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In Cities: Skylines II, start with three changes: set the resolution to 1920×1080 (1080p), turn Depth of Field off, and turn Volumetrics off. If the game still struggles, reduce Global Illumination. Test one setting at a time in a comparable scene rather than dropping every option to Low immediately.
This order comes from the developer’s official performance guidance. It is a sensible first pass, not a universal ranking of frame-rate gains for every computer, city or city-building game. The exact menu names and available options vary by title; the detailed recommendations here apply to Cities: Skylines II.
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Why this order is a good first pass
Each of the first changes reduces work involved in drawing the scene. Resolution changes the number of pixels the game must render. Depth of Field adds a camera-focus effect, and Volumetrics controls the quality of volumetric clouds. Global Illumination affects how light is calculated and displayed across the scene.
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The official guide recommends 1920×1080 at 60 Hz as a starting configuration. That is a published configuration recommendation, not a requirement that every player use a 1080p monitor or a universal promise of 60 frames per second. If your display has a different native resolution, use this as a troubleshooting test and then decide whether the image-quality trade-off is acceptable.
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Depth of Field and Motion Blur can make the picture look strange, can contribute to motion sickness, and can make low frame rates feel worse. The developer also cautions that disabling these effects will not always improve performance. Volumetrics is specifically the quality control for volumetric clouds, so disabling it can make skies and cloud effects less detailed while reducing rendering work.
The roadmap identifies Depth of Field, Global Illumination and Volumetrics as rendering effects that can be reduced or disabled to improve GPU performance. These options change the rendered image; they do not change the underlying city simulation.
The recommended sequence, in order
| Order | Setting | First change | What you trade away | What it can and cannot solve |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Resolution | Test 1920×1080 (1080p), with 60 Hz as the developer’s starting display recommendation | A lower-resolution image, especially on a higher-resolution monitor | Can reduce pixel-rendering load; cannot fix a CPU-bound simulation |
| 2 | Depth of Field | Disable it | Less cinematic focus blur | May reduce an effect that can make low FPS feel worse; the guide says it will not always improve performance |
| 3 | Volumetrics | Disable it | Lower-quality or absent volumetric cloud effects | Reduces work for volumetric clouds; does not alter traffic, agents or other simulation systems |
| 4 | Global Illumination | Reduce the quality level if the first three changes are insufficient | Less convincing indirect lighting and visual depth | Can reduce GPU rendering work; does not cure a simulation bottleneck |
1. Test resolution first
Set the game to 1920×1080 and compare the same area of your city before and after. Resolution is an easy first test because its effect is visible immediately and it does not require changing several visual effects at once. If the image becomes uncomfortably soft, restore your preferred resolution after testing and continue with the effect controls instead.
Do not treat 1920×1080 as the correct permanent setting for every monitor. The developer’s 60 Hz recommendation describes the intended starting configuration in the performance guide; it is not a measured frame-rate result and does not establish that every system will hold 60 FPS.
2. Disable Depth of Field
Turn Depth of Field off and inspect both a wide city view and a closer view. You lose the simulated camera-focus blur, but roads, buildings and distant objects may look clearer. This is also a comfort setting: the official guide warns that the effect can make the game look strange and can make low FPS feel worse.
Because the developer says the change will not always improve performance, measure it rather than assuming it worked. If your frame rate and responsiveness are unchanged, leave it off for visual comfort or restore it for appearance; the benchmark result should decide the performance part of the decision.
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3. Disable Volumetrics
Volumetrics controls the quality of volumetric clouds. Turning it off removes or simplifies that cloud rendering while leaving the city’s buildings, roads and simulation rules intact. Compare a scene that includes the sky as well as the city so you can judge the visual cost honestly.
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If you prefer the cloud appearance and the benchmark shows no meaningful improvement, there is no reason to keep the setting disabled solely because it appears in a generic optimization list. Settings are hardware- and scene-dependent.
4. Reduce Global Illumination only if needed
Global Illumination changes how light is represented in the scene. Lowering it can reduce GPU work, but it can also make lighting, shading and the sense of depth less convincing. Make this the next step after resolution, Depth of Field and Volumetrics so you preserve more of the lighting quality when those earlier changes are sufficient.
The official roadmap groups Global Illumination with Depth of Field and Volumetrics as effects that can be reduced or disabled for GPU performance. It does not provide a universal FPS gain for any one of them, so compare the result on your own machine.
How to test each change so the result means something
A city-builder can look faster or slower simply because the camera is in a different place or the city is doing different work. Use a repeatable process:
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →- Choose a representative city and a scene where you normally notice the slowdown. Keep the camera position and view similar for every test.
- Record your current setting and how the game feels: average smoothness, pauses, input response and whether the interface remains responsive.
- Change exactly one option. Do not lower resolution, disable two effects and reduce lighting in the same pass.
