ARK: Survival Ascended Genesis Wiki
ARK: Survival Ascended Genesis — Best Settings
Optimal ARK Survival Ascended graphics settings for FPS: DLSS, FSR, Lumen, foliage, resolution scale, and Genesis performance tips.
Critical Settings First
Window Mode: Fullscreen (or Borderless Fullscreen for alt-tab). VSync: Off. Resolution Scale: 70–85% if FPS struggling. Upscaler: DLSS (NVIDIA) or FSR (AMD/Intel) on Quality or Balanced. Frame Generation: Enable if GPU supports — nearly doubles FPS.
Disable Enable Foliage And Fluid Interaction — massive FPS win with minimal visual loss. Cinematic Lighting Mode: Off unless screenshotting. Motion Blur, Light Bloom, Light Shafts: Off.
Graphics Quality Breakdown
Global Illumination (Lumen): Single biggest FPS lever — Low or Medium. High only on top-tier GPUs. Reflections: Medium for mid-range; Low for budget builds. Shadows: Medium minimum, High max (Epic causes bugs). View Distance: Medium for PvE, Low if CPU-limited.
Foliage: Medium for balance. Textures: Medium on 8GB VRAM, High on 10GB+. Effects: Medium. Anti-Aliasing: TAA Low/Medium via upscaler. Disable Cosmetics Dynamic Downloading on 8GB cards to reduce hitching.
Hardware Tier Recommendations
Budget (1080p/30–45 FPS): FSR Performance + FG, Resolution 67%, Lumen Off, all Low-Medium, volumetric console commands. Mid-range (1080p/60 FPS): DLSS Quality + FG, Lumen Medium, Shadows Medium, Foliage Medium. High-end (1440p/60–100): DLSS Quality or DLAA, Lumen High, View Distance High.
Performance Only preset: Quick baseline for testing — disables expensive features automatically. Tune upward from there until target FPS achieved.
Genesis Content Settings
Naval sessions: drop Reflections one tier. Lunar biome: reduce Effects and View Distance temporarily. Boss fights: lower Foliage to reduce CPU load from tribe tames. Pair with FPS console commands from our Commands section.
ASA v72.9+ adds dedicated Reflections setting — Low Reflections quality improved, making it viable for budget builds.
Frequently Asked Questions
DLSS or FSR for ARK ASA?
Use DLSS on NVIDIA, FSR on AMD/Intel. Both support Frame Generation for major FPS gains in UE5.
What setting hurts FPS most?
Global Illumination (Lumen) causes 20–35 FPS swing. Volumetric clouds/fog via console commands second biggest.
Should I use Performance Only preset?
Yes as starting baseline on weak hardware, then increase individual settings until FPS drops below target.