published on in 2023

Escape From Tarkov Best Graphics Settings

We all know how vital the gameplay in Escape From Tarkov is. Most of the time, your raids’ performance depends on your graphic settings, which is a variable sometimes triggered by firm eyesight or game performance. Everyone is tired of the stutters or low fps on bigger maps that could be the main culprit for your death. Well, we’re here to help you find the best settings in EFT, and hopefully, satisfy your needs.

Escape From Tarkov Best Graphics Settings Discussion

After EFT patch 0.12, there were some new additions in the Graphics settings, such as TAA (Temporal Anti-Aliasing), and other options players can choose from and set up what they strive for. Again, when it comes to a game where you either win or lose it all, the balance between performance and imagery is very important.

NVIDIA DLSS has arrived

With patch 0.12.12.15.4, Escape From Tarkov has finally received the NVIDIA DLSS feature, so we have to raise awareness and talk more about the users running RTX GPUs. Currently, there are 3 working DLSS levels out of four in Escape From Tarkov. Those are, Quality, Balanced, and Performance, with Ultra Performance grayed out.

AMD FSR has been added

Patch 0.12.12.30 has been deployed. While there haven’t been plenty of graphical changes, this update brings the AMD FSR, which is the opposite of NVIDIA DLSS.

How does NVIDIA DLSS work in general and what is the best DLSS option?

Nvidia DLSS takes over the predefined anti-aliasing and sharpening settings, completely in seek for a much bigger DLSS. Generally said, the higher pixels you’re running the game on, the better the look when Nvidia DLSS is involved. Basically, Nvidia DLSS forces the game to run at a lower resolution, and with its AI algorithm, it tries to create a scenario as if the game was running at a higher resolution. The anti-aliasing and the sharpening in this case are automated, and cannot be customized at all.

Quality Mode

Filters quality over performance, with the least impact on the imagery itself. Keep in mind that even this DLSS mode will blurry your game, even though it should lead to sharper imagery compared to the other three. So if your PC is already good at running the game at 1440p without any DLSS mode, then you should consider whether you should run DLSS.

Balanced Mode

Balanced is probably the best option if you’re seeking equality between quality and performance. Nevertheless, let’s be short, it still imbues a rather blurry scenario, just as in any other game. Balanced will naturally give you a higher FPS boost than Quality. Usually, 4K gamers benefit the most out of this.

Performance Mode

Usually the choice for the aged-out rigs who are having struggles running the game at a decent level. It sacrifices the visuals for a bigger performance gain by making it even blurrier and indistinct. Not to a level where you cannot see anything, but still, more than the Quality and Balanced mode to be precise.

Ultra Performance Mode

Currently, this option is blurred, and it better stay that way. All I have to say for this is “just don’t”. No matter what kind of PC you’re running. This option is best orientated for 8K players, as it only comes decently with high pixels. If you’re running Tarkov at a solid FPS of around 80-120, you wouldn’t even need DLSS. Spotting enemies is far more important. If you’re seeking an FPS boost, just go on maps such as Labs and Factory and have fun.

Addition of Post FX with Patch 0.12.5

For the first time, Patch 0.12.5 introduced players to Post FX effects. This addition will replace the Nvidia Freestyle, which filters have had somewhat the same purpose. With this, we have to update our best graphics settings. Not every human eye desires what we opt for, but trust us; the options below are worth trying.

As you may have noticed, I’ve decided to change this a bit and offer people different choices. While FXAA might be more pleasant on your eyes and without blurriness, TAA is supposed to be the opposite but also less costly on your gaming rig. What I noticed recently is that the weather plays a huge role in the eyesight in Escape From Tarkov. It’s not all about the graphics settings, and it goes far deeper than that. Dark areas vs bright areas, sunny weather, raining, foggy, sunrise or sunset… everything plays a part in the game.

We have decided to remove the TAA settings and decided to stick with one Graphics Options at a time. If we decide to swap to TAA, then it will be reflected in the settings below. I hope the settings below are what you’re looking for.

Performance vs Quality

In the end, in Escape From Tarkov, it’s all about the balance. The balance between performance and visibility is undoubtedly the most important. Having a satisfying amount of FPS while being able to designate your enemy (a “bush wookie” or ambient occlusion camouflage master) indeed pays out. We have experimented with all the graphics settings on each map, measuring and evaluating both the performance and visibility. Without further ado, let’s take a look at our best EFT settings below:

First of all, the ability to spot enemy players at a large distance relies heavily on the FoV (Field of View). Escape from Tarkov is using a vertical FoV. The FoV represented there differs from other video games which are normally using horizontal FoV. I would put it simply like this: the larger the number is, the wider the perspective, but the smaller the people you see in the distance (100m and above). It also obstructs the gunplay. For example, sniping. Zeroing on different FoVs feels different, shoots different, so playing at one FoV and getting used to it is always a good idea.

One more thing. As you probably noticed, we’re making changes to the settings below almost on daily basis. If you want to follow and help through, make sure you check this article and attune the tweaks on your client if necessary. If you have anything to suggest, don’t be shy, please let us know in the comments below! We’re still working on finding the best all-around values for every environment.

