Diablo has been a long-standing favorite on PC, and the release of Diablo 4 is a significant event for fans of the franchise. With its improved gameplay and visuals, it’s important to optimize the game’s settings to fully enjoy the experience. In this guide, we’ll discuss the best settings for Diablo 4 and how to get the most out of your PC.
Best Settings for Diablo 4
Image by Blizzard
Diablo 4 is designed to be highly scalable, allowing it to run smoothly on various hardware configurations. To achieve the best balance between image quality and performance, I recommend the following settings for most PCs:
- Texture quality: High
- Anisotropic filtering: 8x
- Shadow quality: Medium
- Dynamic shadows: On
- Soft shadows: Off
- Shader quality: Medium
- SSAO quality: Medium
- Fog quality: Medium
- Clutter quality: Low
- Fur quality: Medium
- Water simulation quality: Low
- Anti-aliasing quality: High
- Geometric complexity: Medium
- Terrain geometry: High
- Particles quality: Medium
- Screen-space reflections: On
- Distortion: On
- Low FX: Off
These settings strike a perfect balance between image quality and performance. The slight drop in texture detail is hardly noticeable, considering the alternative of compromising all settings. Diablo 4 can lose its visual appeal when played with the lowest settings.
Image used with permission by copyright holder
The comparison above showcases how these settings compare to the Ultra preset. While there is a slight decrease in texture detail, the difference is minimal. It’s important to find a balance that suits your preferences and hardware capabilities.
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Texture quality has the most significant impact on performance. If you’re playing at 1080p, the Medium setting is sufficient. For 1440p, High is recommended, while Ultra is suitable for 4K if your GPU can handle it.
Diablo 4 System Requirements
Blizzard has provided four different system requirements for Diablo 4. Here are their recommendations:
Diablo 4 is surprisingly flexible and can run on older systems, even at higher resolutions. One noteworthy requirement is the need for an SSD, even in the minimum system requirements. This is becoming more common as games prioritize faster storage for enhanced performance.
The developers also mention that the game can run below the minimum requirements, such as on a hard drive or integrated graphics. However, they note that the gameplay experience might suffer significantly in such cases.
Is 32GB RAM Necessary for Diablo 4?
While Diablo 4 doesn’t demand 32GB of RAM, it is a memory-intensive game, particularly due to its high-quality textures. Having 32GB of RAM can make a noticeable difference in the game’s stability and the visual appeal of its textures.
For resolutions up to and including 1440p, 16GB of RAM is sufficient. However, if you plan on playing at 4K with the Ultra texture setting, it’s advisable to have 32GB of RAM.
Upscaling and DLAA in Diablo 4
Diablo 4 employs a unique approach to upscaling. It supports upscaling technologies from AMD, Nvidia, and Intel, depending on your GPU. The options are as follows:
- Nvidia RTX GPU: Nvidia Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS)
- Intel Arc GPU: Intel XeSS
- Any other GPU: AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 2 (FSR 2)
The game automatically limits the upscaling options based on your GPU, providing the option that’s compatible with your hardware. In terms of image quality and performance, DLSS delivers the best results, followed closely by XeSS, while FSR provides slightly lower image quality.
Image by Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Additionally, Diablo 4 supports DLSS Frame Generation on RTX 40-series graphics cards. However, this feature isn’t necessary for optimal gameplay. While DLSS Super Resolution can enhance performance, Frame Generation introduces additional latency, compromising the game’s responsiveness. It’s recommended to leave it off unless needed.
Image by Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
If you have a powerful graphics card like the RTX 4080, DLSS Super Resolution may not be necessary. Thankfully, Diablo 4 also supports Nvidia’s Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing (DLAA). This feature enhances image quality while slightly affecting performance. DLAA is an excellent choice if you’ve already achieved your desired performance at the native resolution.
Does Diablo 4 Support Ray Tracing?
Unfortunately, Diablo 4 does not incorporate ray tracing technology, despite offering various upscaling options. Instead, the game relies on standard screen-space reflections, which can be disabled if desired. The camera perspective and lighting techniques employed in the game create a realistic environment while maintaining superb performance.
Editors’ Recommendations
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- Nvidia’s DLSS 3.5 update revolutionizes ray tracing technology.
