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Start with the preset that matches your hardware: use Low Quality at 1920×1080 with a 60 FPS cap if your PC is close to the official minimum specification, or High Quality at 1920×1080 with a 60 FPS cap if it is close to the recommended specification. Those are the two performance targets published for the PC version of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2. They are useful starting points, not independent benchmark guarantees, so judge success by stable frame pacing during firefights rather than a high number in an empty corridor.
This guide explains how to choose a preset, verify your system, tune resolution without destroying image quality, troubleshoot drops, and separate rendering options from the game’s optional navigation and accessibility tools.
Official 1080p targets: Low for minimum PCs, High for recommended PCs
The PC release launched on October 14, 2026. Its Steam system requirements associate each hardware tier with a specific graphics result:
| Target tier | Operating system | Processor | Memory | Graphics card | API | Official graphics target | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Windows 10 64-bit | Intel Core i5-8600K or AMD Ryzen 5 2600 | 8 GB RAM | GeForce GTX 980 (4 GB), Radeon R9 Fury (4 GB), or Arc A580 | DirectX 12 | Low Quality at 1080p, producing 60 FPS | 13 GB available |
| Recommended | Windows 11 64-bit | Intel Core i7-7700K or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X | 8 GB RAM | GeForce GTX 1650 (4 GB) or Radeon RX 570 (4 GB) | DirectX 12 | High Quality at 1080p, producing 60 FPS | 13 GB available |
These figures come from the publisher’s store listing, not from a third-party test lab. They do not promise that every PC with a listed part will hold 60 FPS in every scene, and they do not describe average FPS, one-percent lows, or frame-time behavior. Treat them as the defensible starting points for configuration.
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Choose your starting preset
PC near the minimum specification
Select Low Quality, set the output to 1920×1080, and cap the game at 60 FPS. Confirm that the game is running through DirectX 12 and that your graphics driver is current. A 60 FPS cap prevents the GPU from rendering unnecessary frames in light scenes and gives you a clear reference for combat performance.
If fights still produce visible stutter, lower the output resolution one step at a time or reduce the most expensive effects that the shipped menu exposes. The developer has not published a setting-by-setting cost table, so there is no authoritative basis for declaring one particular shadow, lighting, or post-processing switch the biggest performance gain. Change one control, replay a demanding encounter, and keep the change only if frame pacing improves without making the image unacceptably soft.
PC near the recommended specification
Begin with High Quality at 1920×1080 and a 60 FPS cap. The official requirement explicitly connects this tier with High Quality at 1080p/60. Play through several combat-heavy sections before raising resolution; a quiet room can look smooth while a large fight exposes CPU or GPU limits.
PC substantially faster than recommended
Keep High Quality as the baseline, then test a higher output resolution or any additional quality controls present in your installed build. There is no authoritative 1440p or 4K target in the published requirements, and the available information does not establish ray tracing, upscaling modes, or frame-generation support. Consider those optional experiments rather than promised features. Increase only one variable at a time and retain the 60 FPS cap until you have confirmed consistent frame times.
Why combat frame pacing matters more than a peak FPS number
Boltgun 2 is a fast-paced, single-player retro-style shooter with branching campaign levels, two playable characters, new weapons, enemies, and locations. During a firefight, sudden frame-time spikes make aiming and movement feel worse than a lower but steady frame rate. A corridor that briefly reports 120 FPS says little about how the same system behaves when multiple effects, enemies, and projectiles are on screen.
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- Use a repeatable combat encounter as your test scene rather than the title screen or an empty hallway.
- Watch for hitching, uneven camera motion, or input delay, not just the highest counter value.
- Keep a stable cap when possible. A locked 60 FPS is generally preferable to a fluctuating 75–110 FPS if the latter produces visible judder.
- If your monitor runs at a higher refresh rate, a higher cap may be worthwhile only after the 60 FPS target is consistently met; the official specification does not define a 120 or 144 FPS target.
Step-by-step setup on a new installation
- Check the hardware tier. Compare your processor, 8 GB or more of system memory, and graphics card with the minimum and recommended table above. A part that is newer is not automatically faster in every workload, so use the game’s behavior as the final check.
- Install the game on a drive with at least 13 GB free. Leave additional working space for the operating system and updates; the listed 13 GB is the game’s stated available-space requirement, not a recommendation to fill a drive completely.
- Update the graphics driver. Use the current driver supplied for your GPU model, then restart Windows if the installer requests it.
- Confirm DirectX 12. DirectX 12 is listed for both official tiers. If the launcher or game offers an API selector, choose DirectX 12 and restart the game after changing it. If no selector exists, the game may choose the API automatically.
