Monster Hunter Wilds PC Performance Optimization Guide

Let's be honest - Monster Hunter Wilds is a demanding game. Even with high-end hardware, you might find yourself struggling to maintain smooth framerates, especially in areas with lots of particle effects or during intense monster fights. This guide will help you squeeze every last frame out of your system without sacrificing too much visual quality.

Table of Contents

• TU4 Performance Improvements
• Quick Settings TL;DR
• Understanding Upscaling: DLSS vs FSR vs XeSS
• The Most Impactful Graphics Settings
• Frame Generation - Should You Use It?
• NVIDIA-Specific Optimizations
• AMD-Specific Optimizations
• Advanced Tweaks
• Recommended Settings by GPU Tier

TU4 Performance Improvements

The December 15th TU4 patch brought significant performance improvements. Here's what changed and how to get the most out of it.

What's New in TU4

• DLSS 4 and FSR 4 support - Latest upscaling tech now available
• RTX 5000 series Multi-Frame Generation - 2-4x frame multiplication for latest NVIDIA cards
• Shader compilation optimizations - Faster loading, less stuttering
• General performance improvements - Capcom claims 20-23% FPS gains in certain scenarios

Post-Patch Fix (Critical!)

If you're not seeing improvements after TU4, follow these steps:

1. Delete shader.cache2 - Navigate to Steam\steamapps\common\Monster Hunter Wilds and delete the shader.cache2 file
2. Disable upscaling - Turn off DLSS/FSR in graphics settings
3. Restart the game - Close and relaunch completely
4. Re-enable upscaling - Turn DLSS/FSR back on

This forces a shader recompile with the new optimizations. Many players report significantly better performance after this process.

AMD Users: Driver Rollback

If you're on AMD and still not seeing improvements after the steps above, try rolling back your driver to version 25.9.1. Some users report this resolves lingering performance issues with the TU4 update.

Quick Settings TL;DR

If you just want the best performance-to-quality ratio, here are the key changes:

Understanding Upscaling

Upscaling technology is your biggest ally in Monster Hunter Wilds. It renders the game at a lower resolution and then uses AI (or algorithms) to upscale it to your native resolution. The result? Massive FPS gains with minimal visual degradation.

DLSS (NVIDIA RTX Cards)

If you have an RTX card, DLSS Quality mode is the sweet spot for most players. You get:

• 50-60% better performance than native
• Minimal visual quality loss
• Better temporal stability than FSR

Pro Tip: DLSS Performance mode can look blurry in motion. Stick with Quality unless you're really struggling for frames.

FSR 3 (AMD and Everyone Else)

AMD's FSR 3 is available for everyone, including NVIDIA users. Use it if:

• You have an AMD GPU
• You have an older NVIDIA card without DLSS support
• You want to combine it with Frame Generation

FSR Quality mode is comparable to DLSS Quality, though some players notice slightly more shimmering on thin details like monster fur or distant foliage.

XeSS (Intel Arc)

Intel's upscaling option. If you're on Arc, this is your best bet. Quality is somewhere between DLSS and FSR.

The Most Impactful Graphics Settings

Not all graphics settings are created equal. Here's where you should focus your attention:

Volumetric Fog - The FPS Killer

Set this to Low immediately. Volumetric fog is by far the most demanding setting in Monster Hunter Wilds. Dropping it from High to Low can give you a 15-20% FPS boost with barely noticeable visual difference during actual gameplay.

Yes, the atmospheric fog effects look gorgeous in screenshots. No, you won't notice them when a Rathalos is dive-bombing your face.

Shadow Quality

Medium shadows look nearly identical to High in most scenarios, especially during combat. The performance savings aren't huge (5-10%), but every bit helps.

Ambient Occlusion

SSAO (Screen Space Ambient Occlusion) offers a good balance. HBAO+ looks marginally better but costs more performance. If you're GPU-limited, drop to SSAO.

Anti-Aliasing

With upscaling enabled, you generally don't need additional AA. The upscaler handles most of the edge smoothing. Turn this off or set to Low if you're using DLSS/FSR.

Texture Quality

This one depends on your VRAM, not your GPU power:

• 8GB+ VRAM: High textures
• 6GB VRAM: Medium textures
• 4GB VRAM: Low textures (and maybe consider an upgrade...)

Texture quality doesn't affect FPS much unless you're VRAM-limited, in which case you'll see massive stuttering.

Frame Generation

Frame Generation is a game-changer when used correctly, but it's not a magic bullet.

