications, drivers, and game updates before attributing every hitch to a graphics setting. PC Gamer reported no obvious shader stutter in its own testing, but that does not rule out stutter on other systems or builds.
Memory, storage, and laptops
- System RAM: Steam lists 32GB as recommended. PCGamesN observed worse 1% lows on a 16GB test system at High and above; this suggests memory headroom can matter, not that every 16GB PC must upgrade.
- VRAM: PC Gamer suggested more than 8GB may be useful at 1440p High or above, while noting its reported values were allocated memory rather than a definitive measure of actual use. If stutter accompanies VRAM pressure, test lower textures separately.
- SSD: Steam lists an SSD as required and 100GB of storage. An SSD can help loading and streaming behavior, but is not a guaranteed average-FPS upgrade.
- Laptops: Play plugged in, select the performance power profile, confirm the game uses the discrete GPU, and watch temperatures. A stable 30, 40, or 60 FPS cap may be preferable to an uncapped rate that fluctuates.
Use a cap or V-Sync when it helps
Test uncapped first to establish the system’s ceiling. If you use a variable-refresh-rate display, a cap slightly below its refresh rate can help keep performance stable; use V-Sync if tearing is distracting. Exact cap controls vary by build and driver, so use the current in-game or driver options. A stable cap can reduce heat and power draw as well as frame-time variation.
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Official PC system requirements
Steam lists the following requirements for the PC version. The minimum tier is not a guarantee of 60 FPS, and the recommended tier does not specify a universal resolution, preset, or frame-rate target.
| Tier | CPU | Memory | GPU | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600 | 16GB RAM | NVIDIA GTX 1060 6GB or AMD Radeon RX 580 | 100GB SSD |
| Recommended | Intel Core i7-13700K or AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D | 32GB RAM | NVIDIA RTX 4070 or AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT | 100GB SSD |
Steam also lists Windows 10 64-bit or newer. See Steam’s KCD2 support and system-requirements page for the listed requirements.
When is a hardware upgrade worth it?
- Game on an HDD: Move it to an SSD first; the game lists SSD storage as a requirement.
- 16GB RAM with memory pressure or weak 1% lows: Consider 32GB for headroom, after checking system use and avoiding a claim that more RAM automatically raises average FPS.
- GPU consistently at maximum use: A faster GPU is the likely upgrade for higher-resolution play.
- Low GPU use and poor performance in busy towns: Investigate the CPU and system load before buying a graphics card.
For reference, Steam lists the game’s release date as February 4, 2025. The requirement figures are hardware baselines, not a promise about performance on every patch or scene.
Rank #4
- Written by Brett Murphy
- Illustrated by Wilson Gandolpho
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Kingdom Come: Deliverance II run at 60 FPS?
It can on suitable hardware and settings, but no single 60 FPS result applies to every resolution, scene, or PC. Use the same route to check average FPS and 1% lows; the official minimum specifications are not a 60 FPS guarantee.
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Does Kingdom Come: Deliverance II support frame generation?
PC Gamer’s performance analysis reported no frame generation at the time of its test. Check the current game’s menu and patch notes, since that older result does not establish support in a later build.
Does the game need 32GB of RAM?
Steam lists 32GB as recommended, while its minimum is 16GB. PCGamesN observed worse 1% lows on a 16GB test system at High and above, but that does not make 32GB an absolute requirement for every PC.
Why does FPS drop in towns?
NPC-heavy settlements can be more demanding on the CPU and system than open areas. If lowering resolution does not help and GPU use is low, check CPU load, background apps, and memory pressure.
Can an SSD increase FPS?
Steam requires an SSD, and it can help loading and streaming behavior. That requirement does not establish that an SSD will increase average FPS.
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No handheld-wide profile is established here. PC Gamer reported that FSR Quality helped on the ROG Ally X while Performance mode looked too soft; do not assume the same result for Steam Deck, Legion Go, other Ally models, or newer handhelds.
Quick Recap
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