Best War Thunder PC Settings for FPS and Visibility

Most War Thunder settings guides mix three different things: options that cost frames, options that change what you can see, and the author's taste. This guide keeps them apart, and it leaves out something most guides include — exact FPS gains — because we have not benchmarked the game and a percentage invented for a page would be worse than none. Start with the official requirements, then work through the options.

Official requirements first

Gaijin's current PC requirements were published in its 27 August 2026 maintenance notice. Minimum: Windows 10 64-bit, a dual-core 2.2 GHz CPU, 4 GB of RAM and a DirectX 11 card at the level of an AMD Radeon 77XX or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660. The minimum supported resolution is 720p and the minimal client needs 23.1 GB. Recommended: Windows 10/11 64-bit, an Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5 3600 or better, 16 GB or more of RAM, and a GeForce 1060 or Radeon RX 570 or higher. The full client needs 75.9 GB.

The Steam store page lists the same CPU, RAM and GPU tiers but different storage figures — 70 GB minimum and 95 GB recommended.

The change that made old advice wrong

Since September 2021, objects such as trees and houses have had a similar rendering distance across all graphics presets. The long-standing advice to drop terrain or shadow quality to make enemies easier to spot has not worked since then.

This matters because a large share of the settings advice still circulating predates that change. If a guide tells you to set everything to Low so tanks stand out against bare ground, it is describing a game that no longer exists.

Performance options — the ones that cost frames

The Firebirds major update of November 2024 added a Direct3D 12 graphics API option and new anti-aliasing options: FSR 3.1, DLAA, XeSS and TSR. It also introduced ray-traced shadows, ambient occlusion and reflections. The graphics menu was overhauled with in-game screenshots and clearer descriptions of each setting.

Specialist testing identifies render resolution, anti-aliasing method and shadow quality as the heaviest options, with the ray-tracing and path-traced global illumination options described as cosmetic lighting upgrades with no spotting benefit.

Our reading: if you need frames, start with the ray-tracing toggles (off), then shadow quality (down), then the anti-aliasing method. Upscaling options trade a small amount of sharpness for a large amount of headroom, and the game now ships several: DLSS on NVIDIA, FSR 3.1 on AMD, XeSS on Intel, TSR on anything. Render resolution is the last lever, and in air battles we would not pull it: distant targets are already small.

Visibility options — the ones that change what you can see

Grass in Sights removes grass from the zoomed sniper view only. Effects Quality controls the particle effects from explosions and fire that can block your own line of sight. Anisotropic Filtering keeps distant camouflage and decals legible at near-zero cost. Cloud Quality matters in air battles, where clouds provide contrast for targets, and is cosmetic in ground battles.

The consensus recommendations here are ones we agree with on logic alone. Grass in Sights off, because grass in a gunsight only ever hides things from you. Effects Quality low or medium, because a smoke column between you and a target is a disadvantage not a spectacle. Anisotropic Filtering high, because it is nearly free and detail at distance is the whole game.

Subjective options — where reasonable people differ

• Anti-aliasing method. TAA is the common recommendation for its cost; some players find it soft and prefer DLAA or an upscaler's quality mode. Try two and keep the one you can spot with.
• Cloud Quality in air battles. Higher gives better target contrast at a cost; how much depends on your hardware and eyes.
• V-Sync. Off is the common advice for input latency; on is defensible on a display without variable refresh.
• Ray tracing. A visual upgrade with no competitive benefit. Turn it on if you have the frames to spare and like how it looks.

A sensible starting profile

Treat the table as a starting point, then change one option at a time and play a match before changing the next. Because Gaijin's menu now shows a screenshot and a description for every setting, you can see what each one does before you commit.

→ How to know if your PC can run a game: CPU, GPU, RAM and VRAM explained

→ War Thunder beginner's guide 2026

→ War Thunder hub: everything we have written