Best Hades 2 settings for optimized PC performance

It should come as no surprise that the best Hades 2 settings aren't too hard to come by, given the limited graphics options and ease with which the game runs on hardware of varying power levels.

Hades 2 runs great on Steam Deck, and its system requirements are a very low bar to clear, which bodes well for PC performance too. We're enamored with this highly anticipated sequel, calling it "a near-perfect roguelike" in our Hades 2 review. So let us show you how to get the best out of this vibrant roguelike across its video and gameplay settings.

• Graphics Quality: High
• Resolution: Monitor default
• VSync: On
• Fullscreen: Off
• Borderless: Off
• Graphics Device: Set to discrete GPU if necessary

As you can see, the graphical options are limited, and it's not a major surprise given that the Hades 2 system requirements are so low. Of the available settings, VSync may be the only one of note, given that you may find your gaming PC capable of running Hades 2 has a very high frame rate, higher than that of your gaming monitor, so we advise having VSync active to reduce the risk of any screen tearing while also reducing input lag.

Best gameplay and accessibility settings for Hades 2

If you want to have the purest experience when playing Hades 2, here are the gameplay settings we recommend;

• God Mode: Off
• Aim Assist: Off
• Timer Display: Off
• Auto-Advance Dialogue: Off
• Vibration: On (Controller Only)
• Vibration Sensitivity: 100% (Controller Only)
• Dead Zone: 15% (Controller Only)
• Reticle Speed: 1800 (Controller Only)

In my opinion, Hades 2 is best played with a controller, which is another reason why the Steam Deck has been perfect for the game so far, and it's nice to see some specific settings in place to help adjust that experience.

Adjusting the dead zone won't negate any hard-wired dead zone in your controller, but if you're using a controller with Hall Effect joysticks, or one that features no dead zone, like the Rainbow 2 Pro, then this creates a small zone to prevent your joysticks from being too responsive and causing inaccuracy through a loss of control.

Finally, the reticle speed will act as a DPI for your controller, again helping you stay in control of how quickly your inputs move around the screen.

On accessibility, you can also have regular subtitles and music-specific ones. There is also an autofire setting to help reduce problems for anyone struggling with repetitive inputs.

A screen shake toggle is available to reduce any motion-related problems, while mono sound and a bright cursor option round out the available settings in Hades 2.

How we tested Hades 2

At PCGamesN, we use specific gaming rigs to test the best settings for performance and gameplay in the latest releases. Currently, our test rigs include the following components: Intel Core i7 11700F, MSI Ventus Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 8GB, 32GB of DDR4 3200MHz RAM, MSI B560 motherboard. We also test using Windows 11 64-bit.

We always run our testing first at 1080p to identify the best settings, then again at 1440p using the same setup to gauge the difference in performance. Finally, we also test at 4K. In the case of Hades 2, you're best sticking to your monitor's default setting, as there's nothing to be gained from reducing the resolution. We use CapFrameX to capture frame data and compare testing sessions.

Can you play Hades 2 on a hard drive?

Hades 2 doesn't require or even recommend using a gaming SSD, at least for now. However, we strongly recommend that you install Hades 2 on one of the best gaming SSD  options from our buying guide to help avoid any long load times.

How to monitor performance in Hades 2

If you want to keep an eye on performance in Hades 2, which is yet to add an in-game benchmarking tool, and likely never will, an easy method works whether you're using an Nvidia or AMD graphics card.

For Nvidia cards, ensure you have GeForce Experience or the Nvidia App installed and the in-game overlay enabled, and then hit ALT + R in-game to bring up your performance monitor. With AMD cards, you can enable performance monitoring via the Radeon overlay using the shortcut CTRL + SHIFT + O.

Or, you can download free software such as CapFrameX or Nvidia FrameView, for a cleaner, more simplified benchmarking tool that works with any graphics card.

If you fancy trying your hand at assembling a machine to take on Hades 2, follow our handy guide on how to build a gaming P,C and we'll take you step by step from start to finish.

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