Optimised graphics settings

[FleetAdmiralButter]

Hi all,

I've spent some time tweaking the graphics settings in my game and think I've settled on a pretty good configuration (for my setup at least) - the game looks similar enough to a copy running on my Windows desktop while performing very well.

I've listed all my tweaks for reference. Some settings aren't available on a Mac licence so skip over the ones that don't show up.

The list assumes you've started off with a base preset of Standard (Laptop) or Standard (Mac) and targets 60FPS at 2560x1440 on an M1 Pro. If you're on a more powerful system (M1 Max?) it might be worth bumping up texture filtering, real-time reflections, and shadow resolution.

I tested this across several areas (ARR, Stormblood and Shadowbringers) and performance is similar in all three expansions. The only write-off so far is the Aetheryte around Limsa Lominsa (running around 40FPS) - no amount of tweaking was able fix that.

Here are screenshots before and after. Note the differences between the faraway building in the top right, the trees/grass in the middle of the image (and the shadows cast by them) as well as the tiles on the ground where my character is standing.

UI Resolution
Value: High (4K)
Notes: Much sharper UI elements, no FPS penalty.

Texture Detail
Texture Filtering: Anisotropic
Anisotropic Filtering: x8
Notes: Massive improvement in texture quality for 2-3FPS. You can go up to x16 for another 1-2FPS but the visual difference is negligible.

Use low-detail models on distant objects. (LOD)
Value: Off (Unchecked)
Notes: Massive improvement in shadows/textures on faraway terrain with little FPS loss.

Edge Smoothing
Value: FXAA
Notes: Leave Off if you don't like FXAA or are injecting AA using GShade already.

Shadows
Value: Display for all categories

Shadow Softening
Value: Strong

Shadow Cascading
Value: Best

Grass Quality
Value: High
Notes: Little FPS loss for big improvement in terrain quality.

Parallax Occlusion
Value: High
Notes: Improves textures on the ground. Substantial FPS hit (5-6FPS) so leave on normal if you're experiencing bad performance.

Tessellation
Value: Normal (no change)
Notes: Including this as a warning - do not set this to High. This does not play nice with MoltenVK and will tank performance in areas with lots of foliage with no graphical improvements to show for it.

Screen Space Ambient Occlusion
Value: Light
Notes: Improves lighting in indoor/shadowy areas. Disable if your FPS gets too low.

Real-time Reflections
Value: Standard
Notes: Improves lighting on shiny surfaces. Disable if your FPS gets too low.

Movement Physics
Value: Full for all options

Use low-detail models on shadows
Value: Off (Unchecked)
Notes: Nice eyecandy but does cause a 3-4FPS hit in very crowded areas (e.g Limsa Lominsa Aetheryte). Leave on if on a weaker GPU.

[Tway1]

Just out of interest how much battery drain are you experiencing on your M1 Pro? I would I say I only get about 2-3 hours with the laptop getting quite hot on medium-high settings and wondered if others are experiencing the same.

Also do you run full screened or windowed?

[clbx]

I get around 4.5-5 hours with the standard laptop settings, fullscreen, at 1920x1200. Laptop does not get very warm, but fans do kick on.