# Phantom Blade Zero PC performance: the fixes and settings players use > How long shader compilation takes, the Nvidia driver S-GAME recommends, what ray tracing and frame generation do to the game, and the frame rates players report on their PCs in launch week. By Creative Cult Research. Published 29 October 2026. Phantom Blade Zero peaked at 723,876 players at once on launch day, by SteamDB's count, and PC performance comes up in its players' reviews as often as the combat.[^4][^1] Below is what S-GAME advises and what players report from launch week, so you can get it running well before your first fight. [What players think of the game itself](https://creativecult.digital/games/phantom-blade-zero) is on our game page. ## The short version - **Install the day-one patch** before your first launch. It's about 5 GB and improves ray tracing and path tracing performance.[^2] - **On an Nvidia card, use driver 617.42.** S-GAME saw unstable performance on driver 621.01 and recommends rolling back with a clean installation until Nvidia's next driver.[^2] - **Let shader compilation finish.** Most players wait 15 to 35 minutes on the first launch.[^1] - **Start with DLSS or FSR on Quality**, the setting most players with smooth results use.[^1] - **Turn ray tracing off** unless you have a high-end card, and turn it off first if you see flickering light or stutter.[^1][^2] ## Before you launch it S-GAME asks PC players to install the game on an SSD. It takes about 145 GB, and the studio asked for 300 GB of free space during the pre-load.[^3] The day-one patch also fixes a set of bugs, and copies pre-loaded before launch need it before they start.[^2] S-GAME says it spent a long time on the game's look without ray tracing, so each area stays true to its art direction with it off, and that it tested the game on mid-range and lower-end PCs and on handhelds.[^2] Players echo the driver advice, and several blame crashes to desktop and sudden frame drops on driver 621.01.[^1] ## Shader compilation The first launch compiles shaders before you can play, and no PC topic comes up in more reviews. Most players report 15 to 35 minutes. Fast processors finish in about 10, and some players waited close to an hour.[^1] It takes the whole processor while it runs, so plan to leave the PC to it. Players report it running again after a game update or a driver change, so rolling back to 617.42 means a second wait.[^1] ## Stutter Players split on stutter. Many on capable PCs report smooth play with none. Others describe traversal stutter when moving into new areas, short hitches as cutscenes start and, on some systems, stutter in fights. Several find ray tracing makes it worse.[^1] Results vary even on similar hardware, and some players on the recommended specs or better still see stutter and frame drops.[^1] ## Ray tracing and path tracing On high-end cards, path tracing runs better than players expect. With DLSS on Quality, they report 60 to 120 frames per second at 1440p with path tracing on, and about 70 to 75 at 4K on an RTX 5090.[^1] On most other PCs, players turn ray tracing off. With it on, they describe light that flickers in sunlit areas, a grainy image, stutter while moving and trouble with anti-aliasing, and turning it off fixes each of them.[^1] ## Frame generation and upscaling Most players with smooth results use DLSS or FSR on Quality. Frame generation divides them. Some find 2x frame generation clean on top of a steady base frame rate, and others see smearing, artifacts and stutter with it on, more so at higher multipliers.[^1] ## Frame rates players report These are frame rates players give in their reviews, with the settings they name.[^1] - **RX 570 with a Core i7-6700:** low settings with FSR, 50 to 60 fps. - **RTX 2060:** 1440p on medium, smooth with no noticeable stutter. - **RTX 3060:** very high settings with DLSS on Quality, about 60 fps. - **RTX 4060:** high settings with ray tracing, 90 to 100 fps. - **RTX 5060:** very high settings with DLSS, above 100 fps. - **RTX 3080:** high to very high settings, 90 to 100 fps, with some stutter. - **RTX 4070 Ti:** 60 to 80 fps. - **RTX 5090:** 4K with path tracing and DLSS on Quality, 70 to 75 fps without frame generation and 100 to 120 with 2x. ## Steam Deck and handhelds S-GAME says it tested the game on handhelds and supports 16:10 screens.[^2] Players on the ROG Ally X report smooth play on medium settings, and 55 to 60 fps on high with ray tracing off, which falls to about 20 with it on. Reports from the Steam Deck and the Legion Go S are rougher, with frame drops in cutscenes and crashes.[^1] ## Ultrawide screens S-GAME built in support for screens wider than 3:1, and players confirm it works at 21:9 and 32:9.[^2][^1] ## The PC you need - **Minimum, 1080p at 30 frames per second with upscaling:** Core i7-8700K or Ryzen 5 3600, 16 GB of RAM, and a GeForce GTX 1660 with 6 GB or Radeon RX 5500 XT with 8 GB. - **Recommended, 1440p at 60 frames per second with upscaling:** Core i5-10600K or Ryzen 5 5600X, 16 GB of RAM, and a GeForce RTX 3060 Ti with 8 GB or Radeon RX 6700 XT with 12 GB. Both need Windows 10 or 11 and an SSD.[^1] ## More on Phantom Blade Zero See [what players say about the game](https://creativecult.digital/games/phantom-blade-zero), [its difficulty modes](https://creativecult.digital/research/phantom-blade-zero-difficulty), and how it compares with [Black Myth: Wukong](https://creativecult.digital/compare/phantom-blade-zero-vs-black-myth-wukong), [Sekiro](https://creativecult.digital/compare/phantom-blade-zero-vs-sekiro) and [Onimusha: Way of the Sword](https://creativecult.digital/compare/phantom-blade-zero-vs-onimusha-way-of-the-sword). ## Sources [^1]: Steam: Phantom Blade Zero, store page and user reviews. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4115450/ [^2]: S-GAME, Reason and Madness, launch letter and day-one notes by Soulframe Liang, creative director and CEO, 28 October 2026. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/4115450/view/1847920302231212 [^3]: S-GAME, Ready your blade!, pre-load notes, 26 October 2026. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/4115450/view/1847286114044771 [^4]: SteamDB, Phantom Blade Zero player charts. https://steamdb.info/app/4115450/charts/ Page: https://creativecult.digital/research/phantom-blade-zero-pc-performance