The Best Arma Reforger Settings For Performance

Arma Reforger is a visually rich but hardware-intensive game. Even high-end PCs can experience performance issues if the graphics settings aren’t carefully configured. Whether you're exploring Everon solo or fighting it out in large multiplayer battles, optimizing your settings can make the difference between a stuttery mess and a smooth tactical shooter. This guide focuses on the best Arma Reforger settings for performance so you can enjoy high FPS without sacrificing essential visual clarity.

The key to boosting performance in Arma Reforger is knowing which settings to prioritize and which ones can be reduced or disabled entirely. With just a few adjustments, you can gain 20–30% more FPS regardless of whether you’re using a modest GPU or a powerful gaming rig.

The Arma Reforger Video Settings menu, where we will be tweaking Arma Reforger Settings to increase your FPS.

Quality Preset and Display Settings

Begin by setting the overall Quality Preset to Custom. This gives you full control over each parameter, which is critical for fine-tuning performance. Use Borderless Fullscreen for the best compromise between fluid alt-tabbing and stable framerate. The Render Scale should be set between 90% and 95% to increase performance while still maintaining clarity.

This adjustment reduces the game’s native resolution slightly but keeps it sharp using FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR). If you're running a weaker graphics card, enabling FSR is essential—it compensates for lower render resolution by upscaling the image with minimal quality loss.

V-Sync should be turned off unless you experience screen tearing. Disabling it will reduce input latency and give you a smoother experience. Similarly, while some users like to cap their FPS to reduce GPU usage, unlocking it entirely provides the most responsive gameplay. If your PC is powerful and stable, keeping the FPS limit off is ideal.

Draw Distances and Geometry

Arma Reforger’s massive maps tempt players to crank up draw distances, but this can crush your FPS. Set the View Distance to 2000 meters—high enough to see distant threats but low enough to maintain good frame rates. Object Draw Distance should be set to Medium. This balances vegetation and structure detail without overloading your system.

These two settings have a significant impact on how the world is rendered, especially during multiplayer matches. While increasing draw distance may add immersion, it costs performance with little strategic gain in most scenarios.

Anti-Aliasing and Visual Clarity

Anti-aliasing smooths out jagged edges but can be a major performance hog. In the Arma Reforger settings, there are two types: Hardware Anti-Aliasing and Post-Processing AA.

Turn off Hardware AA completely (it should also be ignored if you have turned Post-Processing AA on)—it consumes far more resources with diminishing returns. Instead, choose either FXAA (High) or SMAA under post-processing. SMAA offers a sharper image, while FXAA is softer and slightly blurrier. Both are much less demanding and offer a good balance between image quality and performance.

This tweak alone can add a significant number of frames and improve your visual clarity in Arma Reforger.

Post-Processing Effects

Disable Nearby Depth of Field and Depth of Field Quality. These add a cinematic blur that doesn’t translate well in gameplay and slightly reduce performance. You’ll gain a few extra frames and clearer aiming, especially when using iron sights or red dot optics.

Contact Shadows, Screen Space Reflections, and Ambient Occlusion should all be turned down or off. These settings enhance realism but often go unnoticed during firefights. Turning off Contact Shadows alone can gain you 10–20 FPS, especially in urban or forested areas. Set Ambient Occlusion to Low to retain some shading in buildings without tanking your performance.

Scope Rendering and Cursor

Disabling Use 2D Scopes will allow for Picture-in-Picture rendering, which uses more resources but maintains peripheral awareness. If you need extra performance and don’t mind sacrificing immersion, enabling 2D scopes can give a boost. Software Cursor can be toggled based on personal preference—it has no measurable impact on FPS.

Textures, Filtering, and Models

Set Texture Detail to High if your GPU has 8GB or more of VRAM. On systems with less memory, Medium or Low is better. Texture Filtering should be set to Low, as this setting has a surprisingly high impact—changing it can shift your framerate by 5–10 FPS.

Model Geometry Detail should be on Low. The visual difference between Low and Medium is minimal in fast-paced situations, but the performance gains are significant. Terrain Surface Detail can be set to Parallax, which provides decent visuals with stable performance.

Environment and Shadows

Environment Quality is one of the most underrated performance killers in your Arma Reforger settings. It controls things like cloud resolution, which dramatically affects framerate during scattered cloud weather. Set it to Low and you should hardly notice. In most weather conditions, the visual difference is negligible.

Grass Quality and Grass Draw Distance are among the biggest performance drains. Set Grass Quality to the Lowest and Grass Draw Distance to around 100. This change alone can net you up to 20 FPS, especially in grassy fields or forests.

Shadow Quality should be set to Low, and Distance Shadows should be turned Off. These have limited visual utility in tactical gameplay but consume a lot of GPU power. Also, use the Standard Render Target Format for compatibility and stable rendering.

Final Tweaks for Efficiency

Don’t overlook your Field of View (FOV). A 90° FOV offers better situational awareness with no impact on FPS. Map your most-used functions, like your in-game map, to side mouse buttons to reduce delay and keep your hands on movement keys.

If you experience issues joining modded servers, it helps to clear your mod list, then redownload the required content from the Workshop rather than through the server browser. This isn’t a direct graphics setting, but it prevents crashes that could interrupt your optimized gameplay.

Wrap-Up

By applying these optimized settings, you're getting the best Arma Reforger settings for high FPS on virtually any machine. The focus should always be on removing the most taxing effects that have little gameplay value, such as contact shadows and environment quality during certain weather. While everyone’s system is different, these recommended adjustments provide a rock-solid baseline that balances visual clarity with smooth, responsive gameplay.

Tweak these suggestions based on your specific hardware, but always remember: in Arma Reforger, clarity and fluidity will win the fight long before fancy lighting or extra grass will.