So you've been out raiding and pillaging, training and competing, trading and diplomacy-ing, but which graphics options are the best in Mount and Blade 2 to keep turned on? And which graphics settings should you turn off to save FPS and frame rates when your PC is struggling to run Bannerlord? We've tested every graphics settings available in Bannerlord to produce this performance setting guide to help you know which settings are best for your gaming PC.

Below you will see every graphics option listed and benchmarked against a minimum graphics setting used as our baseline benchmark. From there we see which graphics options have the highest performance impact on our hardware for the least visual improvement, and then we will see which options can be turned up to max and deliver the best visual improvement with minimal performance impact in Mount & blade 2.

If you want to look at some more graphics benchmarks with various gaming graphics cards running Gears Tactics then you can check out our Mount and Blade 2 PC Performance Benchmarks article instead, or you can have a look at the various Mount and Blade 2 PC Graphics Settings that we'll be discussing here in this article.

Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord System Requirements

For the performance cost result baseline we used a GeForce MSI GTX 1060 graphics card, an Intel Core i7-3770K processor, and 8GB of DDR3 memory. For the benchmarks we booted up the game and galloped around on a horse in one of the starting training areas, and recorded the results below. This area gave us a nice overall for each graphics option against other graphics options and compare their relative performance impact.

Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord Graphics Options Performance Breakdown

For our baseline FPS result we turned all the graphics options down to Low or Off and recorded the result after one circuit of the training area. We will be comparing this result with all the other graphics settings recorded below in order to judge which settings are the most taxing on our systems, and which ones can be turned up to Ultra.

The further right the bar goes, the more demanding the graphics setting is when switching from Low to Ultra, or whatever equivalent is used for that particular graphics setting in Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord.

There's a lot of graphics settings available to players in order to optimize their FPS performance in Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord. As usual, there are quite a few post process settings that can be turned off depending on your personal preference. Their performance impact is relatively low but they won't be missed if you decide not to have them turned On or set to Ultra.

What are the most demanding graphics options in Mount and Blade 2?

There's not a whole lot that is actually super demanding here, obviously Shadow Type sees the biggest performance drop with a 20.23% FPS drop in Mount and Blade 2. With Shader Quality, Lighting Quality, and Anti-aliasing following close behind with 16.76%, 15.61%, and 14.45% frame rate hits respectively. Other than that, the rest of the settings don't have a massive impact in performance compared to those 4, with Texture Streaming actually increasing performance when turned on.

But looking at the graph you might notice that Lighting Quality is highlighted with an asterisk, this is because we noticed something rather interesting with this setting. Not only is it one of the biggest hitting graphics settings in terms of an FPS drop, but actually once it's been turned up, it won't actually turn off unless you restart the game. This means that even if you turn the setting to it's lowest option, you'll still see the same amount of performance impact.

All Mount and Blade 2 Graphics Settings Tested

Best Graphics Settings in Bannerlord

Shader Quality

Shader Quality graphics option Low compared to Ultra

[Slide over to compare Low vs Ultra or click for enlarged image]

What does the Shader Quality setting do?

Determines how accurate certain graphical effects are, including lighting, hair and fur. Putting the Shadow Quality to one of the lower settings in Bannerlord may make a scene appear to be more flat and dull, with higher settings achieving a more realistic looking image.

In particular, increasing the Shadow Quality will likely improve certain Mount & Blade 2 features like making the textures on horses, armours and weapons seem more realistic. It may also make the scenery look much more dynamic with better lighting in most environments.

Does not require any VRAM.

Performance Impact - 5/5

Priority - 2/5

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Texture Streaming Budget

Texture Streaming Budget graphics option Low compared to Ultra

[Slide over to compare Low vs Ultra or click for enlarged image]

What does the Texture Streaming Budget setting do?

Texture Streaming Budget will limit the amount of VRAM required to run Mount and Blade 2 by affecting the size/resolution of textures. This option is mostly for lower-end graphics cards which fail to meet even the base setting's minimum VRAM requirement of 1639 MB.

If your GPU only supports 1 GB of video memory, turning this option to Low may help alleviate performance issues. A higher value will require more VRAM, but will drastically increase performance for cards that can handle it. Though higher options may require more System RAM.

Of course there is no visible difference in the screenshots above, but you will notice a difference whenyoou pan around as the GPU VRAM will cache lots of detail and have the imagery ready to display for you. 

