AION 2 Best Graphics Settings for FPS: Specs, Upscaling, Fixes

AION 2 runs on a heavily modified Unreal Engine 5, with a huge open world and crowds of players in big fights, and a handful of options decide most of your frame rate. This guide gives the best AION 2 graphics settings for FPS as starting values for three kinds of PC, with the exact menu path and option names, upscaling and frame caps, the two combat control modes, and fixes for the startup and connection errors players hit most. Change one setting at a time and test in the same busy spot. Checked on 13 November 2026 for AION 2 Global (Season 1).

Short answer

• Set Display Mode to Borderless Window, native resolution, Resolution Scale 100%.
• Lower Mass Combat Quality first, then Shadow Quality, Effect Quality and Reflection Quality.
• Use an Upscaler at Quality instead of dropping Resolution Scale.
• Turn Vertical Sync off and NVIDIA Reflex on.
• Leave Frame Generator off unless you have an RTX 40-series card and already hold 60 FPS.
• There is no standalone FPS limiter; cap the frame rate in your graphics driver.

System requirements

The official Steam page lists these specs. NC's advice is modest: even the recommended PC is told to use the Low preset at 1080p.

	Minimum	Recommended
OS	Windows 10/11 (64-bit)	Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 2600 / Intel Core i5-10500	AMD Ryzen 7 3700X / Intel Core i7-11700
RAM	8 GB	16 GB
GPU	NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti (4 GB)	NVIDIA RTX 2070 (8 GB)
DirectX	12	12
Storage	100 GB, SSD recommended	100 GB, SSD recommended
Preset at 1080p	Very Low	Low

Secondary sources give the AMD equivalents as the RX 470 (minimum) and RX 5700 XT (recommended).

Where the settings are

Press Esc, open Settings (gear icon), then the Graphics tab and its Optimize sub-tab.

• Display: Display Mode (Fullscreen or Borderless Window), Resolution, Resolution Scale, Vertical Sync, Screen Refresh Rate, UI Proportion.
• Graphics Quality – Basic: Texture, Effect, Mass Combat, Model, View Distance, Vegetation, Shadow, Shading and Reflection Quality, plus Global Illumination, Cloud Quality, Post-Processing Quality and Anti-Aliasing.
• Graphics Quality – Advanced: Upscaler, Frame Generator, NVIDIA Reflex (On or Boost), Player Particle Effect Display, Volumetric Fog, Volumetric Light Scattering, Ambient Occlusion (NCAO), Water Reflection Method (Performance or Quality), Identical Player Appearance and [Abyss] Display as Tier Icon.

Changing any option switches Quick Settings to Custom, so pick the nearest preset first and adjust from there.

What to lower first

Work down this list and stop once your frame rate holds in a crowd.

1. Mass Combat Quality: guides put it first for crowds such as the Abyss, and you barely notice it while questing alone.
2. Shadow Quality: try one step down before the lowest.
3. Effect Quality and Player Particle Effect Display: skill effects pile up in groups.
4. Reflection Quality, with Water Reflection Method on Performance.
5. Volumetric Fog: off for a cheap gain.
6. Global Illumination, Volumetric Light Scattering and Ambient Occlusion (NCAO): smaller savings.

Match Texture Quality to video memory, not frame rate: High with 8 GB or more, Normal with 4 to 6 GB.

Starting values per PC tier

These are starting points, not benchmarks; test in a crowded place and move one option at a time.

Setting	Low-end (near minimum)	Mid-range (1080p to 1440p)	High-end (1440p and up)
Quick Settings	Very Low	Low, then raise single options	Low or higher, then adjust
Display Mode	Borderless Window	Borderless Window	Borderless Window
Upscaler	FSR or DLSS, Quality	DLSS or FSR, Quality	DLSS Quality, or off
Texture Quality	Normal	High with 8 GB	High
Mass Combat Quality	Lowest	Below the middle	Middle
Shadow Quality	Lowest	Middle	High
Volumetric Fog	Off	Off	Your choice
Vertical Sync	Off	Off	Off
NVIDIA Reflex	On, if available	On	On or Boost
Frame Generator	Off	Off	Only on RTX 40-series at 60+ FPS

Keep Resolution Scale at 100% in every column. On a GTX 1050 Ti, expect mass fights to drop frames whatever you change.

Upscaler, Frame Generator and Reflex

Upscaler. One detailed menu guide lists DLSS, FSR, TSR and TAA; other guides mention only DLSS, so check what your client shows. Use DLSS on an NVIDIA RTX card and FSR on anything else, at Quality, and keep Resolution Scale at 100% so the image is not scaled down twice.

Frame Generator. It needs an RTX 40-series card or newer. Leave it off until you hold a stable 60 FPS: it smooths a good frame rate rather than rescuing a bad one, and it does not help when the processor is the limit, as it often is in towns.

