Phantom Blade Zero · Settings
Which Phantom Blade Zero settings should you change?
Before your first fight, turn Motion Blur off, set Camera Shake and Film Grain Intensity to 0 and push Weapon Clash Intensity to 9. On PC, start from the Very High preset with DLSS on Balanced and High-Quality Hair off, and leave ray tracing off unless you have the card S-GAME recommends for it.
High-Quality Hair
19%
approx. frame rate cost · set it to Off
Weapon Clash Intensity
9
top of the −9 to 9 range · Settings › Audio
Which settings should I change before I start?
Four changes make fights easier to see and hear. All four are in Settings, which you can open from the title screen or the pause menu.
| Setting | Where | Set it to | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motion Blur | Settings › Display › Visuals | Off | Fast attacks stay sharp instead of smearing across the screen. |
| Camera Shake | Settings › Display › Visuals | 0 | The camera holds still when hits land, so the enemy stays in view. |
| Film Grain Intensity | Settings › Display › Visuals | 0 | The slider runs 0 to 10; at 0 the grain over the picture is gone. |
| Weapon Clash Intensity | Settings › Audio › SFX Customization | 9 | The top of its −9 to 9 range: blade clashes are at their loudest. |
What are the best PC graphics settings for smooth frames?
Start from the Quality Preset Very High, not Ultra: reviewers found Ultra adds very little over Very High, in looks or frame rate. Your changes take effect when you choose Apply Changes.
| Setting | Set it to | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Super Resolution Method | DLSS on an NVIDIA RTX card; FSR or XeSS on others | Steam’s minimum and recommended targets assume upscaling is on. |
| DLSS Super Resolution Mode | Balanced; Performance if you still fall short | The middle step: sharper than Performance, faster than Quality. |
| Frame Generation | On; Off if frame times get uneven | It can raise the frame rate a lot, but one test saw frame times turn unsteady with it on. |
| Ray Tracing Quality | Off; Ray Tracing only from an RTX 5060, Path Tracing only from an RTX 5080 | These are S-GAME’s own recommended cards; in one test ray tracing cost about a third of the frame rate. |
| Quality Preset | Very High | Ultra adds very little over Very High, in looks or frame rate. |
| High-Quality Hair | Off | It costs about 19 percent of the frame rate in reviewers’ tests. |
| Environment Texture Quality | Ultra with 8 GB of video memory at 1440p without ray tracing | With ray tracing on, 10 to 12 GB or more is the safer amount. |
Set Frame Generation to On as long as frame times stay even; if they get uneven, set it to Off.
Ray Tracing Quality can only be changed from the title screen, not during play. In Path Tracing, Ray Reconstruction is always on.
Frame Generation needs Windows’ Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling: go to Windows Settings › System › Display › Graphics › Change default graphics settings, turn it on and restart your PC. DLSS Frame Generation also needs V-Sync off.
Which Display settings should I use?
Turn Motion Blur off: fast attacks stay sharp, and with Frame Generation on, it causes most of the smearing.
| Setting | Set it to | Why |
|---|---|---|
| V-Sync | Off; On only if you see tearing without Frame Generation | With V-Sync on, Frame Generation can sharply lower the base frame rate, and DLSS Frame Generation needs it off. |
| HDR | On only with an HDR display | The game’s HDR needs an HDR-compatible display. |
| HDR Peak Brightness | Your display’s peak brightness, in nits | The game itself says to match it to your display’s peak. |
| Motion Blur | Off | Fast attacks stay sharp. |
| Camera Shake | 0 | The camera holds still when hits land. |
| Film Grain Intensity | 0 | The slider runs 0 to 10; 0 takes the grain away. |
How do I make hits feel heavier?
Set Weapon Clash Intensity to 9 and slide Weapon Clash Tone all the way to Heavy, both under SFX Customization in Settings › Audio.
Both change only the sound of blades meeting. Weapon Clash Tone runs from 0, at Heavy, to 100, at Bright.
| Setting | Set it to | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon Clash Intensity | 9 | The top of its −9 to 9 range: clashes are at their loudest. |
| Weapon Clash Tone | 0, Heavy | The game says clashes sound fuller and more powerful toward Heavy; slide toward 100, Bright, for a crisper, sharper ring. |
Should I turn controller vibration off?
Keep Controller Vibration on Normal or Light if you like the rumble, but turn Movement Vibration off: it makes the controller vibrate while you walk or run. With Controller Vibration off, Movement Vibration cannot be set at all.
| Setting | Set it to | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Controller Vibration | Normal or Light; Off if you play without rumble | Light keeps the rumble, only softer. |
| Movement Vibration | Off | The controller vibrates while you walk or run, not only in fights. |
Which settings help if the game stutters?
Work down this list and stop when it runs smoothly. The driver, the day-one patch and crashes are on our PC stutter and crash fixes page.
- Let the shader compilation on first launch run to the end: about 8 minutes on a fast CPU.
- Turn High-Quality Hair off.
- From the title screen, set Ray Tracing Quality to Off.
- Set DLSS Super Resolution Mode from Balanced to Performance.
- With Frame Generation on, turn Motion Blur off; if frame times stay uneven, set Frame Generation to Off.
Which Graphics Mode should I pick on PS5?
On a base PS5, choose Performance Mode. Our PC or PS5? page explains why and lists every mode by frame rate.
If you pick Balanced Mode, it needs 120Hz output: turn on 120Hz output in the PS5’s system settings and make sure your TV supports 120Hz.
Phantom Blade Zero best settings FAQ
Should I turn motion blur off in Phantom Blade Zero?
Turn Motion Blur off: fast attacks stay sharp, and with Frame Generation on, it causes most of the smearing.
Should I use Frame Generation?
Set Frame Generation to On as long as frame times stay even; if they get uneven, set it to Off.
Why can’t I turn on Frame Generation?
Frame Generation needs Windows’ Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling: go to Windows Settings › System › Display › Graphics › Change default graphics settings, turn it on and restart your PC. DLSS Frame Generation also needs V-Sync off.
Where do I change ray tracing in Phantom Blade Zero?
Ray Tracing Quality can only be changed from the title screen, not during play.
How do I make hits feel heavier in Phantom Blade Zero?
Set Weapon Clash Intensity to 9 and slide Weapon Clash Tone all the way to Heavy, both under SFX Customization in Settings › Audio.
Sources for this page 5
- Every menu Official Phantom Blade Zero launch build, 29 October 2026: the settings menu in every language, with the option names, their values and ranges, and the game’s own notes on Frame Generation, V-Sync, ray tracing, HDR, vibration and weapon clash sounds.
- PC graphics Official S-GAME system requirements page, 12 August 2026: RTX 5060 for ray tracing at 1080p and 60 fps, RTX 5080 for path tracing at 4K and 60 fps, with upscaling.
- PC graphics, stutter Press-reported Wccftech PC performance analysis and tuning guide, 28 October 2026: shader compilation about 8 minutes, High-Quality Hair about 19 percent, ray tracing about a third of the frame rate, video memory, frame generation, Reflex.
- Display, stutter Press-reported DSOGaming benchmarks and PC performance analysis, 26 October 2026: Ultra against Very High, motion blur with frame generation, ray and path tracing switched only from the main menu.
- PC graphics Official Steam store page, read 29 October 2026: minimum and recommended targets with upscaling.