Helldivers 2 is a fantastic game, but it can be a bit demanding on your PC. If you're experiencing lag, stuttering, or low frame rates, don't worry, there are a few things you can do to make it run better. In this guide, we'll walk you through the best settings to tweak for a smoother Helldivers 2 experience.

The quickest way to get a performance boost in Helldivers 2 is to adjust the in-game graphics settings. Lowering some of these settings can significantly improve your frame rate without making the game look terrible. I remember when I first started playing, my PC was struggling to keep up, and a few tweaks to these settings made a world of difference.

Optimizing Your Graphics Settings

Here’s a list of the most impactful settings to change for better performance:

• Render Scale: This setting has a huge impact on performance. For most people, setting this to “Quality” is a good balance between performance and visuals. If you have a high-end PC, you can try "Ultra Quality," but if you're struggling, "Performance" will give you a big FPS boost.
• Shadow Quality: Shadows can be very demanding. Dropping this to "Medium" or "Low" will give you a nice performance increase.
• Particle Quality: During intense combat with lots of explosions, this setting can be a real performance killer. Set this to “Low” or “Lowest” for a much smoother experience during chaotic battles.
• Motion Blur, Depth of Field, and Bloom: These are all cosmetic effects that can eat up your FPS. I always turn these off in every game I play. Disabling them will give you a free performance boost, and honestly, the game looks better without them in my opinion.
• Lighting Quality: You can keep this at "Medium" to maintain good visibility without sacrificing too much performance.

Other Performance-Boosting Tips

Beyond the in-game settings, there are a few other things you can do to improve your Helldivers 2 experience:

• Update Your Graphics Drivers: Make sure you have the latest drivers for your graphics card. Both NVIDIA and AMD regularly release updates that can improve performance in new games.
• Close Background Applications: Before launching Helldivers 2, close any unnecessary applications running in the background. Things like web browsers with lots of tabs open can use up a surprising amount of resources. I once discovered that a background app was eating up 20% of my CPU while I was gaming!
• Use the “--use-d3d11” Launch Option: Some players have reported that using this launch option in Steam can improve stability and performance. To do this, right-click on Helldivers 2 in your Steam library, go to "Properties," and in the "Launch Options" box, type in `--use-d3d11`.

By following these tips, you should be able to get Helldivers 2 running much more smoothly on your PC. And hey, if you're looking to make some in-app purchases in Helldivers 2 to get that cool new armor, you can use Playstorm to earn gift cards for the PlayStation Store or Steam by playing other fun games!