NieR Automata: Performance on PC - how to improve? NieR Automata guide, tips

Last update: 05 August 2021

This page of the guide contains tips and hints on how to improve the performance and graphics quality of NieR Automata on PC, and also how to get rid of the most serious technical problems associated e.g. with the image rendering in the wrong resolution.

• Poor technical condition of the game - general information
• FAR (Fix Automata Resolution) Mod
• HD Texture Pack Mod
• NA Partial LOD Fix Mod
• 2021 game update

Poor technical condition of the game - general information

Nier Automata was originally released only for PS4 and works perfectly on this particular console. You should not experience any major technical issues or game freezes while playing on PlayStation 4.

In March 2017, a port of Nier Automata was released for personal computers. Unfortunately, unlike the console edition it came with a lot of technical problems and poor graphics quality compared to what modern PCs can do.

PlatinumGames has ultimately decided to release a special patch, which is supposed to solve all the biggest technical issues. Its most important features are described in further down this page.

Alternatively, you can also use mods that eliminate the main problems and improve the performance of the game. The most important mods for the PC version are listed below.

FAR (Fix Automata Resolution) Mod

This is one of the most popular mods for the game, the purpose of which is to eliminate the most serious problems of the PC edition of NieR Automata. The main improvements of this unofficial mod are:

1. Fixing an error with rendering the image in the wrong resolution - without the mod, the game may scale the graphics incorrectly, which can result in a blurry image.
2. Fixing serious game performance issues - After installing the mod, the game should work in more frames per second.
3. Improving game stability - with the mod installed, NieR Automata should no longer lag or crash that often.

The FAR mod requires the Visual C 2015 set to work correctly.

HD Texture Pack Mod

The main purpose of this mod is offering higher resolution textures than the standard ones. By default, the game can unfortunately look very ugly, even in high resolution and the highest graphics settings. Graphical improvements included both character models and the environment appearance. It makes the game look more up to date.

HD Texture Pack requires the FAR Mod to work correctly. Install the Fix Automata Resolution mod first.

NA Partial LOD Fix Mod

This mod aims to solve the incorrect LoD (Level of Detail) issue, which prioritizes performance over graphics, and this results in worse image quality.

Without the mod installed, the game only renders in max detail the objects that are the closest to you. The mod forces the game to render even distant objects in more detail. Additionally, there's now a much smaller gap between the level of detail of the closer and more distant objects.

It should of course be noted that after installing the mod, the system requirements increase but if your computer manages to run the game in the new settings, it will look noticeably nicer.

2021 game update

Ever since NieR Automata was released on PC, the players demanded that the developer fixes the biggest bugs (freezing, animation lags, incorrect image scaling), improves the performance stability and overhauls the graphics. After over 4 years since the PC release of the game, PlatinumGames decided to respond to the players' complaints. On July 15, 2021 a new major patch was released for the PC edition of the game. It is available for all owners of the PC version, including those who purchased the game on Steam.

Here is an overview of the most important changes offered by the new game update:

1. Added Borderless mode to the graphics settings.
2. Added the Fidelity DFX CAS feature.
3. The game can now recognize HDR availability on the player's computer. When a compatible monitor or TV is detected, the game can automatically start with HDR turned on. The setting will remain off if there is no compatible display.
4. Improved anti-aliasing settings.
5. User interface textures optimized for 4K resolution.
6. Fixed quality of prerendered cut-scenes in the game, which are now displayed at 60 frames per second without the artificial stretching present before.
7. Added the Global Illumination feature related to ambient lighting - it has three different settings (High, Medium and Low).
8. Improved Ambient Occlusion and Bloom effects - they now adapt to the current resolution better.
9. Improved switching between full screen and playing in the windowed mode and also between playing with or without a border.
10. Removed the mouse cursor from the screen when playing with a gamepad.
11. Framerate stabilized to remain at constant 60 frames per second.