Best PC settings for DOOM The Dark Ages for max FPS

Looking for the best settings for DOOM The Dark Ages? Despite being a bit of a looker and having some pretty daunting system requirements, I’m happy to report that after rampaging through the full campaign, DOOM The Dark Ages is optimised to, well, hell and back. It’s splendid stuff from id Software.

I’m running an RTX 3070 along with a Ryzen 5 3600 and 16 GB of RAM. It’s a fairly middling rig compared to the 5000-series and R9 powerhouses out there. Feeling brave I cranked up the settings to Ultra Nightmare from the get-go and have had a steady 60 FPS at 1080p ever since without even a hint of a dropped frame, even during chaotic fights.

Before we dive into the granular settings, one of the best things you can do to improve performance is to download and install the latest drivers for your particular GPU. Specifically, if you have a NVIDIA GPU, make sure you’re running the latest 576.28 version GeForce Game Ready Driver. 

Best DOOM The Dark Ages settings for PC

Alright, onto the good stuff. We’ll walk you through all the graphic settings and offer our recommendations. As always, be prepared to tweak and adjust based on your specific hardware. For older systems, veer towards lower overall quality options. Overall, DOOM The Dark Ages runs a treat so expect reliable performance unless you’re playing on a stodgy potato of a machine.

Display

Option	Setting
Window Mode	Fullscreen
Resolution	1920×1080 or you preferred resolution
Refresh Rate	Match your monitor
Vertical Sync	Triple Buffering
Present From Compute	On
Resolution Scaling Mode	Dynamic
Resolution Scale	1.00
Resolution Scaling Target FPS	60 (or higher based on what you prefer/your PC can handle)

Video

I used the TAA upscaler, which worked well. If you’re struggling for frames, use your GPU manufacturer’s option – DLSS for NVIDIA cards, FSR for AMD, and XeSS for Intel. You can then toy around with settings like frame generation, sharpness, and so on. For NVIDIA cards, set DLSS Super Resolution to Balanced then work your way towards either Performance or Quality based on how the FPS count responds.

Option	Setting
Field of View	100
Chromatic Aberration	Off
Depth of Field	On
Sharpening	1.50
Film Grain	0.00
Upscaler	TAA
NVIDIA Reflex Mode	On (if you have an NVIDIA GeForce GPU – it helps make the controls feel more responsive)

Display Calibration

Option	Setting
Enable HDR	Off – unless you monitor supports it
Gamma	Adjust to suit your monitor

Motion Blur

This comes down to preference, but I’m not a fan of motion blur so there settings are an easy way to claw back a bit of performance as marginal as it might be.

Option	Setting
Motion Blue	Off
Motion Blue Amount	Off
Motion Blur Quality	Low

Advanced

I suggest putting the Overall Quality Slider to Ultra Nightmare. Monitor how it performs and pair back specific settings like Shadow Quality, Reflections Quality, and Shading Quality to claw back some FPS as needed. If you’re PC is really suffering, bump it down to High and work your way upwards until you find a happy balance between frames and the quality of the visuals.

Option	Setting
Overall Quality Slider	Ultra Nightmare
Texture Pool Size	2048 – adjust based on your GPU’s VRAM
Shadow Quality	Ultra Nightmare
Reflections Quality	Ultra Nightmare
Lights Quality	Ultra Nightmare
Particles Quality	Ultra Nightmare
Decal Quality	Ultra Nightmare
Water Quality	Ultra Nightmare
Volumetrics Quality	Ultra Nightmare
Texture Filtering Quality	Ultra Nightmare
Geometric Quality	Ultra Nightmare
Shading Quality	Ultra Nightmare
Directional Occlusion	Ultra Nightmare

Remember that each system is different so what worked for me might not do so well for you. For more gameplay focused advice, check out our DOOM The Dark Ages tips and tricks, which cover everything from the new shield to exploration and resource management. We also have the full list of trophies and achievements if you’re planning to 100% the game.