Diagnose & fix
Arc Raiders FPS boost: UE5 extraction shooter settings
Reviewed July 2026
Enable DLSS Quality (RTX) or FSR Quality (other GPUs) before anything else. Drop Lumen Global Illumination — the most expensive setting. Manage VRAM with textures (8 GB for High, 4 GB for Medium). First-session shader stutters are normal in UE5. Neon optimizes Windows only and does not touch Arc Raiders files.
Step by step
01 Arc Raiders and Unreal Engine 5: what changes in an extraction shooter
Arc Raiders is a third-person extraction shooter built on Unreal Engine 5, developed by Embark Studios. Unlike other UE5 games, the extraction loop involves long sessions with large open terrain, Arc robot AI simulation and nearby-player detection — all simultaneously. The engine uses Lumen for dynamic global illumination and Nanite for high-density geometry, meaning even modern hardware feels the demand. The right starting point is enabling upscaling before lowering other settings.
02 DLSS, FSR and XeSS: enable upscaling first
Arc Raiders supports DLSS (NVIDIA RTX GPUs), FSR (AMD and compatible with most GPUs) and XeSS (Intel and others). If you have an RTX card, enable DLSS Quality first — it gives the best reconstructed image in motion for a fast third-person action game. Without RTX, FSR Quality or Balanced works on almost any modern GPU. Enable one of these before lowering any other graphics settings — it is the most efficient way to gain FPS with the lowest visual cost.
03 Shader stutter: the reality of UE5
Arc Raiders, like other Unreal Engine 5 games, compiles shaders when an area is first loaded. This produces stutters on the first play session or first seconds in a new visual zone. This is a known UE5 behavior and is not a problem with your hardware or configuration — it improves in subsequent sessions when shaders are already compiled and cached. To reduce the duration of these initial stutters: ensure the game is on an SSD and that your CPU is not saturated by background processes during loading.
04 Global Illumination (Lumen): the highest-cost setting in Arc Raiders
Lumen Global Illumination calculates how light bounces off world surfaces in real time. It is visually impressive but has a very high GPU cost. In Arc Raiders, where many sessions take place in outdoors environments with dynamic sunlight and changing shadows, Lumen works constantly. Drop Global Illumination quality to Medium or Low, or disable it entirely to use pre-baked lighting. The visual difference is noticeable, but the FPS gain can be substantial on low- and mid-range GPUs.
05 VRAM: the budget to respect
Arc Raiders on High textures targets 8 GB of VRAM or more. If you have 4-6 GB of VRAM and run High textures, the game will stream texture data through system RAM, causing micro-stutters during movement and combat. The graphics menu shows a VRAM usage bar — keep that number below your total VRAM. Medium textures are stable on 4 GB cards; High textures are stable on 8 GB cards.
06 Shadows and ambient occlusion
Shadows in UE5 with Virtual Shadow Maps are more expensive than in previous engine versions. Drop shadow quality to Medium or Low to reduce the shadow render budget. Contact Shadows at Low also helps. Ambient Occlusion controls contact shadows where objects meet — at Low or disabled it frees GPU without a large impact on tactical readability.
07 Volumetric effects and fog
Arc Raiders has volumetric fog and smoke and cloud effects that are part of the game's visual identity. These effects have a real GPU cost, especially in open areas with heavy ambient fog. Volumetric effects quality at Low reduces this cost. If visual fidelity is not your primary priority over FPS, lower these settings. In indoor areas the impact is smaller; in open outdoor zones it can be more significant.
08 Post-processing: motion blur and depth of field
In an extraction shooter where detecting threats quickly is critical, Motion Blur is a visual impediment in addition to having GPU cost. Turn it off. Depth of Field in gameplay (not cinematics) blurs the background while aiming, which can make it harder to identify enemies at mid-range — turn it off. Bloom can be lowered to Low to reduce excessive light glow without tactical cost.
