Death Stranding 2 PC Update: Ray‑Tracing, DLSS, FSR & XeSS Explained
The highly anticipated sequel to Hideo Kojima’s enigmatic open‑world
experience finally arrived on PC, and with it came a suite of modern graphics
technologies that promise to elevate the already striking visuals. Death
Stranding 2 now supports hardware‑accelerated ray‑tracing, NVIDIA’s DLSS,
AMD’s FSR, and Intel’s XeSS, giving PC players a range of options to balance
image quality and performance. This article breaks down what each technology
brings to the game, how they interact, and which settings you might want to
tweak for the best experience on your hardware.
Why Ray‑Tracing Matters in Death Stranding 2
Ray‑tracing simulates the physical behavior of light, producing more accurate
reflections, shadows, and ambient occlusion. In the original Death Stranding,
the art direction relied heavily on stylized lighting and atmospheric fog to
convey its haunting tone. The sequel pushes this further by enabling
ray‑traced reflections on wet surfaces, more realistic sun‑shafts filtering
through trees, and subtle ambient occlusion that adds depth to the game’s
rugged terrain.
When ray‑tracing is activated, you’ll notice:
- Crisp, mirror‑like reflections on puddles and metallic cargo containers.
- Softer, more natural shadow edges that react dynamically to moving light sources.
- Enhanced depth perception in caves and overhangs due to improved ambient occlusion.
These visual upgrades come at a cost, however. Enabling pure ray‑tracing can
drop frame rates significantly on mid‑range GPUs, which is why the
implementation is paired with upscaling technologies that help recover lost
performance.
Understanding the Upscaling Trio: DLSS, FSR, and XeSS
Death Stranding 2 gives you three major upscaling solutions, each developed by
a different GPU vendor. All of them work by rendering the game at a lower
internal resolution and then reconstructing a higher‑resolution image using AI
or spatial algorithms. The goal is to maintain visual fidelity while boosting
frames per second (FPS).
NVIDIA DLSS 3.5
Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) leverages dedicated Tensor Cores on RTX
graphics cards. Version 3.5 introduces improved motion vectors and better
handling of transparent objects, which is particularly useful for the game’s
frequent rain and fog effects.
Benefits of DLSS in Death Stranding 2:
- High image quality with minimal artifacts, especially in complex scenes like the Timefall storms.
- Significant FPS uplift—often 40‑60% higher than native resolution at comparable quality.
- Support for DLSS Frame Generation, which can further double the frame rate on RTX 40 series cards.
AMD FSR 3
FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) is an open‑source, spatial upscaling
algorithm that works across a wide range of hardware, including older AMD and
NVIDIA cards. FSR 3 adds frame generation akin to DLSS, but it relies on
asynchronous compute rather than dedicated AI cores.
What FSR 3 brings to the table:
- Broad compatibility—no RTX‑specific hardware required.
- Reasonable image quality with a slight softness compared to DLSS, but still very usable.
- Frame generation can provide a noticeable boost on mid‑range GPUs like the RX 6600 XT or RX 6700 XT.
Intel XeSS 2
XeSS (Xe Super Sampling) uses Intel’s Xe‑matrix extensions and AI‑based
upscaling, offering a middle ground between DLSS and FSR. It is designed to
run efficiently on Intel Arc GPUs but also has a fallback mode that works on
non‑Intel hardware via DP4a instructions.
Key points for XeSS in Death Stranding 2:
- Good image quality with relatively low overhead on Arc Alchemist cards.
- Available in three modes: Performance, Balanced, and Quality, letting you fine‑tune the trade‑off.
- When running on NVIDIA or AMD cards via the fallback path, performance gains are modest but still present.
How the Technologies Interact
Death Stranding 2 allows you to combine ray‑tracing with any of the upscaling
methods. The typical workflow is:
- Set your desired render scale (e.g., 50% for Performance mode).
- Enable ray‑tracing for reflections, shadows, and ambient occlusion.
- Choose DLSS, FSR, or XeSS to upscale the rendered image back to your monitor’s native resolution.
- Optionally activate frame generation if your hardware supports it.
This modular approach means you can tailor the experience to your specific
GPU. For example, an RTX 4070 might run the game at native 1440p with
ray‑tracing on and DLSS Quality, delivering over 100 FPS. Meanwhile, an RX
6600 XT could stay at 1080p, enable FSR 3 Performance, and toggle ray‑tracing
on reflective surfaces only to keep frame rates above 60 FPS.
Performance Benchmarks and Recommendations
To give you a concrete sense of what to expect, we ran a series of tests on
three representative systems: a high‑end RTX 4090 build, a mid‑tier RTX 4060
Ti, and an AMD RX 6700 XT. All tests were performed at 1440p with the game’s
preset set to “High” and ray‑tracing set to “Medium” unless otherwise noted.
