The First Descendant is out on Steam and consoles. It is the next-generation MMO featuring the Unreal Engine 5 and its advanced lighting and geometric upgrades. Of course, there’s ray tracing for the higher-end PCs, but it’s complemented by DLSS/FSR frame generation to offset the performance drop. The game suffers from crashes (CTDs/BSODs) on Intel 13th/14th Gen CPUs, but that’s on the chipmaker. Before we dive in, here are our add-on guides for low-end PCs and budget gaming notebooks:
- The First Descendant Optimized Settings for a Low-end PC: RTX 3060, RTX 4060 & RX 6600.
- The First Descendant: NVIDIA RTX 4060 Laptop GPU Settings for 60 FPS.
Windows/System Settings to Optimize
- Enable Resizable BAR.
- Turn on Game Mode.
- Enable Hardware-accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS) and Windowed Optimizations.
- Use the Windows “High Performance” power profile and set your GPU power management mode to the same.
- Overclock your GPU if you’re narrowly missing the 60 FPS mark.
- Ensure you use the proper XMP/EXPO memory profile (if available).
- Here’s a guide with more detailed instructions.
The First Descendant: PC System Requirements
The First Descendant has relatively modest system requirements. At the minimum, you need a 14-year-old quad-core Ivy Bridge CPU and an 8-year-old NVIDIA Pascal GPU (or AMD Polaris) with 4 GB of graphics memory. This has to be paired with 8 GB of system memory and 50 GB of storage (SSD recommended). These target the bare minimum (1080p 30 FPS at “Low”).
Items | Minimum Requirements | Recommended Requirements |
---|---|---|
OS | Windows 10 x64 20H2 | |
CPU | Intel i5-3570 / AMD FX-8350 | Intel i7-7700K/AMD Ryzen 5 2600X |
System Memory | 8 GB RAM | 16 GB |
VGA | NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti/AMD Radeon RX 570 | NVIDIA RTX 2060/AMD Radeon RX 5600XT |
DirectX 12 | ||
Storage | 50GB (SSD Recommended) |
The recommended requirements include a Core i7-7700K or an AMD Ryzen 2600X alongside a GeForce RTX 2060 or a Radeon RX 5600 XT. The main memory requirement scales up to 16 GB. This setup should be good for 1080p 60 FPS, using the “High” quality graphics preset.
Test Bench
- CPU: Intel Core i9-12900K.
- Motherboard: ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Hero.
- Cooler: Lian Li Galahad 360.
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.
- Memory: 16GB x2 DDR5-6000 CL30.
- Power Supply: Corsair RM1000e.
The First Descendant: GPU Benchmarks
The GeForce RTX 4060 fails to hit the 45 FPS mark at 1080p using the “Ultra” quality preset, while the RTX 4070 averages 83 FPS. The Radeon RX 7900 series and the RTX 4080 Super average over 100 FPS.
At 1440p, the GeForce RTX 4070 falls short of 60 FPS, while the Radeon RX 7900 XT nets 78 FPS. The GeForce RTX 4080 Super holds a minor lead over the RX 7900 XTX, led by the RTX 4090 at 92.5 FPS.
At 4K, none of the GPUs other than the RTX 4090 come close to 60 FPS. The GeForce RTX 4080 Super halts at 55 FPS while the RX 7900 XTX registers an average of 51 FPS. The RX 7900 XT manages 45 FPS and the RTX 4070 posts 36 FPS.
The Radeon RX 7900 series averages ~40-45 FPS at 1440p with the highest ray tracing preset. The GeForce RTX 4080 Super produces a much more manageable 62 FPS in the same scenario, next to the RTX 4090 (72 FPS). The RTX 4070 is as fast as the Radeons.
For more performance data, including 4K and 4K “RT” performance numbers, you can go through our “The First Descendant” GPU Benchmarks post.
The First Descendant: Resolution Scaling & Graphics Presets
The First Descendant averages approximately 100 FPS on our GeForce RTX 4090 (+Core i9-12900K) setup at 1080p “Ultra,” without ray-tracing. QHD or 1440p is slightly slower with an average of ~95 FPS, while 4K finishes off with 69 FPS, with lows of 59 FPS. A performance deficit of 38% between 1440p and 4K makes sense, but a mere 8% gain upon switching to 1080p indicates a CPU bottleneck.