09 Display mode and V-Sync
Run Arc Raiders in exclusive fullscreen for the lowest input lag. Borderless windowed mode goes through the Windows compositor and adds latency. In an extraction shooter where dying means losing your gear, minimum input lag is relevant. V-Sync off — if you have G-Sync or FreeSync, configure VRR at the driver level with V-Sync off in the game. Use the built-in FPS limiter capped at double your monitor refresh rate or at your exact refresh rate if using VRR.
10 CPU, SSD and the extraction loop
Arc Raiders simulates robot AI, physics and player detection constantly during a session. This keeps the CPU busy beyond graphics rendering. Close background applications that actively consume CPU — browser video tabs, download clients, real-time screen capture. Storage matters for load times between sessions and for shader stutter: install the game on an SSD if possible. 16 GB system RAM is the comfortable minimum for Arc Raiders with Discord and a browser open.
11 How Neon helps on the Windows side
Neon does not touch Arc Raiders files or inject anything into the game process. It works on the Windows side: manages background services and processes competing for CPU resources that Arc Raiders needs for AI simulation and game logic, verifies the power plan, detects if XMP/EXPO is off (RAM bandwidth is relevant in UE5 games that actively stream textures), and if Resizable BAR is available but not enabled. Every change is logged and reversible with one click.
Highest-impact settings in Arc Raiders
| Setting | Recommended | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| DLSS / FSR / XeSS | Quality | High FPS |
| Global Illumination (Lumen) | Low/Disabled | Very high GPU |
| Shadow Quality | Medium/Low | High GPU |
| Texture Quality | Per VRAM | VRAM |
| Volumetric Effects | Low | Medium-high GPU |
| Motion Blur | Off | GPU + visibility |
Common questions
- Does Arc Raiders support DLSS and FSR?
- Arc Raiders is built on Unreal Engine 5 and supports DLSS (NVIDIA RTX cards), FSR (AMD and cross-GPU), and XeSS (Intel and others). If you have an RTX card, DLSS Quality gives the best image reconstruction. If not, FSR Quality or Balanced works on almost any modern GPU. Enable one of these upscalers early in your graphics setup — it is the most efficient way to raise FPS without a large visual cost.
- Why does Arc Raiders stutter or drop FPS?
- Arc Raiders runs on Unreal Engine 5, which uses shader compilation at load time and can stutter on first encounter with new visual scenarios. This is a known UE5 behavior. Beyond shader compilation hitches, framerate drops during combat are typically caused by Lumen global illumination, volumetric effects and particle-heavy moments. Lowering Global Illumination quality and Shadow quality are the most effective mitigations.
- How much VRAM does Arc Raiders need?
- Arc Raiders on High textures targets 8 GB of VRAM or more. On 4-6 GB VRAM cards, running High textures can cause the game to stream texture data through system RAM, producing stutters. The in-game graphics menu shows a VRAM budget bar — keep it under your card's actual VRAM total. Medium textures are stable on 4 GB cards; High textures are stable on 8 GB cards.
- Is Arc Raiders more CPU or GPU demanding?
- Arc Raiders is primarily GPU-demanding due to UE5 features like Lumen, Nanite and volumetric effects. However, the CPU is stressed by AI simulation, physics and network desync in the extraction loop. For best performance you want both a capable GPU (for the rendering pipeline) and a reasonably fast CPU (for game logic and AI). Shader compilation stutters are CPU-dependent — an SSD and faster CPU reduce their duration.
Where Neon helps
Neon works on the Windows side and never touches Arc Raiders files or process.
- Manages background processes and services competing with AI simulation and game logic on CPU.
- Detects if XMP/EXPO is off and if Resizable BAR is available but not enabled — two improvements with direct impact in UE5 games that stream assets.
- Verifies the Windows power plan and logs every change reversibly. No invented numbers.
Getting UE5 shader stutters? Read how to fix shader compilation stutter and the honest FSR vs DLSS comparison. Play other extraction shooters or shooters? See Escape from Tarkov FPS boost and Marvel Rivals FPS boost — also on UE5.