Best Mid-Range PC Settings to Max FPS in Assassin's Creed Shadows

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Hey gamers! If you’re diving into Assassin's Creed Shadows, you’re in for an epic ride through feudal Japan. But, if you’re rocking a mid-range PC, you may have noticed that achieving smooth gameplay with max FPS can be a bit of a challenge. Don’t worry though – this guide is here to help you unlock the best settings for a silky-smooth experience, all while preserving that gorgeous, immersive world.

System Requirements for Assassin's Creed Shadows: Are You Ready?

Before we dive into the settings, let’s check if your PC is up for the challenge. If you're playing at 1080p on medium settings, here’s what you should have:

Minimum Requirements (1080p, 30 FPS, Low Graphics)

  • Operating System: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)
  • Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 @ 3.6 GHz, Intel Core i7-8700k @ 3.7 GHz
  • RAM: 16 GB (dual-channel)
  • Graphics Card: AMD RX 5700 (8 GB), Intel Arc A580 (8 GB), or NVIDIA GTX 1070 (8 GB)
  • Storage: SSD
  • DirectX: 12

Recommended Requirements (1080p, 60 FPS, Medium Graphics)

  • Operating System: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)
  • Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5600x @ 3.7 GHz, Intel Core i5-11600k @ 3.9 GHz
  • RAM: 16 GB (dual-channel)
  • Graphics Card: AMD RX 6700 XT (12 GB), Intel Arc B580 (12 GB with ReBAR enabled), or NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti (8 GB)
  • Storage: SSD
  • DirectX: 12

If you want smooth gameplay at 2K or 4K, you’ll need beefier hardware, but the steps below will help you get the best performance possible on a mid-range rig!

Optimizing Your Settings for Mid-Range PCs

Here’s the deal – getting the best FPS on mid-range hardware requires balancing visual quality with performance. The key is to tweak certain settings that can drastically improve your frame rates without sacrificing too much eye candy. Let’s break it down.

Video Settings

Let’s start with the basics. These video settings are designed to maximize performance without compromising your experience.

  • Field of View: 100% – This gives you a wide, immersive view without impacting FPS too much.
  • Monitor: Select your primary display.
  • Display Mode: Borderless Window – A lot of gamers prefer this mode for smooth alt-tabbing, but you can try Full-Screen if you need a little more FPS.
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9 – Standard and optimal for most setups.
  • VSync: Off – Helps to avoid input lag and boost FPS.
  • Resolution: Native (1080p for most mid-range setups). If you're feeling adventurous and your rig can handle it, 1440p or even 4K can be tried.

Upscaler Settings

If you're using an AMD or NVIDIA GPU, you can take advantage of upscaling tech like DLSS or FSR. Here's what you should do:

  • Frame Rate Limiter: Off – Let your PC run as fast as it can.
  • Use Dynamic Resolution: Off – Keeping your native resolution for the best balance.
  • Upscaler Type: NVIDIA DLSS or AMD FSR – Choose this based on your GPU. If you have an RTX 30, 40 or 50 series, use DLSS for optimal performance.
  • Upscaler Quality: Native AA – Keep it on native Anti-Aliasing for the sharpest image quality for mid-range PCs.
  • Frame Generation: Off – Unless you’re rocking a super-powerful GPU like the RTX 40 or 50  series, keep this off for better FPS.
  • Sharpen Strength: 0.25 – A light sharpening effect to keep the visuals crisp.

Best PC Settings, Assassin's Creed Shadows
Post Effects

These settings control the in-game visual effects that can impact performance.

  • Motion Blur: Off – This doesn’t add much to the gameplay and can cause performance hits.
  • Chromatic Aberration: Off – Reduces unnecessary visual distortion and improves clarity.

Scalability Settings

Ray tracing is a beautiful feature, but it’s a serious performance hog on mid-range systems. Here’s how to balance it:

  • Raytraced Global Illumination: Diffuse Hideout Only – Don’t use full ray tracing unless you have a high-end GPU.
  • Overall Preset: Low – This is a good balance for performance.
  • Raytracing Quality: Low – Keep ray tracing at the lowest setting to maintain FPS.
  • BVH Quality: Low – Keeps performance smooth while still utilizing ray tracing features.

