EFT-AMMO

    v0.15.5+

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Optimal Graphics Settings for Escape from Tarkov 13.5 Patch

The recent 13.5 patch for Escape from Tarkov reset all graphics settings for players. This can be extremely frustrating as you'll need to meticulously reconfigure each setting again to get the best performance and visual fidelity. In this in-depth post, I'll guide you through optimizing your Tarkov graphics for the best possible gameplay experience on 13.5.

Choosing the Right Texture Quality

Texture quality has a massive impact on game performance and visuals. This setting controls how detailed and sharp textures appear on in-game assets like clothing, terrain, weapons, etc.

Setting texture quality too high can cripple frame rates, while too low makes the game look overly blurry and washed out. The ideal texture quality comes down to your graphics card's VRAM capacity.

Monitor your VRAM usage in-game or with a system monitor tool like MSI Afterburner. Ensure you do not max out your VRAM capacity, as this leads to stuttering. Some examples:

  • 8GB VRAM cards - Set textures to Medium quality and aim for 6-7GB VRAM usage for smooth 60+ FPS
  • 12GB RTX cards - High settings are warranted here for vivid textures without VRAM issues
  • 16GB+ VRAM cards - Crank textures up to Ultra for jaw-dropping detail

Whenever you change texture settings, restart Tarkov completely so the changes apply properly. Do minor tweaks and monitor VRAM until you find the highest settings your card can handle.

Graphics Settings for Competitive Edge

Besides texture quality, various other graphics settings impact your ability to spot enemies accurately and gain a competitive edge:

  • Shadow Quality - Keep this on Low. The visual improvement from High/Ultra is minimal and not worth the performance hit.
  • Object LOD - Between 2-2.5 is ideal. Higher values add unnecessary detail.
  • Overall Visibility - For heavy maps like Lighthouse and Streets, 400-1000 meters prevents objects popping in abruptly within firing range. On lighter maps, you can increase this.
  • Post FX - Disable Chromatic Aberration and Noise for maximum visual clarity without artifacts.
  • Anti-Aliasing - Try SMAA and FXAA for anti-aliasing as they have minimal performance impact.
  • Resampling - Avoid upscaling and stay at your native monitor resolution.
  • Nvidia Reflex - Keep OFF for now as it can drastically lower FPS between maps.
  • Anisotropic Filtering - Off for better frames since the visual benefit is negligible.
  • Sharpness - Personal preference, but avoid over-sharpening which strains the eyes.

These competitive settings maximize visibility while removing distracting effects that can obstruct enemy players.

Optimizing Immersion and Realism

For those who care more about immersion than competition, here are some settings that improve realism and atmosphere:

  • SSR - Screen Space Reflections create more realistic water/glass reflections but hurt FPS. Use the Low setting only.
  • Ambient Occlusion - Adds enhanced contact shadows around objects. Try Medium AO for the best balance.
  • Scenery Visibility - Crank this up to 10km+ to see distant scenery, but beware of the performance hit.
  • Grass Shadows - Having grass cast shadows adds to the atmosphere, but also lowers FPS. Enable sparingly.
  • DLSS/FSR - Quality or Balanced mode adds sharpness without a big performance cost.

Tweak these settings gradually to find your ideal realism vs. performance balance. Avoid maxing every option out.

New Body Part Healing System

The 13.5 patch also adds the ability to heal specific body parts instead of your entire health pool. To use this:

  1. Bind your healing items to "On Release" instead of "On Press" in the controls menu
  2. After pressing the heal hotkey, scroll mouse wheel to select a body part before releasing to heal only that part.

With this system you can triage healing much more efficiently during battle, prioritizing the most damaged limbs first. Remember to tweak that binding!

Closing Thoughts

Optimizing Tarkov's expansive graphics settings takes time and testing. This guide covers the most vital settings to improve performance and gameplay for the 13.5 patch. Happy raids!