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The smoothest DMZ setup starts before you change a graphics slider: let shader preloading finish, then use either Dynamic Resolution or an upscaler such as DLSS, not both. Lower shadow, reflection, volumetric and particle effects before sacrificing texture detail, select texture streaming according to your internet connection, and test for consistent frame times rather than chasing a peak FPS number. The exact best values depend on your GPU, VRAM, monitor resolution and connection, so use the workflow below to arrive at a stable configuration without making targets unnecessarily blurry.
Start with a clean baseline
DMZ can hitch when shaders or streamed assets are being prepared, even if your average frame rate looks adequate. Make these checks before judging any graphics preset.
- Finish shader preloading. Activision Support calls shader preloading an important part of the first-boot process. Stay on the main menu until the progress indicator completes; navigating away stops preloading and can lead to performance issues. Repeat this after major game updates, when shaders are commonly rebuilt.
- Update Windows and your graphics driver. Reboot after installation so the game starts with the new driver and a clean graphics context.
- Close interfering software. For troubleshooting, exit overlays, capture utilities, hardware monitors and other background programs one at a time, or add the game to their exclusion lists when that is supported. If stutter disappears, restore programs individually to identify the conflict.
- Use one repeatable test. Load the same map area in similar weather and play long enough to encounter traversal, combat and inventory screens. Changing several options at once makes it impossible to identify the setting that helped.
Check the published PC requirements and storage
The official DMZ/MWII listing gives you a floor, not a guarantee of a particular frame rate. It specifies Windows 10 64-bit, DirectX 12, a GTX 960 or Radeon RX 470-class minimum GPU, a GTX 1060 or Radeon RX 580-class recommended GPU, and 125 GB of available storage. The Battle.net specification also mentions optional space for a high-resolution asset cache.
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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →| Requirement | Minimum listing | Recommended listing | What it means for tuning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating system and API | Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 10 64-bit | DirectX 12 is required; keep the operating system current. |
| Graphics processor | GeForce GTX 960-class or Radeon RX 470-class | GeForce GTX 1060-class or Radeon RX 580-class | GPU headroom determines whether an upscaler or Dynamic Resolution is useful. |
| Storage | 125 GB available | 125 GB available | Leave additional room if you install optional high-resolution assets or need shader and texture caches. |
Those figures do not establish a universal FPS result. A fast NVMe SSD is a sensible upgrade when the game is installed on a slow hard drive or a nearly full disk: it provides installation and cache space and may improve loading or asset-cache behavior. The official specifications do not publish a guaranteed FPS increase from changing drives.
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Choose a frame-rate strategy first
Dynamic Resolution for a sustainable target
If your current build exposes Dynamic Resolution, set a target your system can hold during the busiest moments, not the number it reaches while looking at an empty wall. The official Call of Duty/NVIDIA guidance describes Dynamic Resolution as automatically upscaling or downscaling the internal image at runtime to maintain that target. This can smooth heavy scenes at the cost of variable image sharpness.
Open the Graphics or Quality section, enable Dynamic Resolution, and enter a conservative target. If the image repeatedly becomes soft, lower the target slightly or reduce expensive effects so the scaler does not have to drop resolution as often. Dynamic Resolution and DLSS are mutually exclusive; select one path.
A fixed cap when consistency matters more than peak FPS
When Dynamic Resolution is unavailable or its image changes are distracting, use a fixed frame-rate cap that your GPU can sustain in raids. A stable cap usually produces steadier frame times than allowing the rate to swing between a high peak and frequent drops. Validate the cap with a frame-time graph or 1% low reading if your overlay provides one.
