It's mode overload once again in the First Descendant - a new Unreal Engine 5 loot shooter with more than just a passing resemblance to Bungie's Destiny. PS5, Series X and S each offer up 30, 40 and 60FPS modes - with an additional option to add in AMD's FSR 3 frame generation technology, or even ray tracing. But between all the options here, has developer Nexon Games given us any ideal way to enjoy the game - or are there combinations to avoid?
00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:32 Ray Tracing Tested
00:04:48 PS5/Series X 30/40/60FPS Modes
00:08:21 Series X FSR 3 Frame Gen
00:12:31 PS5 FSR 3 Frame Gen
00:15:05 Series S 30/40/60FPS Modes
00:16:45 Series S Frame Gen
00:18:25 Final Thoughts
Free to play UE5 looter shooter
- 3 graphical modes: 60 fps Performance, 40 fps Balanced, 30 fps Fidelity
- Main difference between the three is native resolution
- Frame Gen via FSR3 toggle on all modes on console present
- PS5 / Series X have RT mode but it is disabled when using Frame Gen
- DF thinks the game offers too many fidelity options to 'ruin the experience' for a console game
RT:
- PC has Ray reconstruction, multiple tiers of RT options
- Ultra RT needs frame gen to be acceptable
- PS5 / SX cannot combine the two
- Enabling RT only has minor AO RT boost but it also made the game prone to crashes for DF, so they opted to turn it off
- DF will revisit this when the game deploys more patches in the future, currently they did not recommend RT on console at all
General Graphics:
Non Frame Gen:
- On PS5/SX : Fidelity / Balanced target 4K with varying ranges of DRS. Performance targets DRS 1440p
- Native 4K only really achievable by looking at the sky or sparse indoor areas
- 40 fps Balanced mode has uneven frame-pacing on Xbox while it is paced evenly on PS5, both retain at the target very well
- 30 fps Fidelity mode runs 'remarkably well' with only some streaming hitches
- 60 fps Performance mode has lower shadows and DoF. 60 FPS is not 100% locked as game is prone to traversal hitches and drops during camera-cuts in scenes
- 60 fps Performance mode is the best way to play the game.
With Frame Gen:
- Enabling frame-gen reduces the games max native resolution in each mode and changes it to static from DRS
- Fidelity + FSR3 = 1260p, Balanced + FSR3 = 1080p, Performance + FSR3 = 840p
Frame Gen w/ Xbox:
- Visual settings between all 3 are very close with minor deviations in Performance mode, with resolution being the main difference
- Performance mode is still the only one that reaches 60 FPS consistently with Frame Gen
- Fidelity ranges from mid 30s to 50~
- Balanced can rise to 60 FPS now and then but it's still better with the 40 FPS cap
- Performance mode has no real advantage with Frame Gen 3 but has more issues than before
- Drops under 60 FPS are more frequent and the 60 FPS is un-evenly paced whenever it hits 60 FPS with frame time spikes worse than with frame-gen off
- VRR does not engage properly with frame gen 3 on either PS5/SX
- DF's recommendation: Run the game without frame gen
Frame Gen w/ PS5:
- PS5 has a unique output solution where frame-gen 3 changes the target from 60 FPS to 90 FPS
- Performance mode can hit between 70 to 90 fps with erratic frame pacing
- The other modes are never close to the target
- SX vs PS5 in Fidelity mode + Frame Gen can run up to 10 fps higher on PS5
- 'Disabling frame-gen for a more consistent performance is a better way to go'
- VRR does not work with frame-gen enabled.
Series S:
- All modes and frame-gen retained from the other consoles
- Visual features are a match to PS5/SX minus the shadow quality
- DRS bounds for Fidelity and Balanced are 1440p max with 720p lows
- Balanced mode is not recommended as the 40 fps cap does not work
- Performance mode drops to 1080p DRS for a 60 FPS target
- 60 FPS possible in stretches but dives too often into the mid 40s
- 30 FPS fidelity mode is DF's recommended way to play the game
- With frame gen, all modes are largely unimproved with uneven frame-pacing in the performance mode with frame-gen 3
- Fidelity mode can drop to high 20's unlike with Frame Gen off
- Frame Gen is not recommended like the other consoles
Verdict:
- Offers plenty of modes with permutations but only a couple lead to playable experiences
- DF recommends Performance mode on PS5/SX with the frame-gen disabled
- On Series S, they recommend using the 30 FPS fidelity mode with frame-gen disabled
- "Too many options lead to poor performance .. there's a lack of polish"
*Credit to Adamsapple from Gaf for breakdown.