VRAM requirement:

Low: +0 MB (1639 MB)

Medium: +132 MB (1771 MB)

High: +391 MB (2030 MB)

Very High: +781 MB (2420 MB)

Performance Impact - 4/5

Priority - 4/5

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Texture Quality

Texture Quality graphics option Low compared to Ultra

[Slide over to compare Low vs Ultra or click for enlarged image]

What does the Texture Quality setting do?

Texture Quality is a measure of the game's graphics, increasing this setting will see textures increase in resolution and quality, but will see a large performance hit as it will affect every texture in-game. Turning this setting up in Bannerlord will see the quality increase across the whole game.

Does not require any VRAM.

Performance Impact - 3/5

Priority - 5/5

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Shadow Quality

Shadow Quality graphics option Low compared to Ultra

[Slide over to compare Low vs Ultra or click for enlarged image]

What does the Shadow Quality setting do?

Same as Texture Quality, but with shadows specifically. This will affect how fine the shadows are and how much detail are in them. It can also affect the motion of the shadows, as a lower quality may result in a more jagged or stuttered motion.

Increasing this in MB 2: Bannerlord will see higher quality shadows in every environment. Higher quality will mean better immersion, as lower quality shadows can be very distracting.

Requires VRAM dependant on Shadow Type.

Performance Impact - 3/5

Priority - 4/5

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Shadow Type

Shadow Type graphics option Low compared to Ultra

[Slide over to compare Low vs Ultra or click for enlarged image]

What does the Shadow Type setting do?

Determines the type of shadows used. Static objects will not move in an environment and therefore their shadows will not change either. Dynamic shadows are when either a light source moves around an object, or an object moves around in front of a light source.

Dynamic shadows are very computationally expensive, so it will have a larger performance impact than static shadows. Setting this option to Static only may see unrealistic shadows on dynamic objects, like a round circle as a shadow for a horse.

VRAM requirement:

None: +0 MB (1639 MB)

Static Only: +8 MB (1647 MB)

Static and Dynamic: +12 MB (1651 MB)

Performance Impact - 5/5

Priority - 2/5

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Shadow Filtering

Shadow Filtering graphics option Off compared to PCF (On)

[Slide over to compare Low vs Ultra or click for enlarged image]

What does the Shadow Filtering setting do?

Mount and Blade 2 has a graphics option under Shadow Filtering called PCF. This stands for Percentage Closer Filtering and it is the process of blurring shadows in order to reduce aliasing on the shadow’s edges. The lower the shadow quality, the more noticeable the jagged edges of the shadows will be.

Turning this option on (PCF) will blur the edges of shadows to make them look less pixelated. This option barely made any visual difference to the majority of our visual tests so we would suggest turning it off to save some FPS.

Does not require any VRAM.

Performance Impact - 3/5

Priority - 1/5

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Particle Detail

Particle Detail graphics option Low compared to Ultra

What does the Particle Detail setting do?

Affects the detail of particles in Bannerlord like resolution and amount. Increasing this option will provide higher detailed particles for a more realistic image. Particles can include sparks, fire and dirt being kicked up from horses. We really didnt notice where this was actually getting applied. Perhaps in the arena fights it is more noticeable, but Particle Details really wouldnt be missed if you turned them down or off to save some frame rates in M&B2.

Does not require any VRAM.

Performance Impact - 3/5

Priority - 1/5

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Particle Quality

Particle Quality graphics option Low compared to Ultra

What does the Particle Quality setting do?

Increases the sharpness of particles, a lower setting will blur particles in Mount and Blade II, whilst a higher setting will make them much more clear. If you are experiencing performance issues mid combat, lowering this setting may help.

Particle Quality is another graphics setting that wouldn't be too missed if you turned it down to save some frame rates.

Does not require any VRAM.

Performance Impact - 2/5

Priority - 2/5

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Foliage Quality

Foliage Quality graphics option Low compared to Ultra

[Slide over to compare Low vs Ultra or click for enlarged image]

What does the Foliage Quality setting do?

It affects the quality of foliage in Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord. A higher setting results in more abundant and higher detailed foliage in the environment. This adds some nice world filling detail to help round out the gaming experience, so its a good one to have turned up, if you can spare the FPS.

But its also a cheap one to get FPS back if you need some extra frame rates. Just turn down Foliage Quality graphics setting and you will save a bunch of FPS across most environments within Mount and Blade 2.

Does not require any VRAM.