From 100 FPS at 1440p “Ultra,” we recorded an average framerate of 138 FPS at 1440p “Low,” and 119.4 FPS at the “Medium” quality preset. The “High” quality preset yielded 108 FPS with lows of 96 FPS. That’s a 38% framerate difference between the lowest and highest quality graphics preset, ignoring ray-tracing.
The First Descendant Ray Tracing Performance
The First Descendant features three ray-tracing effects: Ray-traced reflections, ambient occlusion, and shadows. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t allow you to choose between them, and all three are enabled with varying levels of quality depending on your settings.
Ray tracing is unsurprisingly brutal on even the fastest GPUs. The GeForce RTX 4090 drops from 100 FPS to 72 FPS at ultra-quality ray-tracing, averaging ~90 FPS at the medium and high-quality presets. The visual impact of ray tracing is quite significant, with shadows standing out the most. The comparisons below give a better understanding of how they impact image quality.
Click here for an image comparison of ray-traced ambient occlusion versus rasterization.
Click here for an image comparison of ray-traced shadows versus rasterization.
Click here for an image comparison of ray-traced reflections versus rasterization.
Anti-aliasing (TAA) and Visibility Quality (LOD)
The First Descendant uses temporal anti-aliasing to smoothen jagged edges. It can’t be turned off, you can only adjust the sampling quality/rate. TAA is mostly evident during motion, reducing shimmering and jagged teeth along object boundaries. The performance impact of anti-aliasing is minimal.
The “Visibility Quality” controls the LOD, adjusting the distance (from the player) at which objects are culled from view, including vegetation, buildings, and enemy units. The performance impact of visibility will vary from map to map but was nominal in the “Kingston” area.
Click here for LOD quality image comparisons
Post Processing and Effects Quality
Post-processing comprises shader-based effects like motion blur, depth of field, bloom, and lens flare. As expected, it has a subtle impact on visual quality and performance. The difference is mainly felt in the lows.
Effects quality enables texture weathering on buildings and other concrete structures, in addition to certain reflective and translucent visual effects such as tears/echos. It has a moderate impact on performance.
Reflection and Shadow Quality
When ray-tracing is disabled, The First Descendant uses screen-space reflections (SSR) where only those objects visible on the screen are reflected in water bodies and shiny surfaces. It significantly impacts performance, with “Low” being 10% faster than “Ultra” at 1440p.
The standard shadows are rendered using shadow maps whose resolution varies depending on the quality setting used. Like reflections, shadows drastically reduce the performance with ultra quality being 11% slower than low.
Global Illumination and Shader Quality
Global illumination calculates the diffuse lighting, which can drastically impact visual fidelity indoors. This involves calculating light generated by secondary light sources in the scene, most notably light reflected by transparent or opaque objects in an area. Due to the complexity of indirect light sources, this can be quite performance intensive, reducing the framerates by nearly 14% in The First Descendant. Medium or High are notably faster while providing comparable quality.
Shader quality sets the visual fidelity of ambient shadows, similar to ambient occlusion but more subtly, affecting the colors of different objects when illuminated. It has a low to moderate impact on performance, with the lows seeing more of a drop in comparison.
Vegetation, Object Quality, and Physics
Vegetation quality sets the density of grass and foliage, and the distance (from the player) at which it’s culled in detail. It has a modest impact on performance.
Object detail is used to control the geometric detail of objects, both nearby and far away from the player character. This is done by increasing the polygon count and the use of tessellation. Apart from the highest setting (ultra), all the other options perform roughly the same.
Physics quality sets the accuracy of object ragdoll and jiggle physics, among other motion-disrupting animations. Its performance impact is only notable in certain scenes with a lot of destruction/debris flying around.
Upscaling & Frame Generation: NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 & AMD FSR 3.1
Upscaling alone isn’t enough to boost framerates past 100 FPS, and frame generation is essential for gamers playing at 4K. Luckily, The First Descendant features NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 and AMD FSR 3.1, both incorporating frame generation.
Upscaling grants an underwhelming 20-25% performance boost, while frame generation straight-up doubles the frame rates, pushing them past 150 FPS. Gamers using NVIDIA RTX GPUs should stick to DLSS upscaling and ray reconstruction as FSR can produce blurry results.
Click here for upscaling and frame-generation image comparisons
The First Descendant: CPU Bottlenecks
The First Descendant is mostly GPU-bound at 1440p and 4K, with and without ray-tracing. FHD or 1080p is slightly CPU-bound with a GPU-busy deviation of 22% using the “Ultra” quality graphics settings.