- Choose the matching quality preset. Use Low for a minimum-tier machine and High for a recommended-tier machine. Avoid changing several individual controls before you establish this baseline.
- Set 1920×1080 output. Use your display’s native 16:9 resolution when possible. If 1080p cannot hold the target in combat, lower resolution before making many small quality changes; resolution affects the whole rendered image and is easy to evaluate.
- Apply a 60 FPS cap. Use the in-game limiter when available. If the game does not expose one, use your graphics driver or another trusted frame-rate limiter, making sure only one limiter is active to avoid conflicting behavior.
- Test a demanding fight. Play for several minutes, turn rapidly, and trigger the effects that normally coincide with drops. Record whether the problem is a sustained low frame rate, a short hitch, or an input/latency issue.
- Make one adjustment. Change either output resolution or a single visible effect, apply it, and repeat the same type of combat test. This preserves a cause-and-effect trail and makes it easier to return to the known-good configuration.
Resolution versus effects: what to change first
Lowering output resolution
Resolution is the broadest, most measurable performance control. Moving below 1920×1080 reduces the number of pixels the GPU must shade, but it also makes the image softer, especially on a native 1080p or higher-resolution panel. Use it when the entire game is GPU-limited and you need an immediate reduction in workload.
On a display larger than 1080p, a lower internal or output resolution may look less sharp than the same setting on a native 1080p monitor. If the menu offers a separate render scale, test that control carefully; the available official information does not confirm that the game includes one, so do not assume it exists.
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Reducing individual effects
Effects controls can preserve a sharper output resolution while trading detail in shadows, lighting, reflections, particles, or post-processing. However, no developer-published table identifies the cost of each Boltgun 2 effect. Start with the controls whose visual change you can easily recognize, change one at a time, and measure in the same combat location. Do not claim that a specific toggle is universally the largest performance hit without testing your own system and current game patch.
Choosing between the two approaches
| Situation | First move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Low preset at 1080p misses 60 FPS throughout fights | Lower output resolution one step | A broad GPU workload reduction is easier to verify than many small effect changes. |
| High preset is close to 60 FPS but has occasional drops | Keep 1080p and test one effect control at a time | You may preserve image sharpness while removing a specific spike on your hardware. |
| Quiet areas are fast but fights stutter | Test in the same combat-heavy scene and reduce the control that changes frame pacing | Peak FPS in light scenes is not representative of the game’s demanding moments. |
| GPU usage is low while FPS is low | Check CPU load, background processes, thermals, and the frame cap before lowering image quality | A graphics reduction cannot fix every CPU, software, or throttling bottleneck. |
Diagnose the type of performance problem
Sustained low frame rate
If the frame rate remains below 60 across most scenes, the system is likely running out of rendering or processing headroom. Confirm the cap is not set below 60, then lower resolution or the most demanding available effects. Close unnecessary background applications and check that the GPU is not being power- or temperature-limited.
Short stutters or hitching
Brief pauses can come from shader compilation, asset streaming, driver issues, background tasks, or storage pressure rather than an average-FPS shortage. Install the game on a healthy drive, allow the first run to finish any one-time setup, update the driver, and repeat the same scene after a restart. If the hitch appears only when a new area or effect loads, note its timing; lowering every visual setting may not remove a streaming-related pause.
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Uneven motion at a nominal 60 FPS
A counter can show 60 while frame delivery is uneven. Check that only one frame limiter is active, disable conflicting synchronization overrides, and test an in-game cap before a driver-level cap. Match the cap to a refresh rate your display can present consistently. The official requirements specify a 60 FPS output target but do not prescribe a particular synchronization technology.
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Changing quality should not by itself add input delay. Compare the capped and uncapped behavior briefly, then restore the stable cap if uncapped rendering causes inconsistent frame times. Also check display modes, overlays, and controller or mouse software. Avoid diagnosing an input problem solely from a graphics preset change.
Crashes, launch failures, or a black screen
Verify the Windows edition, driver installation, and DirectX 12 requirement. Confirm the game files through the platform’s file-verification function, remove experimental launch parameters, and temporarily disable overlays. If the game starts after a graphics-setting reset, reapply changes gradually so the setting that triggers the failure is identifiable. The published requirements do not provide a universal fix for every launch error.
Hardware and settings decisions by use case
1080p/60 on a minimum-tier PC
- Use Low Quality.
- Keep 1920×1080 initially, with a 60 FPS cap.
- Prioritize consistent combat frame times over extra effects.
- Lower resolution if Low cannot sustain the target, then test individual controls only if you want to recover sharpness.
1080p/60 on a recommended-tier PC
- Use High Quality at 1920×1080.
- Retain the 60 FPS cap while testing branching levels and heavy fights.
- If drops occur, change one effect or resolution control rather than immediately abandoning the High preset.
