Par Online Games VIP Editorial
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IGN's PC settings guide for Star Wars Zero Company explains which options affect the CPU, GPU, VRAM, latency, and image quality.
Star Wars Zero Company can require careful PC tuning, according to IGN's Jacqueline Thomas. Her settings guide reports crashes, frame drops, and stutters during her time with the game, including issues on both a Lenovo Legion Go 2 and a desktop equipped with an RTX 5090.
IGN's guide identifies the CPU as an important limitation in many situations. Its testing found that lowering GPU-heavy options alone may not resolve frame drops, especially when the processor is already handling mission starts, effects, or hidden objects. The recommendations below explain which settings to adjust first, but they are an analysis of IGN's reported results, not independent OnlineGamesVIP testing.
IGN also reports that performance can dip during cutscenes and that even a system holding 60 frames per second may still experience hitches. The guide therefore focuses on matching each setting to the component it affects, rather than simply choosing the lowest available preset.
IGN's Jacqueline Thomas describes Star Wars Zero Company as an Unreal Engine 5 game that can be difficult to tune. Her central recommendation is to identify whether the CPU or GPU is limiting performance before changing settings. That distinction matters because lowering shadows, reflections, or global illumination is unlikely to fix a processor bottleneck.
IGN reports that, on the Lenovo Legion Go 2, the CPU was used at roughly 50 to 60 percent while the GPU sat around 70 to 80 percent. The guide interprets that balance as evidence that the handheld was leaving graphics performance unused because the CPU was the more important limit. IGN also reports occasional CPU spikes to 50 percent at the beginning of a mission on a desktop using a Ryzen 7 9850X3D and RTX 5090.
Analysis: These observations suggest that a lower resolution or more aggressive upscaling mode will not solve every hitch. If your GPU is not close to full utilization, start with the CPU-sensitive options rather than immediately reducing image quality. IGN specifically points to hidden objects and effect quality as early candidates for a weaker processor, although the supplied guide text ends while discussing effect quality and does not provide a complete recommendation for that setting.
IGN explains that Fullscreen gives the game exclusive use of the display, while Borderless Window fills the screen but continues rendering the Windows desktop underneath. Windowed mode places the game in a standard resizable window where the taskbar remains visible.
IGN recommends Fullscreen for a single-monitor setup and Borderless Window for players who use multiple monitors or switch to other applications frequently. That is a convenience-based choice rather than a universal performance rule. If you rarely leave the game, Fullscreen is the guide's preferred option for a simpler single-display setup. If frequent alt-tabbing is part of your routine, Borderless Window is the more practical choice according to IGN.
IGN's guide recommends choosing the upscaling technology associated with your graphics card manufacturer: FSR for AMD GPUs, DLSS for Nvidia GPUs, and XeSS for Intel GPUs. The guide recommends that most players use some form of upscaling to improve performance.
IGN's recommendation is based on matching the available technology to the GPU vendor, but it does not provide independent image-quality comparisons between these options. The safest starting point is therefore the vendor-matched choice, followed by a check for whether the resulting image looks acceptable at your chosen resolution.
IGN says this option controls the resolution scale used before the image is reconstructed. Its rule of thumb is Performance at 4K, Balanced at 1440p, and Quality at 1080p.
Analysis: This gives you a practical order of preference. Higher native resolutions require more rendering work, so IGN's more aggressive Performance recommendation is aimed at 4K. At 1080p, Quality preserves more of the source image because the starting resolution is already lower. These are guide recommendations, not guarantees for every graphics card or processor.
IGN describes Frame Generation as a feature that creates additional frames between natively rendered frames. The guide notes that this can raise the displayed frame rate but adds latency.
IGN nevertheless recommends considering the feature for a smoother image because Star Wars Zero Company is turn-based. The guide's reasoning is that the game does not demand the same rapid input response as a competitive action title. Analysis: Frame Generation should be treated as a smoothness option, not a fix for the underlying CPU or GPU workload. If the game is stuttering because of a processor spike, generating extra frames does not remove the cause of that spike.
According to IGN, this setting changes name according to the GPU vendor, but the underlying purpose is similar. These technologies reduce the rendering queue so frames are delivered as the CPU produces them, which lowers latency.
IGN recommends turning the relevant option on. The supplied guide does not give separate tuning advice for each vendor, so there is no confirmed reason in the source to prefer one of these technologies over another when the matching option is available for your hardware.