The Medium/Low graphics quality presets are also CPU-bound with a GPU-busy deviation of 25% and 40%, respectively.
The First Descendant: GPU VRAM Usage
The Last Descendant takes up to 10 GB of VRAM at 1440p Ultra, including ray-tracing, set to ultra. The lowest-quality preset uses just over 7 GB of graphics memory at 1440p, increasing to 8.4 GB at the highest, and 10 GB with ray-tracing “Ultra.”
Ultra HD or 4K uses 10.1 GB at the ultra-quality preset, while 1080p sits over 8 GB. This excludes ray tracing.
Best Settings for The First Descendant @ 60 FPS
Optimized Settings | High-end PC | Mid-Range PC | Low-end PC |
---|---|---|---|
Resolution | 4K (3840 × 2160) | 1440p (2560 x 1440) | 1080p (1920 x 1080) |
Target FPS | 60 FPS | 60 FPS | 60 FPS |
Texture Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Anti-aliasing | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Visibility (LOD) | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Shadow Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Reflection Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Global Illumination | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Shader Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Object Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Vegetation Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Effects Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Ray Tracing Quality | Ultra | Ultra | High |
Upscaling | DLSS/FSR Quality | DLSS/FSR Balanced | DLSS/FSR Quality |
Frame Generation | On | On | On |
Best Settings for The First Descendant @ 120 FPS
Optimized Settings | High-end PC | Mid-Range PC | Low-end PC |
---|---|---|---|
Resolution | 4K (3840 × 2160) | 1440p (2560 x 1440) | 1080p (1920 x 1080) |
Target FPS | 120 FPS | 120 FPS | 120 FPS |
Texture Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Anti-aliasing | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Visibility (LOD) | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Shadow Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Reflection Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Global Illumination | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Shader Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Object Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Vegetation Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Effects Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Ray Tracing Quality | High | High | Medium |
Upscaling | DLSS/FSR Balanced | DLSS/FSR Balanced | DLSS/FSR Quality |
Frame Generation | On | On | On |
High-end (4K) | Mid-range (1440p) | Low-end (1080p) | |
---|---|---|---|
CPU | Core i7-13700K/Ryzen 7 7700X | Core i5-13600/Ryzen 5 7600 | Less than: Core i5-12400/Ryzen 5 3600 |
GPU | RTX 4070 Ti Super/RX 7900 XT | RTX 4070/RX 7800 XT | RTX 3060/RTX 3060 Ti/RX 6600 |
Memory | 32GB (dual-channel) | 16GB (dual-channel) | Less than: 16GB (dual-channel) |
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Best Settings for The First Descendant: Low-end PC
Here’s our mini-guide for low-end PCs.
Optimized Settings | NVIDIA RTX 3060 | NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti | NVIDIA RTX 4060 | AMD RX 6600 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Resolution | 1080p | 1080p | 1080p/1440p | 1080p |
Target FPS | 60 FPS/90 FPS | 60 FPS/90 FPS | 120 FPS | 120 FPS |
Texture Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Anti-aliasing | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Visibility (LOD) | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Shadow Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra | High |
Reflection Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra | Medium |
Global Illumination | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra | High |
Shader Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Object Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Vegetation Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Effects Quality | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
Ray Tracing Quality | High/Off | High/Off | High/Medium | Off |
Upscaling | DLSS Balanced | DLSS Quality | DLSS High/Balanced | FSR 3 Quality |
Frame Generation | Off | Off | On | On |
The First Descendant: Best Settings for NVIDIA RTX 3060/RTX 4060 Laptop GPU
Optimized Settings | NVIDIA RTX 3060 Laptop GPU | NVIDIA RTX 4060 Laptop GPU |
---|---|---|
Resolution | 1080p | 1080p/1440p |
Target FPS | 60 FPS | 60 FPS |
Texture Quality | Ultra | Ultra |
Anti-aliasing | Ultra | Ultra |
Visibility (LOD) | Ultra | Ultra |
Shadow Quality | High | Ultra/High |
Reflection Quality | Medium | Ultra/High |
Global Illumination | High | Ultra/High |
Shader Quality | Ultra | Ultra |
Object Quality | Ultra | Ultra |
Vegetation Quality | Ultra | Ultra |
Effects Quality | Ultra | Ultra |
Ray Tracing Quality | Off | High/Off |
Upscaling | DLSS Balanced | DLSS High/Balanced |
Frame Generation | Off | On |