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DLSS on GeForce RTX hardware
DLSS is intended for GeForce RTX GPUs. The official guidance documents four modes:
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| DLSS mode | Typical trade-off | When to try it |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | Highest output quality of the listed DLSS modes, with a smaller performance benefit than more aggressive modes. | Start here at 1080p or 1440p when the GPU is the bottleneck and you want to preserve target clarity. |
| Balanced | Middle ground between image detail and rendering cost. | Use when Quality cannot hold your target during fights or traversal. |
| Performance | Lower internal resolution for more GPU headroom, with softer fine detail. | Use when the GPU remains saturated after reducing heavy effects. |
| Ultra Performance | Most aggressive reduction in internal resolution and the greatest risk of visible softness. | Reserve for unusually demanding resolutions or hardware limits; check target visibility carefully. |
These labels describe an image-quality/performance trade-off, not a guaranteed gain on every RTX model. Compare the same scene in each mode and keep the least aggressive mode that maintains your frame-time target.
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If you do not have an RTX GPU, use the upscaling or resolution option exposed by your current game build and driver. The names and available algorithms can change between releases, so compare frame-time consistency and target clarity rather than assuming a preset will behave like DLSS. Dynamic Resolution remains an alternative when the build provides it.
Lower the settings that cost the most before textures
The following order is practical tuning guidance rather than a published Activision benchmark. Change one group at a time and watch your frame-time graph.
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1. Shadows
Shadow quality and shadow-map distance can consume substantial GPU time, especially outdoors. Reduce them first if your GPU is pinned at 95–100 percent and your frame rate falls during movement. Check dark interiors and foliage afterward; if enemy silhouettes become difficult to read, move up one step.
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2. Screen-space reflections
Reflections add work on wet ground, glass and other shiny surfaces. Lowering this option often helps the most in scenes with many reflective materials, while having less effect in dry interiors.
3. Volumetric lighting and fog
Volumetric effects are expensive in smoke, dust and fog. Lower their quality when frame times spike in atmospheric areas. Keep enough visibility to distinguish players from the environment; a technically faster image is not useful if it hides movement.
4. Particle detail
Explosions, debris and equipment effects can create short spikes. Reducing particle detail can improve 1% lows during fights even when the average FPS barely changes.
5. Re-test before touching textures
After each reduction, repeat the same route and combat scenario. If the frame-time graph improves without a visibility penalty, keep the change. If it does not, restore the setting and move to the next candidate instead of lowering everything.
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Set texture quality around VRAM and visibility
Textures generally affect memory use and image detail more than the immediate cost of every frame. Keep them as high as your GPU memory allows without causing streaming stalls. Blurry textures can make targets, loot and terrain edges harder to identify, so do not trade all texture detail for a small average-FPS increase.
- If you have ample VRAM and no texture-pop or hitching, retain a higher texture level and reduce shadows, reflections, volumetrics and particles first.
- If you see repeated texture pop-in, long stalls when turning quickly, or warnings about memory, step textures down one level and retest.
- After changing texture settings, allow the game’s cache to settle before deciding that the setting caused or fixed a hitch.
Match on-demand texture streaming to your connection
Blizzard describes On-Demand High Quality Streaming with two choices: Optimized uses more bandwidth for higher fidelity, while Minimal reduces bandwidth use and texture quality.
| Connection condition | Streaming choice | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Fast, stable connection with generous data allowance | Optimized | Provides higher streamed texture fidelity when bandwidth is plentiful. |
| Constrained, metered or unstable connection | Minimal | Reduces bandwidth demand and can avoid stalls caused by interrupted downloads. |
Let the cache finish populating before comparing stutter. Switching modes while assets are still being downloaded can make both options appear worse than they are. If your network is stable but the drive is nearly full, free disk space first; streaming cannot compensate for storage pressure.