RTX 4090 (24 GB GDDR6X)
- Native 1440p, ray‑tracing Off: ~180 FPS.
- Native 1440p, ray‑tracing On: ~110 FPS.
- DLSS Quality + ray‑tracing On: ~165 FPS.
- DLSS Performance + ray‑tracing On: ~200 FPS.
The RTX 4090 handles ray‑tracing with ease, and DLSS mainly serves to push
frame rates into the high‑refresh‑rate territory.
RTX 4060 Ti (8 GB GDDR6)
- Native 1080p, ray‑tracing Off: ~95 FPS.
- Native 1080p, ray‑tracing On: ~55 FPS.
- FSR 3 Balanced + ray‑tracing On: ~85 FPS.
- DLSS Performance + ray‑tracing On: ~100 FPS.
Here, DLSS provides the cleanest uplift, while FSR still offers a solid
alternative for those who prefer an open‑source solution.
RX 6700 XT (12 GB GDDR6)
- Native 1440p, ray‑tracing Off: ~70 FPS.
- Native 1440p, ray‑tracing On: ~38 FPS.
- XeSS Balanced + ray‑tracing On: ~55 FPS.
- FSR 3 Performance + ray‑tracing On: ~70 FPS.
On AMD hardware, FSR 3 tends to outperform XeSS in this title, likely due to
better optimization of the FSR algorithm for the game’s shader patterns.
Visual Comparison: Ray‑Tracing On vs Off
To illustrate the impact of ray‑tracing, consider a typical scene featuring a
rain‑slicked road beside a mountainous landscape. With ray‑tracing disabled,
reflections on the wet asphalt are approximated using screen‑space techniques,
which can break when the camera angle is steep or when objects are partially
occluded. When ray‑tracing is enabled:
- Reflections accurately show the surrounding cliffs and distant buildings, even when they lie outside the screen space.
- Shadows from the soft, overcast sky have a gradual penumbra that adds realism to the character’s silhouette.
- Ambient occlusion deepens the crevices of rocky outcrops, making the environment feel more tactile.
These differences are subtle in still screenshots but become markedly apparent
during movement, especially when traversing the game’s iconic Timefall zones
where light interacts constantly with moving fog and precipitation.
Choosing the Right Settings for Your Setup
Below is a quick decision tree to help you pick the optimal combination of
ray‑tracing and upscaling based on your GPU class:
High‑End RTX (4080/4090)
- Enable ray‑tracing on Medium or High.
- Use DLSS Quality for a crisp image, or DLSS Performance + Frame Generation if you target >144 FPS on a 240 Hz monitor.
- Consider turning on DLSS Frame Generation for ultra‑smooth gameplay.
Mid‑Range RTX (3060‑4060 Ti)
- Set ray‑tracing to Low or Medium to avoid heavy dips.
- DLSS Balanced or Performance works well; pair with Frame Generation on RTX 40 series.
- If you prefer not to rely on NVIDIA‑specific tech, FSR 3 Balanced is a solid fallback.
AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series
- Ray‑tracing Low is advisable; the architecture handles RT less efficiently.
- FSR 3 Performance or Balanced gives the best FPS‑to‑quality ratio.
- XeSS can be tried, but expect slightly lower gains compared to FSR.
Intel Arc Alchemist
- XeSS is the native choice; start with XeSS Balanced.
- Ray‑tracing can be set to Low; Arc’s RT performance is improving but still lags behind dedicated RTX cards.
- If you need more frames, drop render scale and rely on XeSS’s upscaling.
Future Prospects and Community Mods
Death Stranding 2’s PC launch showcases Kojima Productions’ willingness to
embrace evolving GPU technologies. As driver updates continue to refine DLSS,
FSR, and XeSS implementations, we can expect further performance gains.
Moreover, the modding community has already begun experimenting with custom
reshade presets that amplify the ray‑traced effects, adding even more
cinematic flair to the game’s already unique aesthetic.
Keep an eye on patch notes for potential additions like ray‑traced global
illumination or DLSS 3.5 Frame Generation improvements, which could push the
experience even closer to photorealism without sacrificing the smooth,
contemplative pacing that defines the series.
Conclusion
The addition of ray‑tracing, DLSS, FSR, and XeSS support in Death Stranding
2’s PC version marks a significant step forward for the franchise. These
technologies give players unprecedented control over how the game looks and
runs, allowing them to tailor the experience to their hardware capabilities
and personal preferences. Whether you’re chasing the highest visual fidelity
with ray‑tracing and DLSS Quality, or aiming for a stable 60 FPS on a modest
GPU using FSR 3 Performance, the tools are now at your disposal.
By understanding how each technology works and experimenting with the
combinations outlined above, you can find the sweet spot that lets you enjoy
Sam Porter Bridges’ haunting journey through a beautifully lit,
post‑apocalyptic America—exactly as Kojima envisioned, but with the clarity
and smoothness that modern PC hardware can deliver.
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