Performance Impact - 4/5

Priority - 3/5

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Character Detail

Character Detail graphics option Low compared to Ultra

[Slide over to compare Low vs Ultra or click for enlarged image]

What does the Character Detail setting do?

An overall setting for the detail of character models. Higher settings mean higher quality, like resolution, animations etc.

Since Mount and Blade deals with large groups of characters at times, turning this setting up will result in more realistic-looking characters. Lower settings can make them seem more stiff, lifeless and doll-like.

Does not require any VRAM.

Performance Impact - 3/5

Priority - 4/5

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Environment Detail

Environment Detail graphics option Low compared to Ultra

[Slide over to compare Low vs Ultra or click for enlarged image]

What does the Environment Detail setting do?

Sets the details for certain environmental props. Increasing this setting will see improvements to quality with objects in the environment, such as pots and tools in villages, and other environmental details in the world.

Increasing this setting in Bannerlord Mount and Blade 2 will see a performance hit, especially in areas with a high density of props and objects. You will notice in our screenshots that the windows around the castle have more detail. This is a nice to have and goes well with the rest of the settings. Try and get environment detail turned on if you can.

Does not require any VRAM.

Performance Impact - 3/5

Priority - 4/5

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Terrain Quality

Terrain Quality graphics option Low compared to Ultra

[Slide over to compare Low vs Ultra or click for enlarged image]

What does the Terrain Quality setting do?

Adjusts the quality and detail of the terrain in Mount & Blade II. Increasing it will improve the terrain's resolution, as well as adding depth through improved meshes. May affect game performance as it will adjust all terrain.

With everything turned down low, setting Terrain Quality up to Max doesn't seem to make any obvious difference in Bannerlord. Not anything that would make you want to pay extra FPS for anyway. But this is one of those options that compliments other settings. So if you turn it up it adds a bit of depth and character to the landscape that enhances some of the other options when they are set higher than low. But on the whole it feels like you can do without Terrain Quality, if you want some FPS back.

Does not require any VRAM.

Performance Impact - 3/5

Priority - 2/5

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Number of Ragdolls

Number of Ragdolls graphics option Low compared to Ultra

What does the Number of Ragdolls setting do?

Sets the maximum number of realistic ragdoll simulations allowed simultaneously at any one time. Turning this setting to 0 means no characters can perform a realistic ragdoll simulation, whilst unlimited will allow any number of characters and objects to ragdoll at any given moment in Mount & Blade 2.

Ragdolls is a nice graphics option to have turned up in mass battles. Seeing hundreds of different soldiers, clashing and fighting one another is great to see but when the ragdoll is turned off it ruins the suspencion of disbelief in Bannerlord. You can get away with having it set to just a few ragdolls, if resource is a bit tight. So that way you can enjoy the ragdoll physics happening around you and not have to pay for it everywhere, even when you dont see it.  

Does not require any VRAM.

Performance Impact - 3/5

Priority - 4/5

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Occlusion Method

Occlusion Method graphics option Low compared to Ultra

[Slide over to compare Low vs Ultra or click for enlarged image]

What does the Occlusion Method setting do?

Occlusion Method adjusts the Ambient Occlusion technique used. Ambient Occlusion is a simulation of the obstruction of ambient light on certain objects, such as corners. Turning this setting up will increase the realism of objects and scenes in Bannerlord.

You must all be getting pretty familiar with this option. You want it on if you can, as it provides a level of depth to all scenery and objects in Mount and Blade 2. Ambient Occlusion is always pretty demanding though, so if you want to grab back some frame rates then you could turn this down.

For more details on Ambient Occlusion, check out our Ambient Occlusion graphics guide.

Does not require any VRAM.

Performance Impact - 4/5

Priority - 5/5

-----------------

Texture Filtering

Texture Filtering graphics option Low compared to Ultra

[Slide over to compare Low vs Ultra or click for enlarged image]

What does the Texture Filtering setting do?

Texture filtering affects the detail and quality of textures when viewed at certain angles. Lower settings will blur textures, whilst higher settings will retain sharpness and detail. This graphics option is also known as Anisotropic Filtering. Its a good setting to turn on to provide some nice environment upgrades but comes at a cost. We recommend paying this FPS cost otherwise you end up playing a very washed out game of Bannerlord.

Mount and Blade 2 can look very crap if you turn everything down to low and this is one of the key options to keeping the game looking pretty nice.

