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Best The First Descendant settings for the NVIDIA GTX 980 (2026)

On a NVIDIA GTX 980 (paired with a balanced Intel Core i5-8600K-class CPU), The First Descendant runs at roughly 67 FPS at 1080p with our optimized settings — up from about 50FPS with everything maxed. Here's the configuration and what each setting costs.

The NVIDIA GTX 980 is a entry-level graphics card with 4GB of VRAM, and The First Descendant is a demanding, graphically heavy game. Paired with the Intel Core i5-8600K, it runs well at 1080p — about 67 FPS with FrameCoach's optimized settings, a clear jump from roughly 50 FPS with everything on High.

Across resolutions you can expect around 67 FPS at 1080p and 60 FPS at 1440p, dropping to roughly 47 FPS at 4K. The First Descendant offers ray tracing, but the NVIDIA GTX 980 isn't built for it, so we leave it off. With only 4GB of VRAM, keep textures a notch below max in The First Descendant at higher resolutions to avoid stutter. The biggest free win is FSR upscaling — set it to Quality for a large FPS boost at little visual cost.

ResolutionAll-High FPSOptimized FPS
1080p5067
1440p3060
4K1747
🚀 Biggest free win: enable FSR (Quality) — about +35% FPS for a small sharpness trade.
Recommended settings
Upscaling — FSRQuality+35% FPS
The First Descendant (Unreal Engine 5) supports DLSS, FSR and XeSS plus Frame Generation. The biggest, easiest FPS lever.
Ray TracingOffsaves FPS
Ray-traced reflections and shadows. Heavy and pointless in a fast looter-shooter - keep Off for high refresh.
TexturesUltra-1% FPS
Surface sharpness - cheap if it fits your VRAM. High on 8GB cards, Ultra for 12GB+.
Global IlluminationHighbaseline
Bounced Lumen lighting (Epic uses Lumen) - the heaviest non-RT setting. High over Ultra is a big saving.
ReflectionsHighbaseline
Reflection quality on water, glass and metal. High is a clean step below Ultra.
ShadowsHighbaseline
Shadow resolution and range. Medium/High is standard for fast play.
EffectsHighbaseline
Ability and gunfire effects. Lowering smooths chaotic boss fights.
Post-ProcessingHighbaseline
Bloom, motion blur and depth of field. Cheap; set to taste.
VegetationHighbaseline
Plants and scenery density. A small, safe gain when lowered.
VisibilityHighbaseline
Controls level-of-detail / how far objects, buildings and enemies render before culling. Mild pop-in when lowered.
Anti-AliasingOnbaseline
Edge smoothing. Cheap; leave On to cut shimmer.
Shader QualityHighbaseline
Material and surface shading detail. High is a clean, cheap trade.

⚡ Fine-tune this for your exact CPU & target FPS →

🎯 Can the NVIDIA GTX 980 run The First Descendant? See the verdict →

The First Descendant on other GPUs
Other games on the NVIDIA GTX 980
Frequently asked

What FPS does the NVIDIA GTX 980 get in The First Descendant?

With FrameCoach's optimized balanced settings, the NVIDIA GTX 980 averages around 67 FPS at 1080p in The First Descendant — up from about 50 FPS with everything on High.

Can the NVIDIA GTX 980 run The First Descendant at 1440p?

At 1440p with optimized settings, the NVIDIA GTX 980 averages roughly 60 FPS in The First Descendant — a smooth experience.

What are the best The First Descendant settings for the NVIDIA GTX 980?

Turn on FSR (Quality), keep ray tracing off for maximum FPS, and ease the heaviest options like Global Illumination and Reflections down a notch. The full per-setting breakdown is above.

FPS figures are estimates from a generalized model (hardware tier × game load × per-setting weights), not live benchmarks — real performance varies by scene, drivers and game version.