How to improve FPS in Valheim (PC)
Valheim is an Iron Gate AB Viking survival game on Unity with a retro-pixelated visual style that's deceptive: although technically a lightweight game, it suffers very specific FPS drops in two common situations — bases with lots of accumulated building pieces and dense forests with heavy vegetation. On modest hardware, with the right settings, it's perfectly playable at a stable 60 FPS even at 1080p with an entry-level GPU.
This is what you'd gain with a NVIDIA RTX 3050
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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 +46% free FPS.
Vegetation
Reduces the density of grass, shrubs, and small trees on screen, the biggest bottleneck in dense forests like the Black Forest and Swamp.
Shadows
Reduces the resolution and distance of dynamic shadows cast by objects, characters, and structures.
SSAO
Ambient occlusion that adds subtle shading in corners and gaps; costs more than it delivers on integrated graphics and older GPUs.
V-Sync
Vertical sync that caps the framerate to the monitor's refresh rate; in Valheim it adds noticeable input lag in combat.
Motion Blur and Depth of Field
Motion blur and depth of field are post-processing effects that add cost without contributing clarity in combat or building.
2. Medium impact settings
Here's where most of the FPS is. Minor visual impact, major performance impact.
Particle Quality
Reduces the number and complexity of particles in fire, storms, spells, and combat effects.
Building Piece Physics
Every piece placed in a base adds physics and structural integrity calculation; very large bases can drop from 60 to 20-30 FPS from this alone.
Water Quality
Reduces reflections and shader complexity for water, very present in the ocean and rivers of the map.
Object/Draw Distance
Controls how far trees, rocks, and terrain structures are rendered.
Terrain Shadow Quality
Shadows cast by the terrain itself and mountains; high cost in mountainous zones.
3. Upscaling (DLSS / FSR / XeSS)
The biggest gain in the game. Compatible with almost any modern GPU.
Native Render Scale
+12% FPSValheim doesn't include native DLSS or FSR, being a lightweight engine with a pixelated style; the most honest option is lowering the internal Render Scale (equivalent to a dynamic-resolution-style scaling) to gain FPS without fine-tuning every individual setting. The effect is more noticeable than in games with heavier shading load, but it introduces perceptible blurriness in text and interface if lowered too much.
4. Tips by GPU
NVIDIA
- •Enable the "Prefer maximum performance" power mode in the NVIDIA control panel to avoid clock drops in long sessions.
- •Force V-Sync in the control panel and disable it in-game to eliminate tearing without the input lag of Valheim's native V-Sync.
- •Entry-level GPUs like the RTX 3050 run 1080p at a stable 60 FPS with the Medium/Low preset without issue.
AMD
- •Enable Radeon Anti-Lag to reduce input lag in fights with multiple enemies.
- •Check that Radeon Chill isn't limiting the framerate below what's expected during base construction.
- •Vega- or RDNA-type integrated GPUs run Valheim on Low/Medium at 1080p 30-45 FPS without issue after applying the quick wins.
Sistema
- •Try forcing Vulkan as the graphics API (Steam launch parameter) if you suffer micro-stutters on DirectX 11, some users report notable improvements.
- •Install the game on an SSD: it reduces the hitches when loading new map areas while sailing or exploring.
- •Close third-party overlays (Discord, GeForce Experience) during long building sessions, since they add cumulative overhead with many pieces on screen.
5. Known game issues
Drastic FPS drop in large bases
Past several thousand placed building pieces, the Unity engine starts recalculating physics and structural integrity constantly, causing drops from 60 to 20-30 FPS just from being near the base, regardless of hardware.
FPS dips in dense forests and the Swamp
Rendering a large amount of vegetation (grass, shrubs, trees) simultaneously in biomes like the Black Forest and Swamp causes punctual framerate drops that don't occur in more open areas like the Central Plains.
6. Frequently asked questions
Why does my FPS drop so much near my base in Valheim?▾
Is it worth enabling DLSS or FSR in Valheim?▾
Which graphics setting gives the most FPS in Valheim without losing much visual detail?▾
Can I play Valheim with an entry-level GPU like the RTX 3050?▾
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 Valheim →Calculations based on consensus of technical sources and our own FPS model. More about our methodology →