IGN identifies shadows as one of the first settings to reduce when the GPU is the bottleneck. The guide says the Low setting still produces acceptable-looking shadows in its assessment and recommends High for a mid-range PC and Low for a handheld.
Analysis: Shadows are a sensible first visual compromise if your graphics card is struggling. IGN's recommendations preserve more detail on a mid-range desktop while prioritizing performance on handheld hardware. If GPU utilization is low, however, the guide's broader CPU findings suggest that lowering shadows may have limited impact.
IGN explains that Global Illumination controls the quality of indirect lighting. The guide classifies it mainly as a GPU-bound setting and recommends Medium for a mid-range PC and Low for a handheld.
IGN also reports that the High and Ultra settings use ray tracing, meaning the jump from Medium to High can place a heavy load on the graphics card. The guide advises against treating this setting as the likely cause of performance trouble when the GPU is not close to full utilization.
IGN says Reflections are also primarily GPU-bound and use ray tracing. Because the game contains many reflective science-fiction surfaces, the guide considers this option potentially significant on weaker graphics cards.
IGN recommends Medium unless you have a high-end GPU. This creates a useful middle ground: you do not need to remove reflections completely to reduce their cost, while players with stronger cards have more room to retain the higher setting.
Post Processing
IGN reports that Star Wars Zero Company's Post Processing option combines several effects, including motion blur and bloom. The guide says this setting should not have a major performance impact, but recommends lowering it if motion blur is uncomfortable or distracting.
For both a mid-range PC and a handheld, IGN lists this setting as your choice. That means it is primarily an image-preference decision in the supplied guide, rather than a priority performance adjustment.
Balance VRAM use against processor load
Textures
IGN says Texture Quality mainly affects video memory rather than the CPU. The guide recommends monitoring VRAM during a mission and lowering textures only if usage is approaching the limit.
IGN's practical rule is Ultra for graphics cards with 10GB or more of VRAM, and Medium or Low for cards with less than 8GB. The supplied source does not specify what to choose for exactly 8GB or 9GB, so those cases remain unconfirmed by this guide. The safest source-based approach is to watch VRAM use instead of relying only on the capacity rule.
Common pitfall: Texture Quality is not presented by IGN as the first answer to general stutter. If the problem is caused by CPU usage, reducing textures may lower visual quality without addressing the main limitation. Use this setting when VRAM is the issue, not simply because the game feels uneven.
IGN explains that Effect Quality controls the detail of effects such as explosions, debris, and lasers. The guide identifies this as a CPU-sensitive setting and earlier recommends it as one of the options to lower first when the processor is weak.
The supplied publisher text ends during the explanation of Effect Quality. As a result, IGN's complete setting recommendation, including any suggested values for a mid-range PC or handheld, is not confirmed in the available source record. Do not treat a specific Effect Quality preset as an IGN recommendation unless the full guide supplies it.
Based on IGN's reported testing and recommendations, begin by deciding whether your hardware appears CPU-bound or GPU-bound. If the GPU is not heavily utilized, lower CPU-sensitive options first, with hidden objects and Effect Quality identified by IGN as relevant candidates. If the GPU is the limiting component, reduce Shadows, Global Illumination, and Reflections before cutting textures.
Next, choose the upscaler that matches your GPU vendor and use IGN's resolution-based starting points: Quality at 1080p, Balanced at 1440p, and Performance at 4K. Turn on the applicable latency feature, and consider Frame Generation if you value a smoother image and accept its latency cost.
After each change, check the same type of situation that caused the problem. IGN specifically reports trouble during cutscenes and mission openings, so a setting that looks fine in ordinary gameplay may not prevent those particular hitches. This is an analysis of the source's observations, not a claim that OnlineGamesVIP reproduced them.
What remains unknown
IGN's supplied guide text does not include a complete hardware comparison, minimum or recommended specifications, frame-rate test table, or confirmed patch timeline. It also does not establish whether later updates will resolve the reported crashes, frame drops, or cutscene hitches. The source says the author expects the game may become more stable over time, but that expectation is not a confirmed patch announcement.
The available text also stops partway through Effect Quality, so the full set of settings and any final preset recommendations cannot be reconstructed from the record. Players should use the confirmed advice above as a starting point, monitor CPU, GPU, and VRAM behavior, and watch for official updates or a complete version of IGN's guide before treating any unlisted setting as settled advice.