- Run the same comparison again. Give the scene enough time to settle before deciding that a change helped.
- Keep the setting only if the improvement is visible or measurable and the image-quality cost is acceptable.
- Repeat for the next option, returning to the previous value when you need to isolate a different setting.
Use the built-in Benchmark tool
The Benchmark tool was added to the main-menu options in patch 1.5.7f1. Use it to compare runs under similar conditions. The tool makes an A/B comparison more useful, but it does not turn the result into a universal hardware ranking: your processor, graphics card, resolution, city size and scene composition still matter.
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The official material does not provide controlled, current, hardware-specific FPS gains for each individual setting. Avoid promises such as “this option always adds 20 FPS.” Report what the comparison shows on your system, and distinguish a higher frame rate from a more responsive interface or fewer stutters.
When graphics settings are not the real problem
Lowering image quality cannot fix every type of slowdown. The developer has explained that stutters can vary with both the CPU and the way a city is constructed, and that a growing city can become CPU-bound.
Signs of a simulation or CPU bottleneck
- The game remains slow after rendering effects are reduced.
- Large or highly developed cities are much less responsive than small cities, even with the same graphics settings.
- The interface feels delayed or the simulation pauses, rather than the picture simply rendering at a lower rate.
- The Benchmark result barely changes when you disable visual effects.
In these cases, the settings above may reduce GPU load without changing the underlying simulation workload. They can still make the camera view easier to render, but they are not a complete fix for a city that has become processor-limited.
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In its October 2023 performance roadmap, Paradox described a goal of at least a steady 30 FPS and emphasized avoiding stutters and keeping the interface responsive. That is the developer’s stated design goal from that roadmap, not a claim about current performance on every machine or every city.
For a city-builder, a stable, responsive experience can matter more than a high peak number in an empty test scene. Judge the result in the city and view where you actually play.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What to do about shadows
Older community advice often treated shadows as the first setting to disable. Later official updates report improvements to shadow rendering, including less distance flicker, more consistent shadows at different camera angles and distances, and better distribution of shadow cascades. Patch notes also describe changes to light and shadow casting intended to improve performance.
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That update history does not establish one best shadow level for every system. It does mean “turn shadows off” should be a test after the developer’s first recommended rendering-effect changes, not an automatic rule. If shadows are the visible cause of a problem on your machine, lower them one step and compare the same scene. Keep the change only when the performance benefit justifies the loss of contact shadows, building definition or other shadow detail you notice.
A practical decision tree
If the whole game feels sluggish from the start
- Run the Benchmark tool from the main-menu options.
- Test 1920×1080, then Depth of Field off, then Volumetrics off.
- Reduce Global Illumination if the result is still poor.
- If the benchmark and the game remain slow, treat the issue as potentially hardware- or simulation-limited rather than continuing to remove visual effects blindly.
If only a large city slows down
Repeat the test in the large city and compare it with a smaller one. A growing city can become CPU-bound, so a resolution change may have little effect. Keep the rendering changes that improve camera movement or interface response, but do not expect them to reduce the simulation work generated by the city.
If the picture looks uncomfortable or distracting
Disable Depth of Field and Motion Blur first. The official guide specifically warns that these effects can look strange, contribute to motion sickness and make low FPS feel worse. This is a valid quality-of-life choice even when the benchmark shows little performance change.
If clouds or lighting look worse after the changes
Restore Volumetrics or raise Global Illumination one step, then benchmark again. The goal is not the lowest possible setting; it is the best balance between responsiveness and an image you can comfortably read for a long play session.
Applying the method to other city-building games
The order above is documented for Cities: Skylines II, not a universal menu guide for every city-builder. Other games may label volumetric effects, lighting, shadows or post-processing differently, and some may not expose them separately.
Use the same principle when another game offers comparable controls: begin with resolution and conspicuous post-processing effects, change one option at a time, then test lighting and shadows. First determine whether the slowdown is rendering-related or simulation-related. Do not assume that a setting with the same name has the same cost in a different engine.
Quick Recap
Common mistakes to avoid
- Changing everything at once: You will not know which option helped or which visual loss was unnecessary.
- Promising a fixed FPS gain: Official guidance does not supply a controlled, per-setting number that applies across hardware and cities.
- Confusing 60 Hz with 60 FPS: The 1920×1080-at-60-Hz advice is a display configuration starting point, not a measured performance guarantee.
- Blaming graphics for simulation lag: A large city can become CPU-bound, leaving rendering tweaks unable to remove the underlying slowdown.
- Repeating old shadow advice without testing: Later updates improved shadow rendering, so evaluate the current build and your own scene.
- Chasing the lowest setting: A stable, responsive game with readable lighting is usually more useful than a technically higher frame rate accompanied by an image you dislike.
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