How to increase FPS in Destiny 2: cvars, video settings, launch options
The in-game settings, launch options, and cvars.xml file of Destiny 2 can be optimized to increase your FPS and improve your gameplay.
On the web, you can find several configuration files to replace yours and boost the fps. Honestly, I don’t like this approach because I want to know exactly what I am changing, so I decided to review all the options in this article.
These adjustments are useful if you are struggling to reach an acceptable amount of fps as you are using a low-spec PC, but also if you have a monitor with a high refresh-rate as you bought it to gain an edge in a competitive shooter such as Destiny 2.
Video settings
Launch Destiny 2, click the Esc key on the keyboard to enter the Game Options menu, select Open Settings, and open the Video tab.
Video
Window Mode: Fullscreen.
Fullscreen is the best choice performance-wise, but you might prefer Windowed Fullscreen if you have a multi-monitor setup and you wish to move quickly on another display.
Resolution: use your native one.
Using your native resolution is desirable for a better view, but if you badly need a performance boost, decreasing the resolution will greatly improve your fps. 720p is usually a solid compromise between quality and performance.
Vsync: Off.
Framerate Cap Enabled: On.
Framerate Cap: your monitor refresh rate.
This is the fps cap. I suggest keeping it at the same value as your monitor refresh rate (60, 120, or 144Hz).
Note that unlocking the frame rate might cause overheating problems if your system isn’t cooled properly as the game will try to render as many frames as possible.
Field of View: it depends on your preferences.
Most of the players prefer a very high FoV in Destiny 2.
A wider field of view (FOV) increases your peripheral vision, but at the same time all the targets are smaller, and it can cause a fisheye effect. In any case, lower values will improve your performance.
Advanced video
Graphics Quality: Custom.
We will have a look at each setting individually.
Anti-Aliasing: Off.
I suggest enabling at least FXAA if your PC can hold it.
Honestly, I can’t stand this game without anti-aliasing due to all the jagged edges, but it does have a huge impact on the frames.
Screen Space Ambient Occlusion: HDAO or Off.
HDAO is a good compromise between quality and performance.
Texture Anisotropy: Off or 16x.
Note that nowadays anisotropic filtering has a very small impact on the fps, so I suggest maxing it because the game will look better.
Texture Quality: Medium/High
This setting depends mostly on the VRAM available on your graphic card. Be aware that any value past medium might have a small impact on the fps.
Generally, you should be fine as long as your graphic card has at least 3GB VRAM
Shadow Quality: Lowest.
This is one of the graphic settings with the highest performance loss in Destiny 2.
Environmental Detail Distance: High.
Character Detail Distance: High.
Foliage Detail Distance: Low.
Foliage Shadows Distance: Medium.
Considering the four settings above, Foliage Detail Distance is the only one that is very fps-expensive - the others have a low cost.
Depth of Field: Off.
Light Shafts: Medium.
Motion Blur: Off.
Wind Impulse: Off.
Wind Impulse is the effect of wind on the environment (you can easily notice it on the grass). It is not taxing on the game performance, but I suggest keeping it disabled as it doesn’t really improve the graphic quality.
Additional video
Render Resolution: 100% or 90%.
I warmly recommend to not change this setting unless you really need more fps. Decreasing the value below 100% will grant more performance at the cost of blurred textures.
The visual effect at 90% is acceptable, and 75% is the minimum value you should consider. Generally, decrease the resolution first, and use the resolution scale as the last resort.
Chromatic Aberration: Off.
Film Grain: Off.
The settings above generate visual effects on your screen that influence negatively both your performance and gameplay, so I suggest disabling them.
Click Apply to save the changes.
Launch options
How to open the launch options:
Open the Steam launcher
Go on the Library tab
Right click on Destiny 2
Select Properties and go on the General tab
Click “Set Launch Options”
This is the only useful command that may help to increase your fps:
-high -USEALLAVAILABLECORES
It tells the game to use all your CPU cores, which can improve the performance a bit.
Cvars.xml file
As far as I know, editing the cvars file is totally legit and won’t cause a ban. I don’t hold myself accountable for any problem, so do it at your own risk.
To find your cvars file, press Win+R and then input the following line:
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Bungie\DestinyPC\prefsRight click on cvars.xml and open it with WordPad or another text editor. I use Notepad++.
This file contains the same graphic options we have already configured through the in-game settings, so there is really nothing more you can optimize to boost your FPS.
cvars.xml path
Note: If you still wish to edit manually the file, do not forget to mark it as Read-Only afterwards.
Right click on the file, go on Properties, General, Attributes, and mark it as Read-Only. If you don’t, it will be overwritten as soon as you start the game, and you will lose all the changes.
If you need to alter your in-game settings in the future, it is necessary to uncheck read-only. Afterwards, you can change the settings, edit manually cvars.xml, and set it as read-only again.
If your cvars file becomes corrupted, just delete or move it elsewhere, and then open the Steam launcher, go on the library tab, right click on Destiny 2, select Properties, click on Local Files and finally on Verify Integrity of Game Files. The game will automatically download a new default one.
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Header image: Bungie