NVIDIA Reflex. On cuts input delay; try Boost if your card has headroom.

Frame cap and display mode

AION 2 has no traditional standalone FPS limiter. Vertical Sync holds you to the refresh rate but adds input delay, so set a frame rate limit in your graphics driver instead, at or slightly below your refresh rate. Do not use MSI Afterburner or RTSS for this: both are on the list of programs that clash with the anti-cheat at startup. Use Borderless Window, which settings guides recommend and which makes alt-tabbing painless.

Combat controls: AION 2 Mode or AION 1 Mode

AION 2 Mode is the default action camera: you aim with the mouse. AION 1 Mode is classic tab-targeting, closer to the original game; some guides call them Action Combat and Tab Target. Neither is a graphics option, but on a weak PC many players find tab-targeting more forgiving. We could not confirm the exact menu location; start with the Combat tab in Settings.

Common problems

Problem	What helps
Game closes after Play, crashes at the NC logo, or black screen with music	Usually NCGuard error 0xE0000013; see below
FPS drops in big fights	Lower Mass Combat Quality, then Shadow and Effect Quality
Stutter after long sessions	Restart the client; close browsers and overlays
Error 40309 or 40309:500	A PURPLE verification error, often temporary: wait and retry, check the phone-number format, stay on one network, turn off VPN or proxy
"Unable to connect to login server"	Usually the login service, not your PC: add PURPLE and AION 2 to firewall exceptions, test without third-party antivirus, close VPN and download tools
S:8970	Check server status, update the launcher, check the firewall
Long login queue	Relogging does not speed it up; do not change networks while you wait

NCGuard error 0xE0000013

NCGuard is the game's security module, and this startup error has several causes. Work through these in order:

1. Close RGB tools (ASUS Aura Sync, Armoury Crate, Corsair iCUE, Razer Synapse), monitors (CPU-Z, NZXT CAM), tuning tools (Process Lasso, MSI Afterburner, RTSS), the Steam and Discord overlays, and remote-desktop programs.
2. Verify the game files in Steam: Properties, then Installed Files.
3. Try a clean boot with msconfig, and update your graphics driver.
4. Install the June 2010 DirectX runtime only if the error names XINPUT1_3.dll.
5. On Intel 13th or 14th-generation processors, check for a BIOS update.

Do not delete NCGuard files, turn off Windows security, or download DLL files from unofficial sites.

High ping and region

Global has five regions: Europe, NA East, NA West, Latin America and Asia (Japan), with no region lock. Pick the closest; Oceania players usually choose Asia or NA West. Groups cannot form across regions, so play where your friends play. Use wired Ethernet, close background downloads and streams, and watch jitter as well as average ping. Most claims about paid routing tools come from their own sellers.

Tips

• Update the graphics driver before touching a slider.
• Test every change in the same crowded place, such as a busy hub or a Spacetime Rift.
• Keep the Steam and Discord overlays off; both clash with NCGuard on some systems.
• Install the game on an SSD, as Steam recommends.
• Restart the client after a long session if frame times start to wobble.

AionBot and this setup

AionBot does not touch your graphics settings, but it needs two things from them: the game in Borderless Window, so the bot window can sit beside it and you can switch between the two without a fuss, and a stable frame rate, so movement, targeting and the skill Rotation stay smooth; a driver frame cap gives you the second. Sort this out before the AionBot first-run setup, and if NCGuard will not start the game, fix that first with every extra program closed, the bot included. Automation breaks NCSOFT's rules for AION 2, the game runs its own anti-cheat (NCGuard), and NC banned tens of thousands of accounts in the October 2026 ban waves, so never bot on an account you cannot afford to lose. More guides are under settings.

FAQ

What are the best AION 2 settings for a mid-range PC?

Borderless Window, native resolution, Resolution Scale 100%, the Low preset as a base, DLSS or FSR at Quality, Texture Quality High with 8 GB, Volumetric Fog off, V-Sync off and Reflex on. If big fights stutter, lower Mass Combat Quality first.

Does AION 2 have an FPS limiter?

Not a traditional standalone one. V-Sync caps you at the refresh rate with some input delay, so use the frame rate limit in your graphics driver instead, and avoid RTSS and MSI Afterburner.

Should I use Frame Generator in AION 2?

Only with an RTX 40-series card or newer, and only once you already hold a steady 60 FPS. It does not help when the processor is the limit, such as in busy towns.

How do I fix NCGuard error 0xE0000013?

Close RGB, monitoring and tuning tools, overlays and remote-desktop programs, verify the files in Steam, try a clean boot and update the graphics driver. Never delete NCGuard files or turn off Windows security.