EFT Graphic Settings – Updated with Latest Patch

  • FoV: 59 (It’s a player preference, but we play this on 59 which is 90 horizontal FoV. Just make sure you stick with it).
  • Screen mode: Fullscreen (!important read below at the end of the article!)
  • Vsync – Off (we’re aware that you can avoid the FPS limitation by setting in ON in-game, but OFF in your GPU’s Cpanel, necessary to do so if you have a powerful gaming rig). With the addition of Nvidia Reflex and the new limit of 144FPS, it’s not even mandatory to do this step.
  • Texture Quality – Low, Medium, or High, depending on your machine. (We started experimenting with this and are still monitoring performance in different maps and environments. We have it on HIGH as it feels much sharper. Sharper textures are always appreciated, yes, but performance is still what matters the most. Now that the shadows are in as default, lower texture quality might compensate for it well. Again, it’s up to you).
  • Shadows quality – Ultra (The shadows now render for up to 500m for every player. Therefore, this option is not important any longer. I’d rather have it at Ultra than low so it doesn’t bother your eyes).
  • Object LOD (Level of Detail) Quality – 2 (We have this on 2. A higher value will make the game render small 3D objects usually unnecessary eg. “a frying pan” at a longer distance. Having this on higher than the given value will decrease the game performance massively.)
  • Overall visibility – 1000-2000 (We have this on 1000. Even on lower setting, it won’t restrict you from seeing enemies at a larger distance)
  • Antialiasing – TAA HIGH (we decided to go with TAA once again, simply because of the annoying scene transitioning causing textures to flicker. It’s become increasingly difficult for the eyes. Compared to TAA, FXAA may cause curvy lines on textures due to scene transition but still, it makes the image way crisper than TAA).
  • Resampling – 1x off
  • NVIDIA DLSS – OFF
  • AMD FSR 1.0 – OFF
  • HBAO – High (We found out that light reflectors or other light rays are not as eye-blinding when you have this at low and not off. You can try it for yourself, and it’s not that big of a downgrade in performance.)
  • SSR – High (Screen Space Reflection is a technique for reusing screen space data to calculate reflections. It is commonly used to create more subtle reflections such as on wet floor surfaces or in puddles. Screen Space Reflection is an expensive technique, but when used correctly can give great results. For some reason, having this on embraces a better view, and it tackles shadows slightly better in Tarkov. However, it would tank some FPS, so if you favor quality over performance or if you have a god-tier rig, you should try this option out.)
  • Anisotropic Filtering – Per Texture
  • Nvidia Reflex Low Latency: ON or ON and Boost (If your GPU supports this, then you should have it at least enabled for smoother framerates. Nvidia Reflex is a software solution that bypasses the render queue and enhances communication between the CPU and GPU.)
  • Sharpness – 0-0.6 (We have this set on 0.6, but in the end is a player preference. A higher setting will probably decrease a bit of FPS and pixelate the image if you’re running the same POST FX settings as ours) Having this on 0 helps deal with the pixelation after using stims.
  • Lobby FPS Limit – 60
  • Game FPS Limit – 144
  • HighQualityColor: Off
  • Z-blur: Off (Z-blur makes the game feel smoother, responsive, and adds that extra slice of beautifulness. It adds that TAA vibe to it without an excessive blur.)
  • Chromatic aberrations: Off
  • Noise: Off
  • Grass shadows: Off
  • Mip Streaming: Off
  • Flash Indicator: Off

POST FX Settings

This is the new effects feature in Escape From Tarkov. It allows players to personalize the look of the game further. The new Post FX Settings have made us change the graphic settings above. Our Post FX Settings can be found below:

  • Brightness: 0-50 (we have it on 30 as it tackles darkness better (eg. Reserve’s underbelly or Reworked Interchange, everything above that may fade and even vanish distant objects – update: This was fixed with one of the previous patches, so you can try cranking this even higher if you find it more comfortable. On vast distances may still cause objects to fade away. Knowing that the upcoming Streets of Tarkov map is supposed to be huge, we’d suggest you keep it around 15-30 and get used to it. If you want to min-max, then you can tweak your brightness in regards to your map location).
  • Saturation: 0-75 (We have it on 40, not the same, but similar to Digital Vibrance)
  • Clarity: 35-70 (We have this on 80, sometimes a viable option for sharper objects and benefit to notice players without painful eyesight. Setting this too high may result in extremely dark shadows, so we wouldn’t recommend it)
  • Colorfulness: 50-100 (We have it on 100, but if you like colorful properties you can go up to 100)
  • Luma Sharpen: 0-35 (We have this on 50. If you would like to pair it well with a visor, go with 35. Seems that Patch 0.12.12 adds some weird sharpen by itself. May sometimes make fog look denser, but it’s very valuable in dark areas eg. “Reserve’s underbelly”.)
  • Adaptive Sharpen: 0-15 (We have this on 5, but if you’re using a visor, then make sure you tweak it to your own needs. Patch 0.12.12 seems to have removed the need for additional sharpening. Please let me know in the comments below).
  • Color Grading: None
  • Colorblind Mode: None (A helpful tool for colorblind people).

Keep in mind that the settings above fit perfectly with a visor. Not too blurry, not too sharpen, but just the crispy clear image you need, same as with FXAA. There are some pros and cons, and Escape From Tarkov still doesn’t represent the final product, which means further polishing will be done, including a new and complete graphic overhaul, as promised by the developer BSG.

We’re always open to discussions, so if you have anything to point out, assert your presence in the comment section below!