How to improve FPS in Nioh 3 (PC)
Nioh 3 pushes Team Ninja's souls-like formula to its most demanding point yet, with combat based on stance-switching and pixel-perfect dodges where every frame counts. Koei Tecmo's proprietary engine, inherited and refined from Nioh 2 and polished in Wo Long, now renders much denser yokai effects, samurai armor with detailed texturing, and feudal Japan settings with high particle density. By design, this is a game meant to run at a locked 60fps at minimum, since parries and dodges depend on very strict timing windows.
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Calculations based on our FPS model combined with the % gain of each setting (measured in public benchmarks).
1. Quick wins (no visual loss)
Start here. Each one adds a little, but together they give +36% free FPS.
Effects Quality
Yokai abilities generate clouds of elemental particles that saturate the GPU in fights with several enemies. Lowering this setting reduces particle density without eliminating the readability of attack telegraphs.
Hair/Fur Rendering
Yokai designs include simulated hair and fur with their own physics, an area Nioh 2 already carried as poorly optimized. Reducing it is barely noticeable except in cutscene close-ups.
Motion Blur
Motion blur makes it harder to read enemy attack warning animations during fast dodges, something critical in a game with such tight timing.
Ambient Occlusion
Ambient occlusion on Ultra adds very subtle contact shadowing on armor and feudal architecture, but at a disproportionate cost for what it delivers.
Anti-Aliasing (TAA/DLAA)
DLAA offers better sharpness but has a higher performance cost than standard TAA, especially on mid-range GPUs.
2. Medium impact settings
Here's where most of the FPS is. Minor visual impact, major performance impact.
Shadow Quality
Temple and bamboo forest settings use far-reaching dynamic shadows that hurt quite a bit on mid-range GPUs.
Texture Quality
Samurai armor and weapons have a very high level of detail meant to be appreciated in the smithing screens. If VRAM allows, keeping this on High doesn't cost too much performance.
Level of Detail
Controls how far away models and vegetation load at maximum detail in feudal Japan's open areas.
Reflection Quality
Wet surfaces and metallic armor use reflections with variable cost depending on the scene. Indoors in temples with puddles and polished floors, the impact is greater.
3. Upscaling (DLSS / FSR / XeSS)
The biggest gain in the game. Compatible with almost any modern GPU.
NVIDIA DLSS 3
+35% FPSDLSS 3 with Frame Generation is the most recommendable option on RTX 40 and 50-series cards to reach a stable 60fps or exceed it with margin, especially at 1440p and 4K resolutions.
AMD FSR 3
+28% FPSFSR 3 works on any modern GPU, not just AMD, and its Frame Generation helps smooth out the experience on mid-range cards.
Intel XeSS
+25% FPSXeSS delivers solid results both on Arc and on GPUs from other brands, making it a reliable alternative when DLSS isn't available.
4. Tips by GPU
NVIDIA
- •Enable Reflex if available to reduce input latency, key to Nioh 3's parry timing.
- •Use DLSS in Quality or Balanced mode before turning to Frame Generation if perceived latency in combat is your priority.
- •Update to the latest Game Ready drivers, since Team Ninja's titles usually get specific optimization patches shortly after launch.
AMD
- •Enable Anti-Lag to offset the latency added by FSR 3 Frame Generation in fast combat.
- •On RDNA 3 cards, native FSR 3 usually performs better than forcing FSR 2 from a generic setting.
- •Check that the power mode is set to high performance on laptops, since the game's engine is sensitive to thermal clock throttling.
Sistema
- •Install the game on an SSD: streaming of armor and setting textures causes noticeable pop-in on mechanical drives.
- •Close background CPU-consuming applications, since enemy AI and hitbox calculation add constant load to the processor.
- •Enable Windows' high-performance mode and disable GPU power saving to avoid micro-stutters during multi-phase bosses.
5. Known game issues
Micro-stutter when loading new areas
Some players report small frame drops when entering new areas due to asset streaming, especially on mechanical hard drives or saturated SSDs.
Frame Generation adds noticeable input lag on parries
Enabling Frame Generation (DLSS 3 or FSR 3) improves the FPS counter but introduces extra latency that some high-level players notice on the most demanding parries.
Frame drops on yokai ultimate abilities with multiple enemies
In fights with several yokai using special abilities simultaneously, particle density can cause momentary framerate drops even on high-end hardware.
Estado: patch 1.02
6. Frequently asked questions
Do I need a stable 60fps to play Nioh 3 well?▾
Which setting should I lower first if my GPU can't reach 60fps?▾
Do DLSS or FSR affect parry precision?▾
Is it worth raising textures to Ultra if I have enough VRAM?▾
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.
Calculate FPS for Nioh 3 →Calculations based on consensus of technical sources and our own FPS model. More about our methodology →