For more details on Texture Filtering, check out our Texture Filtering explained - graphics guide.

Does not require any VRAM.

Performance Impact - 4/5

Priority - 5/5

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Water Quality

Water Quality graphics option Low compared to Ultra

[Slide over to compare Low vs Ultra or click for enlarged image]

What does the Water Quality setting do?

Sets the Water quality. A higher value means a more detailed water simulation. Hard to see any difference between low and high water detail in these screenshots and indeed in the game. This screenshot comparison is taken from the interactive campaign map in Bannerlord. Not a massive performance hit to have this on but this is also not a graphics option you need to keep turned on if you dont want to. You will not notice any significant difference most of the time, whether it is on low or high. 

Does not require any VRAM.

Performance Impact - 2/5

Priority - 1/5

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Anti-aliasing

Anti-aliasing graphics option Low compared to Ultra

[Slide over to compare Low vs Ultra or click for enlarged image]

What does the Anti-aliasing setting do?

Sets the Anti-Aliasing technique, removing the jaggies from straight edges.

In our screenshots you can see all the edges are stepped in the Low setting image. Look to the top of the battering ram, the tree trunk and the leaves on the tree, and even down the length of the swords in the soldiers hands.

We recommend getting some form of anti aliasing on to smooth out the jaggies and temporal SMAA x2 actually seems to free up a tiny bit of VRAM, so you should probably turn that on, unless you need the FPS. 

VRAM requirement:

None: +0 MB (1639 MB)

FXAA: +35 MB (1674 MB)

SMAA: +63 MB (1702 MB)

SMAA x2: +91 MB (1730 MB)

Temporal SMAA: +109 MB (1748 MB)

Temporal SMAA x2: -14 MB (1625 MB)

Performance Impact - 5/5

Priority - 4/5

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Lighting Quality

Lighting Quality graphics option Low compared to Ultra

[Slide over to compare Low vs Ultra or click for enlarged image]

What does the Lighting Quality setting do?

This option adjusts the level of dynamic lighting and brightness throughout Bannerlord. With Lighting Quality turned up to max you get layers of depth in the lighting, depending on the time of the day. It certainly provides a nice level of underlying mood to the whole experience, but Lighting Qualilty turned up high comes at a pretty hefty cost.

This is probably one to leave up if you can but if you never have it on you wont miss it. Then when you upgrade your PC and can turn this graphics option on you can enjoy some extra cinematic washes of light to accompany your sunset besieging.   

VRAM requirement:

Low: +0 MB (1639 MB)

Medium: +78 MB (1717 MB)

High: +92 MB (1731 MB)

Performance Impact - 5/5

Priority - 3/5

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Decal Quality

Decal Quality graphics option Low compared to Ultra

What does the Decal Quality setting do?

Decal Quality is used to increase the number of temporary knocks and marks on an enemy or a wall when a sword hits them. This is a luxury, nice to have option, but certainly enjoyable and noticeable when up close and fighting one on one with another warrior in melee. But the honest truth is you probably wont miss it if it was never turned on. But it doesnt cost much from your PC so you might as well turn it on. 

For more details on Decal Quality, check out our Decal Quality explained - Graphics setting guide.

Does not require any VRAM.

Performance Impact - 1/5

Priority - 3/5

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Depth of Field

Depth of Field graphics option OFF compared to ON

What does the Depth of Field setting do? 

Enables the depth of field. Personal preference option. Do you want slightly blurred edges around the thing you have primary focus on? 

VRAM requirement:

Off: +0 MB (1639 MB)

On: +56 MB (1695 MB)

Performance Impact - 1/5

Priority - 1/5

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Screen Space Reflections

Screen Space Reflections graphics option OFF compared to ON

What does the Screen Space Reflections setting do? 

Enables the screen space reflections. This is a nice to have where you see reflections in water surfaces and windows. There are not really windows in Bannerlord and not many puddles, so this wont come up much. There are a few water sources in some of the maps and some lakes and water in the campaign map, but that doesnt really get much in the way of a visual benefit you would miss if you turned Screen Space Reflections off in Mount and Blade 2.

VRAM requirement:

Off: +0 MB (1639 MB)

On: +21 MB (1660 MB)

Performance Impact - 2/5

Priority - 2/5

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Cloth Simulation

Cloth Simulation graphics option OFF compared to ON

What does the Cloth Simulation setting do? 

