RDR2: Ultimate 60FPS Settings Guide (2025 Update)
Red Dead Redemption 2 remains one of the most visually stunning games ever created, even years after its release. However, the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) is notoriously demanding. Even on modern 40-series cards, blindly maxing out every slider to "Ultra" is a recipe for stuttering and frame drops. The secret to a smooth experience lies in identifying the "FPS Killers"—settings that consume massive resources for minimal visual gain.
We have tested every single graphical option to bring you the definitive "Xbox One X Plus" configuration—the perfect balance of high-fidelity visuals and rock-solid performance.
The FPS Killers (Turn These Down Immediately)
If you are struggling for frames, these are the first culprits you should address. Adjusting these three settings alone can result in a 30-40% performance boost.
- Water Physics Quality: This is the heaviest setting in the game. Maxing this out simulates water physics underneath the map where you can't even see it. Set to 50% or 75%. Do not go to 100%.
- MSAA (Multisample Anti-Aliasing): Turn this OFF. MSAA is extremely taxing in this engine and doesn't handle the vegetation well. Use TAA Medium or High instead for a smoother image at a fraction of the cost.
- Volumetric Lighting Quality: This controls the quality of clouds and fog. The difference between Ultra and Medium is barely noticeable during gameplay, but the performance hit is massive. Set to Medium.
Advanced Configuration
Optimized Settings List (Copy This)
| Texture Quality | Ultra (Always) |
| Anisotropic Filtering | x16 (Free) |
| Lighting Quality | Medium |
| Global Illumination | High |
| Shadow Quality | High |
| Reflection Quality | Medium |
| Tree Tessellation | OFF (Big FPS hit) |
DLSS vs FSR: Which should I use?
If you have an NVIDIA card (RTX 2000 or newer), always use DLSS Quality. Rockstar's implementation of DLSS is superior to native TAA, offering a sharper image while boosting FPS. For AMD users, FSR 3.0 has been added via mods (and official patches), offering frame generation which is a lifesaver for older CPUs.
Launch Arguments for Stability
If you are experiencing crashes, adding -ignorepipelinecache to your
Steam/Rockstar launch options can help. Also, switching from Vulkan to DX12 (or vice
versa) in the advanced settings menu often fixes stuttering depending on your specific
hardware configuration.
Testing Methodology
We tested these settings on a mid-range PC (RTX 3060, Ryzen 5 5600X) at 1440p. With the "Optimized" preset above, we achieved a stable 72 FPS average in the Saint Denis benchmark, compared to 43 FPS on the default "Ultra" preset. The visual difference was negligible, but the gameplay felt significantly smoother.