Lighting Settings

Lighting has a huge impact on performance. Here’s how to tweak it:

  • Screen Space Effects: High – Higher settings look great but don’t hit FPS too hard.
  • Light Source Quality: Low – Reduces the burden on your GPU.
  • Shadow Quality: Low – Shadows are important for atmosphere, but lowering quality can give a significant FPS boost.

Texture Settings

Textures can eat up your VRAM, but with a few tweaks, you can keep it under control:

  • Texture Streaming Pool: Very High – If you have a good amount of VRAM (6 GB or more), set this higher to keep textures sharp.

Effects Settings

For things like water and particles, here’s how to tweak them:

  • Post Effects: High – Keeps visual effects crisp without a major FPS hit.
  • Water Quality: Medium – A nice balance between quality and performance.
  • Particle Quality: Low – Reduces the impact of particles like explosions and fire.

Geometry Settings

These settings control how far out your game can “see,” which impacts performance.

  • Loading Distance: Very High – A must for a world as detailed as Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
  • Drawing Distance: Medium – A small sacrifice here can yield better performance.
  • Micropolygon: High – If you have decent VRAM, leave this higher to maintain detail.

Terrain Settings

We all love beautiful terrain, but it’s a performance hog. Here’s how to balance it:

  • Terrain Quality: Very High – Keep it here for gorgeous environments.
  • Deformation: Low – Don’t need extreme terrain changes to enjoy the world.
  • Scatter Density: High – Adds immersion but isn’t too heavy on FPS.
  • Virtual Texture: High – Adjust based on VRAM (6 GB or higher recommended).

Character Settings

Characters should look sharp, but you don’t need ultra-high settings for this:

  • Character Quality: Medium – Keeps characters looking great without draining your system.
  • Hair Strands: Off – Hair strands look amazing but can be a serious FPS killer.

Volumetric Effects

Lastly, the atmospheric effects like clouds and fog can be demanding:

  • Cloud Quality: Low – This won’t make a huge difference visually but will boost FPS.
  • Fog Quality: Low – Same deal as clouds.

Additional Tips to Boost FPS

Even with the right settings, there are some extra tweaks you can do to get the best performance possible:

  • Enable Resizable BAR: This allows your CPU to access your GPU’s full memory, speeding up performance.
  • Enable Game Mode in Windows: This ensures your PC prioritizes gaming resources, keeping everything running smooth.
  • Activate Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS): This reduces latency and can help with smoother gameplay.
  • Update Your GPU Drivers: Always make sure you're using the latest drivers to ensure compatibility and performance improvements.
  • Set Windows Power Plan to High Performance: Max out your PC’s potential by ensuring it's running at full power while gaming.

Community Insights

There’s a ton of buzz in the gaming community about Assassin's Creed Shadows’ performance. Some users on Reddit and other forums recommend sticking with DLSS for NVIDIA RTX users and FSR for AMD users, especially if you're on mid-range hardware. Many players have shared that disabling some of the more demanding features, like ray tracing, made a huge difference in their FPS.

Players also recommend turning off motion blur and chromatic aberration to get a cleaner image and boost performance without losing too much visual flair. It’s all about finding that sweet spot between performance and visuals.

Here are a few community support links where you can find discussions, tips, and performance optimization advice for Assassin's Creed Shadows:

  1. Reddit - Assassin’s Creed Subreddit:

    • Assassin's Creed Subreddit
    • This subreddit is filled with discussions on performance, settings tweaks, and user experiences. You can find a lot of community-driven insights into optimizing the game on mid-range PCs.

  2. NVIDIA Forums:

    • NVIDIA GeForce Forums
    • If you're using an NVIDIA GPU, the GeForce forums are a great place for detailed discussions about optimizing settings for Assassin's Creed Shadows, especially if you're looking to use DLSS or other NVIDIA technologies.

  3. AMD Forums:

    • AMD Community Forums
    • AMD users can find advice on optimizing Assassin's Creed Shadows with FSR or other performance tweaks tailored to AMD hardware.

Conclusion

By adjusting these settings, you’ll be able to enjoy Assassin's Creed Shadows on your mid-range PC without sacrificing too much in the visual department. Whether you're a seasoned gamer or new to optimizing settings, this guide should help you get the best experience possible. Don't forget to check out community discussions for more insights, and feel free to tweak these settings based on your specific hardware and preferences. 

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