Optimizing Helldivers 2: A Performance Guide

How to improve game performance and stability for a better gaming experience. A three-step guide that combines settings from multiple guides.

Well, I'll try to keep this as simple as possible and focus on the most important aspects (IMO) to improve game performance and stability for a smoother gaming experience. Basically, this is a 3-step guide, with various tweaks that were compiled from other guides.

To summarise, we're going to reduce the graphics settings to a minimum and configure the game to launch using DirectX 11 instead of the default DirectX 12. This will allow us to use the DXVK mod to 'convert' DirectX 11 to Vulkan (as this mod does not support DirectX 12) and take advantage of Vulkan's benefits, such as reduced CPU load, which will help to avoid bottlenecks and ensure that your GPU is performing at its best.

Display Settings:

• Render Scale: Native
  
• Display Mode: Windowed Fullscreen (Important)
  
• Framerate Limit: Off
  
• High Dynamic Range: Off
  
• V-Sync: Off

Graphic Settings:

• Graphic Preset: Low
  
• Texture Quality: Depending on your GPU memory.
  
• Anti-Aliasing: Enable if desired.

Adding Launch Parameters:

• Right-click on the game inside your steam library and go to Properties.
  
• In the Launch Options field, add the parameter:

  --use-d3d11

Modifying the Configuration File:

• Navigate to:

  C:\Users\YOUR_USER_NAME\AppData\Roaming\Arrowhead\Helldivers2

• You can open this folder by pressing Windows key + R, then executing

  %appdata%/Arrowhead/Helldivers2

• Open the "user_settings.config" file with Notepad and modify the following parameters (you can press CTRL+F to search for each one):

• Set the following to false:

post_effects_enabled
particles_cast_shadows
sun_shadows (This one breaks ship lights)
sun_flare_enabled
wind_enabled
local_lights
particles_tessellation
heathaze_enabled
particles_receive_shadows

• Set the following to 0:

object_lod_quality
reflection_quality
lighting_and_material_quality
particle_quality
space_quality
volumetric_fog_quality

• Set the following to low:

sun_shadow_map_filter_quality
local_lights_shadow_map_filter_quality

• Save the changes and close Notepad. Right-click the edited file, go to Properties, and check the Read-Only box at the bottom to prevent the game from modifying the changes that we did.

• Make sure your game is set to Windowed Full Screen.
  
• The Vulkan API will not work without the --use-d3d11 startup parameter (Step 2).
  
  
• Download the necessary files from DXVK Releases[github.com]. The direct link is here[github.com].
  
• Extract the downloaded file "dxvk-2.4.tar.gz" (you can use 7-Zip[www.7-zip.org] for that) and copy 2 files (dxgi.dll and d3d11.dll) from the x64 folder to the bin game folder:
  

  C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Helldivers 2\bin

• Done

That's all. I hope this helps you to enjoy a better gaming experience. ^_^

All the guides that I have taken information from:

• Config tweaks for more performance.
  
• Improved FPS, performance and stability
  
• Como mejorar el rendimiento de la CPU en Helldivers 2 (Dxvk)

I would like to thank the authors of these guides.

If something has gone wrong and you want to undo all the changes you have made, all you need to do is check the integrity of the game files. It's very easy and quicker than reinstalling the game from scratch.

Verify Integrity of Game Files

1. Right click the game in your Library, or click the gear icon from the game's Library page on the far right.
   
2. From the drop down menu, select Properties...
   
3. Select the Installed Files tab and click the Verify integrity of game files button.
   
4. Steam will verify the game's files - this process may take several minutes.

After this the game will be as freshly downloaded.

Please note that if you follow this guide and use certain hardware configurations, the game may crash upon launching. This issue occurs because Vulkan may not be compatible with your system's configuration. If you experience crashes, make sure to verify the game files through Steam to restore the original API files and fix the issue (You can find how to do this in the previous section, "Undo all changes if needed).

[Aetopia]

For graphics API specifically:

• You should test each API, D3D12, D3D11 & Vulkan to see what works, the best with your hardware.

• Use Fullscreen , if you are using D3D11 or Vulkan.

• If you are on Windows 11 & using D3D11, enable "Optimizations for Windowed Games" & see if that promotes the flip model for the game.

• This promotes the usage of "Hardware: Independent Flip", this can be verified using a tool called PresentMon [github.com].

• Using Borderless or Windowed promotes "Hardware: Composed Flip" which is not optimal for performance & latency.

• If you have an NVIDIA GPU, make sure, the present mode Vulkan/OpenGL apps is set to "Prefer layered on DXGI Swapchain" to engage the flip model under Vulkan.

• You can use [VKD3D] (https://github.com/HansKristian-Work/vkd3d-proton) to use Vulkan under D3D12.

[Dougb60]

its playable now, thank you

[Tassimo]

Worked well for me, I'm getting a solid 60+fps where before I was dropping to 20 during combat. Game now runs as well as it did at launch, at the cost of being much uglier.

[Thunderdrake3]

I followed all the steps exactly, but it made me lose about 30 fps. Not sure which change did that.

[Memento Moriarty]

I was unable to find all the user config settings except object_lod_quality. I proceeded with installing DXVK 2.5.3, and it seems to have dropped my FPS as well. It stutters even on the ship and my CPU is pegged at 100%.

[GaboLayv]

somehow vulkan makes me get 20 fps less than with dx11 thats interesting

[ami]

I'm running i7 8750H with 1060 6gb, the vulkan runs great with 60-70 fps which was 30-50fps before vulkan. Thanks!

[Shmuck Bazooker]

Running Vulkan causes an immediate crash upon lauch, any fixes for that?

[S R O H N]

Unable to revert back to DX11, whenever i verify game files:
helldivers2_d3d11
helldivers2_dxgi
Pop back in. If i try to remove the launch command the game crashes on start.
Any fix to this kindly?

[LeeInTheStars]

When i try to open Helldivers, it just doesn't, and becomes a background process, what did i do wrong?