How to improve FPS in Black Myth: Wukong (PC)
Black Myth: Wukong is one of the most demanding games ever released on PC, built on Unreal Engine 5 with Nanite and Lumen running at full tilt. At its August 2024 launch, even an RTX 4090 struggled to maintain 60 FPS at 4K on maximum settings. The key to enjoying it on mid-range hardware is disabling Lumen and leaning on upscaling — those two changes can literally double your FPS.
This is what you'd gain with a NVIDIA RTX 4060 Ti
Calculations based on our FPS model combined with the % gain of each setting (measured in public benchmarks). Calculate your exact FPS with your own hardware →
1. Quick wins (no visual loss)
Start here. Each one adds a little, but together they give +18% free FPS.
Motion Blur
Black Myth uses aggressive motion blur that muddies the fast-paced combat. Disabling it sharpens the image and shaves a few GPU points at no visual cost.
Depth of Field
Depth of field in Wukong is pronounced during combat and can obscure visibility. Off is the universal recommendation across all guides.
Anti-Aliasing
TAA in Unreal Engine 5 produces noticeable ghosting. TSR gives better quality than TAA, and DLSS outperforms both on NVIDIA RTX hardware — switching away from TAA gives a cleaner, faster image.
Soft Shadows
Soft shadows at Epic/Ultra use a disproportionate amount of GPU. Medium cuts the cost without a noticeable quality loss during gameplay. Off gives even more FPS if you're chasing raw performance.
2. Medium impact settings
Here's where most of the FPS is. Minor visual impact, major performance impact.
Global Illumination
This is the single biggest change you can make. Hardware Lumen adds roughly 40% GPU overhead over Screen Space GI. The visual difference exists but is subtle in motion — some interior scenes lose a little depth, but gameplay becomes dramatically smoother.
Post-Processing
Post-processing at Medium keeps bloom, vignette, and camera effects intact without the excessive cost of High or Epic. A safe change at any configuration level.
Shadow Map Resolution
Epic/Ultra shadow map resolution is overkill for mid-range hardware. Medium still delivers good shadow quality at normal combat distances without the extra overhead.
Reflections
Reflections are especially expensive when combined with Lumen. If you've already disabled Lumen GI, switching reflections to Medium Screen Space is the logical next step.
Textures
Black Myth requires 12 GB of VRAM for Epic textures. On 8 GB cards, High avoids the severe stuttering caused by VRAM overflow. The visual difference is nearly invisible during gameplay.
3. Upscaling (DLSS / FSR / XeSS)
The biggest gain in the game. Compatible with almost any modern GPU.
DLSS Quality (NVIDIA RTX 20-series y superior)
+30% FPSDLSS was added post-launch and performs better than FSR on NVIDIA hardware. Quality at 1080p is virtually lossless visually. Combined with disabling Lumen, this delivers a dramatically smoother experience.
FSR 3 Quality (AMD y NVIDIA GTX/RTX)
+25% FPSFSR 3 was available from launch. Quality or Balanced are the recommended modes — Performance introduces too much noise in the game's dense foliage.
DLSS / FSR Frame Generation (RTX 40 / RX 7900)
+75% FPSFrame Generation is nearly mandatory at 4K. Combined with Screen Space GI and DLSS Quality, an RTX 4070 Ti can sustain 60+ FPS at 4K with excellent visual quality.
XeSS Quality (Intel Arc)
+22% FPSXeSS was available from launch. Quality on Arc A770/B580 delivers gains similar to FSR. Keep Intel drivers up to date.
4. Tips by GPU
NVIDIA
- •DLSS Quality is almost mandatory for this game on RTX — enable it before changing anything else.
- •Frame Generation on RTX 40-series is nearly essential for smooth 4K. Use it with a base of 45+ FPS.
- •Enable Resizable BAR (ReBAR): Black Myth on UE5 benefits from faster data transfer.
- •With an RTX 4060 Ti at 1080p High + Screen Space GI + DLSS Quality, expect 60-75 stable FPS.
AMD
- •FSR 3 Frame Generation works well even on RX 6000 — enable it for smoother performance in demanding scenes.
- •Smart Access Memory (SAM) on in BIOS gives a consistent 3-5% boost in UE5 titles.
- •With Hardware Ray Tracing (Lumen) disabled, the performance gap between AMD and NVIDIA narrows significantly.
Intel
- •XeSS Quality on Arc A770 or B580 delivers results comparable to FSR 3 Quality.
- •Keep Arc drivers up to date — Intel has improved UE5 performance in several recent updates.
- •Hardware Lumen RT is especially slow on Arc — disabling it is even more critical than on AMD.
5. Known game issues
Shader compilation stutter
The first time you launch the game and after installing patches, UE5 compiles shaders for several minutes. Wait at the main menu before loading a save — the stutter disappears completely once compilation finishes.
Estado: Improved in patch 1.0.4
Massive VRAM usage at Epic settings (12 GB+)
With Epic textures and Lumen active, the game can use 14-16 GB of VRAM. On 8-10 GB cards, severe stutter occurs from VRAM overflow. Fix: drop to High textures and switch to Screen Space GI.
FPS drops in dense forest areas
Heavily forested zones (especially early in the game) push the Nanite asset streaming system hard. Reducing Draw Distance to Medium significantly alleviates the problem.
Ray Tracing disproportionately expensive
Hardware Lumen RT in Black Myth is far more demanding than in other titles. Below an RTX 4080, the visual-to-performance trade-off does not justify enabling it.
6. Frequently asked questions
How many FPS will I get with an RTX 4060 Ti at 1080p?▾
Is Ray Tracing worth it in Black Myth?▾
How much VRAM do I need?▾
DLSS or FSR 3 in Black Myth?▾
Why does it run so poorly in the opening forest?▾
Want to know exactly how many FPS YOUR PC will get?
Enter your GPU and CPU in our calculator and measure the real impact of each setting.
Calculations based on consensus of technical sources and our own FPS model. More about our methodology →