What Is It?

Frame Generation creates "in-between" frames using AI prediction. If your base framerate is 50 FPS, frame generation can display what feels like 90-100 FPS.

When to Use It

Turn it ON when:

• Your base FPS is consistently above 40
• You're not highly sensitive to input lag
• You want that buttery smooth visual experience

Keep it OFF when:

• Your base FPS drops below 40 frequently
• You're doing speedruns or highly precise gameplay
• You notice uncomfortable input lag

The 40 FPS Rule

Here's the thing - Frame Generation works by interpolating between real frames. If your base FPS is too low (say, 30), the interpolated frames will be inaccurate, creating visual artifacts and a "soap opera" effect. Aim for at least 40 base FPS before enabling Frame Generation.

NVIDIA-Specific Optimizations

Update Your DLSS DLL

Here's a trick not everyone knows: you can manually update the DLSS DLL file to get better performance and quality.

1. Download the latest DLSS DLL (version 3.10.0 or higher) from TechPowerUp
2. Navigate to your game installation folder
3. Find and replace the existing nvngx_dlss.dll file
4. Launch the game and enjoy improved DLSS quality

Newer DLSS versions often have better sharpness and fewer artifacts, especially in games that shipped with older versions.

Enable NVIDIA Reflex

NVIDIA Reflex reduces input lag by optimizing the render queue. In Monster Hunter Wilds:

1. Go to Graphics Settings
2. Find "NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency"
3. Set it to On or On + Boost

"On + Boost" reduces latency further by keeping your GPU clock speeds higher, at the cost of slightly more power consumption.

Why Ray Tracing Isn't Worth It

Monster Hunter Wilds only uses ray tracing for water reflections. That's it. The visual improvement is minimal, but the performance hit is significant (10-15% FPS loss).

Unless you spend your hunts staring at ponds, keep ray tracing Off.

AMD-Specific Optimizations

Anti-Lag+

AMD's equivalent to NVIDIA Reflex. Enable this in Radeon Software for reduced input latency.

FSR 3 Frame Generation

AMD users should definitely try FSR 3 with Frame Generation. It works well on RX 6000 and 7000 series cards. Make sure you meet the 40 FPS base framerate requirement mentioned earlier.

Radeon Boost

This dynamically lowers resolution during fast camera movements. Some players like it, others find it distracting. Worth trying if you need extra performance.

Advanced Tweaks

Config File Edits

For the brave, you can tweak the game's configuration files:

1. Navigate to: %LOCALAPPDATA%\MonsterHunterWilds\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor\
2. Open GameUserSettings.ini
3. Adjust settings like:
   • sg.ViewDistanceQuality=2 (0-4, lower = better performance)
   • sg.FoliageQuality=1 (reduces foliage density)

Warning: Back up your config files before editing!

Texture Streaming Pool Size

You can manually adjust the texture streaming pool size for better performance:

Find this setting in the advanced graphics options or config file.

Windows Optimizations

A few system-level tweaks that help:

1. Disable Core Isolation Memory Integrity - This Windows security feature can cost you 5-10% FPS. Go to Windows Security → Device Security → Core Isolation → Turn off Memory Integrity. (Restart required)
2. Game Mode: Make sure Windows Game Mode is enabled
3. Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling: Enable in Windows Graphics Settings
4. High Performance Power Plan: Use this while gaming
5. Background Apps: Close Chrome, Discord overlays, and other resource hogs

Recommended Settings by GPU Tier

High-End (RTX 4080/4090, RX 7900 XTX)

Expected: 80-120+ FPS at 4K

Mid-Range (RTX 4070, RTX 3080, RX 7800 XT)

Expected: 60-90 FPS at 1440p

Budget (RTX 3060, RX 6700 XT)

Expected: 45-60 FPS at 1080p

Entry-Level (GTX 1660, RX 5600 XT)

Expected: 30-45 FPS at 1080p

Final Thoughts

Monster Hunter Wilds is a beautiful game, but it doesn't need to run at Ultra settings to be enjoyable. The difference between Medium and High shadows won't matter when you're dodging a Rathalos fireball. Focus on maintaining stable framerates - consistency matters more than raw FPS numbers.

If you're still struggling after applying these optimizations, consider that the game may receive performance patches over time. Capcom has historically been good about optimizing their PC ports post-launch.

Happy hunting, and may your framerates be as high as your desire to capture instead of kill!

Guide updated for TU4 (December 2025). Settings may change with future patches.