Enables the cloth simulation. Uses GPU resources. People wear cloth and there are flags and other places which make use of this graphic setting, but on the whole not a big one to miss if you turn it off. No performance cost really though, so leave it on?

VRAM requirement:

Off: +0 MB (1639 MB)

On: +64 MB (1703 MB)

Performance Impact - 1/5

Priority - 2/5

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Interactive Grass

Interactive Grass graphics option Low compared to Ultra

What does the Interactive Grass setting do? 

Enables the deformable grass. Not much obvious impact and I cant say we really noticed the bendy grass being pushed aside all that much as we galloped through the plains to destroy our enemy. Keep Interactive grass turn on or off, whatever you fancy. Let us know if you have felt its a nice to have option to turn on in the comments below.

Does not require any VRAM.

Performance Impact - 1/5

Priority - 2/5

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Sun Shafts

Sun Shafts graphics option Low compared to Ultra

What does the Sun Shafts setting do? 

Enables the sun shafts. Personal preference but sometimes when you are laying siege to an enemy its nice to stand in a god ray and feel like you are the rightful ruler. Your slaughtering justified!

VRAM requirement:

Off: +0 MB (1639 MB)

On: +3 MB (1642 MB)

Performance Impact - 1/5

Priority - 4/5

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Subsurface Scattering

Subsurface Scattering graphics option Low compared to Ultra

What does the Subsurface Scattering setting do? 

Enables the subsurface scattering.

VRAM requirement:

Off: +0 MB (1639 MB)

On: +31 MB (1670 MB)

Performance Impact - 1/5

Priority - 3/5

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Tessellation

Tessellation graphics option Low compared to Ultra

What does the Tessellation setting do? 

Tessellation provides a layer of detail to certain Bannerlord surfaces by subdividing geometry and applying displacement maps. It comes at next to no cost so it is worth popping this on for some bonus levels of visual depth here and there. Most of the time we didn't see any impact or visual difference with the Bannerlord Tessellation option though.

Does not require any VRAM.

Performance Impact - 1/5

Priority - 1/5

-----------------

Bloom

Bloom graphics option Low compared to Ultra

What does the Bloom setting do? 

Enables the bloom effect. This can offer some atmospheric moments as the mists roll over the planes and you are getting ready for a big battle. The light will then bloom across the mists and planes giving you a sense of foreboding, if you let it.

VRAM requirement:

Off: +0 MB (1639 MB)

On: +42 MB (1681 MB)

Performance Impact - 2/5

Priority - 4/5

-----------------

Film Grain

Film Grain graphics option Low compared to Ultra

What does the Film Grain setting do? 

Enables the film grain. This is a personal preference choice again but we cant say we saw much difference most of the time between it being on or off.

Does not require any VRAM.

Performance Impact - 1/5

Priority - 1/5

-----------------

Motion Blur

Motion Blur graphics option Low compared to Ultra

What does the Motion Blur setting do? 

Enables the motion blur. Personal preference but we suggest turning it off so you can see the action more clearly. Plus Motion Blur has a slight performance FPS impact in Bannerlord

VRAM requirement:

Off: +0 MB (1639 MB)

On: +31 MB (1670 MB)

Performance Impact - 2/5

Priority - 1/5

-----------------

Conclusion

Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord best graphics settings roundup and conclusion -

Overall, Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord has a lot of PC graphical options to choose from and customize to get the best FPS performance for your gaming PC. And whilst most of them have little to no impact on frame rate performance, there are a few which seem to really tank the FPS.

The biggest FPS performance costs come from Shadow Type, Shader Quality, Lighting Quality and Anti-aliasing graphics settings causing the most frame rate drops in Mount and Blade 2.

However, what’s interesting here is that Lighting Quality needs a full game restart after being altered, otherwise the changes don’t take effect and you’ll notice a significant drop in performance still. Very odd, so be aware of that Graphics setting in particular.

Otherwise, the only other notable option to point out is that Texture Streaming does increase performance in Bannerlord and should be left on, even if the difference it makes is not that large. However this setting requires more VRAM so is only recommended for graphics cards that can support the extra video memory usage.

So hopefully that has given you an idea of what are the best settings in Mount and Blade 2 for your PC, which options you can turn all the way up to get the perfect balance of graphical quality, and which settings you should turn off to save precious frames per second.

Let us know if we missed anything worth mentioning, and tell us which settings you prefer to turn off, and which to turn all the way up!