This guide can help u solve all kinds of performance issues ranging from optimisation on decent systems to turning down graphics on ultra low end ones

Overview

What is this sorcery?

So payday 2 is an awesome game no doubts in that it goes on sale for cheap and is a blast when played with friends and even though its fairly old at this point its still one of the most played games on steam with a very active community.

But as fun the game is it isn’t the most optimised one on the planet and this guide aims to help u fix those issues using mods and config edits.

Prerequisites

Stuff you need beforehand

 

Super BLT

So this is an absolute necessity for this guide to function correctly.

Super BLT – [znix.xyz]

Download from the link above and do properly follow the installation instructions on the site.

You might also need to download BeardLib for other mods so check the mod requirements

BeardLib – [modworkshop.net]

Config Edit

Editing the Configuration file

Editing the config file will give u access to options and modifiers that aren’t available in the in-game settings.

To do this u need to

• First press Win + X key and type appdata then press enter.
• Then go to \Local\PAYDAY 2 in there
• and edit the renderer_settings.xml file and paste the text below in the exact way mentioned.

 

 <render_settings>
 <variable name="max_anisotropy" value="0"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_default" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="shadow_quality_default" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_managed_backdrop" value="false"/>
 <variable name="dynamic_lights" value="disabled"/>
 <variable name="shadow_quality" value="disabled"/>
 <variable name="effect_quality" value="disabled"/>
 <variable name="environment_detail" value="0"/>
 <variable name="post_effect_quality" value="disabled"/>
 <variable name="shadow_map_size" value="0"/>
 <variable name="anti_aliasing" value="0"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_backdrop" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_buildings" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_buildings_bump" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_buildings_low" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_characters" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_default" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_effects" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_ground" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_ground_bump" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_gui" value=""/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_lightmaps" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_no_lod" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_plants" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_player_vehicles" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_props" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_props_bump" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_props_high" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_silhouettes" value="very low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_sky" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_vehicles" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_weapons" value="very_low"/>
 <variable name="texture_quality_weapons_third" value="very_low"/>
 </render_settings>

To edit the file copy the text between <render_settings> and </render_settings> and paste them between your config files <render_settings> and </render_settings>.

You might wanna enable the dynamic lights setting in the above text because disabling it can cause a few lighting glitches that are annoying tho it can cause FPS to drop a bit

Mod_overrides

The Asset Mods

To install them

• go to your PAYDAY 2 folder by going into steam right clicking payday 2 and browse local files
• go into Assets folder
• if there’s a mod_overrides folder than leave it otherwise create one

Paste these mods into the folder

• LemonCat Macro Packs by LemonCat: This is a mod for replacing textures with low res ones and is suited for low end hardware

  Main – [modworkshop.net]

  Smoke – [modworkshop.net]
   

  There are more but these are the ones that affect the most FPS

• Compressed Enemies by RainbowFishcakes: Similar to Lemon Cats mod,reduces res of textures

  Medic – [modworkshop.net]

  Zeals – [modworkshop.net]

• Map Optimisations by Some Furry uses texture compression in specific maps to save memory and can have a decent impact on framerate

  Hells Island – [modworkshop.net]

  White House – [modworkshop.net]

  San Martin Bank – [modworkshop.net]

 

BLT Mods

To install them

• Go into the PAYDAY 2 folder then into Mods folder and paste there

• Low Violence Mode – [modworkshop.net]

  Removes the dead bodies

• Celer – [z77.fr]

  Adds Portals and occuliders in the game

• Iter – [z77.fr]

  Improves Ai navigation

• Map Based Optimisations – [modworkshop.net]

  Like Celer for wider range of maps

• Performance Friendly Effects – [modworkshop.net]

  Decreases effect particles in-game

• Performance Comes First – [modworkshop.net]

  Optimises CPU usage for improved performance

• Lower Shadow Map Mod – [modworkshop.net]
• Ultimate Fps Reborn Full – [modworkshop.net]

  This has another version which has a lesser impact on graphics called reborn minus.

• No Post Processing!+Outlines OFF+No Blue Filter on Main Menu V3 – [modworkshop.net]

  This has another version that just turns off post processing.

 

Credits

Special Thanks to

• LowSpecGamer – [youtube.com]

  For The config edit

• LemonCat

  For The Macro packs

• Luffy

  For Lower Shadow Map Mod

• test1

  For Low Violence Mode

• Jarey

  For Performance Friendly Effects

• TldQ

  For Iter

• Andole

  For The Fixes and Performance Comes First
   

  And everybody who has contributed in any of these mods.

 

I hope you enjoy the Guide we share about PAYDAY 2 – Best graphics settings for low-end pc; if you think we forget to add or we should add more information, please let us know via commenting below! See you soon!