Higher-resolution displays
- Establish stable High Quality at 1080p first.
- Raise resolution incrementally and test the same demanding scenes after each change.
- Do not treat 1440p or 4K as officially supported performance targets; no authoritative figures are published for them.
High-refresh-rate monitors
- Use the official 60 FPS target as the baseline.
- Only pursue a higher cap after frame pacing is stable at 60.
- Because no 120/144 FPS requirement is published, expect the result to depend on your CPU, GPU, display mode, and current patch.
Graphics options versus gameplay and accessibility options
The developer describes optional navigation aids and accessibility settings that change how the campaign is played, not how many pixels the GPU renders. The automap and Navigation Guide are optional tools for finding your way through branching levels. They should not be used as substitutes for a Low or High graphics preset.
The returning accessibility settings are named Invulnerability, Infinite Ammo, and Unlock all weapons. The developer also added Undying Mode. These options can make combat or exploration more approachable, but they are not performance controls. Leave them out of graphics troubleshooting so you can tell whether a frame-rate change came from rendering settings or gameplay assistance.
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What is and is not established about advanced features
The official PC listing establishes DirectX 12, the two 1080p/60 quality targets, processor and GPU baselines, 8 GB of RAM, and 13 GB of required available storage. It does not establish a tested target for 1440p or 4K, ray tracing, a particular upscaler, dynamic resolution, or frame generation. A menu item in a future patch may add one of these features, but its presence would not prove a performance level on your hardware.
If your build exposes an upscaling or dynamic-resolution option, treat it as a local experiment: record the native resolution, quality mode, cap, and combat result before and after the change. Keep the setting that gives you the best combination of image stability and frame pacing, rather than assuming a named mode has the same behavior on every GPU.
Storage, memory, and operating-system checks
- Storage: The listing requires 13 GB of available space for both tiers. Keep free space beyond that figure for Windows, updates, shader caches, and normal drive operation.
- Memory: Both official tiers list 8 GB of RAM. If Windows is paging heavily while the game runs, closing other applications or adding memory may help, but the published requirement does not quantify performance gains from more than 8 GB.
- Operating system: Minimum calls for Windows 10 64-bit; recommended calls for Windows 11 64-bit. Keep the operating system updated and use a 64-bit installation.
- API: DirectX 12 is specified for both tiers. A system that cannot provide the required API is outside the stated baseline even if its GPU appears fast enough.
A repeatable tuning worksheet
Write down these values before each test: preset, output resolution, frame cap, effect changed, scene tested, and whether the problem was sustained low FPS or a hitch. For example, “High, 1920×1080, 60 cap, shadow control reduced, same arena fight, no hitch after five minutes” is actionable; “feels smoother” is difficult to reproduce.
- Run the official matching preset for five minutes in a combat-heavy section.
- Note the lowest sustained behavior and any visible hitch, without changing settings.
- Change exactly one variable.
- Replay a comparable fight for the same amount of time.
- Keep the change only if it improves consistency and the image remains acceptable.
- Once stable, remove the cap temporarily only to see whether extra headroom exists; restore the cap if frame pacing worsens.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Assuming the word “minimum” means every scene will hold 60 FPS. The store text states a target, not a guarantee or a third-party benchmark.
- Comparing a quiet hallway with a large fight and concluding that the higher number represents normal play.
- Changing resolution, effects, drivers, and frame caps simultaneously, which prevents you from identifying the useful change.
- Chasing 1440p or 4K recommendations that have no published performance target.
- Calling automap, Navigation Guide, Invulnerability, Infinite Ammo, Unlock all weapons, or Undying Mode graphics settings. They affect navigation or gameplay.
- Using a peak FPS reading as proof of smoothness when frame pacing is uneven.
Quick reference presets
| Goal | Preset | Resolution | Cap | When to adjust |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official minimum-tier starting point | Low Quality | 1920×1080 | 60 FPS | Lower resolution or test one effect if combat is unstable. |
| Official recommended-tier starting point | High Quality | 1920×1080 | 60 FPS | Test combat frame pacing before raising resolution. |
| Faster-than-recommended PC | High Quality | Start at 1920×1080, then experiment higher | 60 FPS initially | Increase resolution or available quality controls one at a time; no official 1440p/4K target is stated. |
Bottom line for Boltgun 2 PC settings
The most defensible answer is simple: match Low Quality at 1080p/60 to the official minimum tier and High Quality at 1080p/60 to the official recommended tier. Confirm DirectX 12, use current drivers, cap the frame rate, and test during combat. If performance falls short, lower resolution or methodically test individual effects; do not rely on unsupported claims about a particular setting, 1440p/4K performance, ray tracing, upscaling, or frame generation.
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