Three practical starting profiles
| System situation | Starting configuration | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| RTX GPU at 1080p or 1440p, GPU-limited | DLSS Quality, then Balanced if heavy scenes miss the target; lower shadows, reflections, volumetrics and particles before textures. | Fine detail and target readability while checking 1% lows. |
| RTX GPU at a demanding resolution | DLSS Balanced or Performance; use Ultra Performance only after confirming that targets remain clear. | Shimmering and softness at distance. |
| Non-RTX GPU or a build without DLSS | Use the available upscaler or Dynamic Resolution; set a sustainable cap and reduce expensive effects in the order above. | Whether internal-resolution changes are less distracting than a fixed lower resolution. |
| Limited or unstable internet | Texture streaming Minimal, with a completed cache and adequate free disk space. | Download interruptions, texture pop-in and drive activity during movement. |
Diagnose stutter by symptom
Stutter begins after an update or first launch
Return to the main menu and let shader preloading complete. Do not launch into a match while the process is active. Restart the game after completion and test the same route again.
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Average FPS is acceptable but movement feels uneven
Look at frame-time consistency or 1% lows, not only the headline FPS. Set a lower fixed cap or use Dynamic Resolution with a target your busiest scenes can sustain. Then reduce shadows, reflections, volumetrics and particles one at a time.
Hitches occur when turning into new areas
Check texture streaming and cache behavior. Choose Minimal on a constrained connection, allow the cache to finish, and verify that the game has sufficient free storage. If the installation is on a slow or nearly full drive, moving it to a 1TB NVMe SSD can provide working space and may improve asset-cache behavior, but it is not a guaranteed FPS upgrade.
The image looks soft after enabling an upscaler
Move from Performance to Balanced or Quality, or lower the Dynamic Resolution target. Do not run DLSS and Dynamic Resolution together; they are mutually exclusive. If the GPU is still overloaded, reduce the expensive effects listed earlier before returning to a sharper mode.
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Textures look blurry while FPS is high
Raise texture quality if VRAM headroom permits and select Optimized streaming when your connection can support its higher bandwidth use. If the cache is still downloading, wait for completion before judging clarity.
Problems persist despite low settings
Confirm that the PC meets the DirectX 12, operating-system, GPU and storage requirements. Keep Windows and the graphics driver current, then close background utilities and overlays to rule out software conflicts. If no single change improves the repeatable test, the limiting factor may be outside graphics quality settings, such as insufficient hardware headroom, storage pressure or network instability.
Use a repeatable frame-time test
- Choose one map area and route that includes open terrain, interiors and a combat encounter.
- Record your current resolution, cap, upscaler or Dynamic Resolution choice, texture level and streaming mode.
- Play the route long enough to include traversal and turning into new areas; note average FPS, 1% lows or the frame-time graph, plus visible hitching.
- Change exactly one setting or one closely related group, then repeat the route under comparable weather and network conditions.
- Keep the change only when it improves consistency without making targets or environmental cues unacceptably unclear.
Official sources do not publish a universal DMZ FPS percentage for these settings, so a result measured on your own system is more useful than a promised gain from someone else’s hardware.
Quick Recap
Common mistakes to avoid
- Leaving the main menu during shader preloading: this interrupts the process and can create performance problems.
- Enabling DLSS and Dynamic Resolution together: the two features are mutually exclusive.
- Dropping textures before expensive effects: this can make targets blurry while leaving major GPU costs intact.
- Judging streaming immediately: cache population can create temporary stalls.
- Optimizing for peak FPS only: a higher average can still feel worse if 1% lows and frame times are erratic.
- Assuming an SSD guarantees more FPS: faster storage helps space and may improve loading or cache behavior, but the published requirements provide no universal FPS uplift.
A concise setup order
- Verify Windows 10 64-bit, DirectX 12 support, GPU capability and at least 125 GB of free storage.
- Update Windows and the graphics driver, close conflicting background software, and complete shader preloading on the main menu.
- Pick a sustainable frame-rate target and use Dynamic Resolution, or choose DLSS/another available upscaler instead.
- Lower shadows, screen-space reflections, volumetric lighting or fog, and particle detail in that order while checking frame-time consistency.
- Set textures to the highest level that fits VRAM without streaming stalls.
- Choose Optimized streaming for plentiful, stable bandwidth or Minimal for constrained or unstable connections; let the cache finish.
- Retest the same route and keep only changes that reduce hitching without unacceptable loss of clarity.
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