Mortal Kombat 11 remains the top pick for gamers that like hardcore action games. Early rumors suggested that MK11 will base on Unreal Engine 4, which definitely would be a game-changer. But NetherRealm makes it clear to the fans that they are not using Unreal Engine 4 and developing the game on a customized version of Unreal Engine 3 that is different from Epic’s Engine. This customized engine promises high-quality graphics and higher in-game settings.
Like most fighting games in the genre, Mortal Kombat gameplay ties to the frame rates per second. In other words, the overall crisp and gameplay of Mortal Kombat 11 depend on FPS. It works great till 60 fps. The game’s limitation is that there is no way to play the game at higher frame rates than the 60fps cap. The frame rates keep dropping without optimal settings.
To keep things simple regarding the frame rates, tuning the graphics settings is essential. Over 60fps game behavior will kill the gaming experience and all the smoothness. To achieve the perfect frame rate, follow the guide and mend the settings according to your PC build.
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Best Graphics Settings in Mortal Kombat 11
For a gamer, performance is the main advantage besides skill to get a win over the competition. To address the performance part of Mortal Kombat 11, we have put together this performance guide. It helps you to get balanced gameplay with great visuals and nearly stable 60 frame rates per second.
Basic Graphics Settings
When accessing the game settings, there are two types of graphics settings: basic and advanced settings. To access the basic mode, get to settings and then the graphics tab.
Display No – It displays the screen selection menu and can decide between screen selection and play the game on the selected screen.
Video Mode – Mainly for selecting the aspect ratio of the game screen. It contains options to either play game on the limited screen or full screen
Screen Resolution – It is clear from the name that this setting aims to select the desired screen resolution. Focus on choosing the resolution according to the monitor resolution. Any setting below the actual screen resolution blurs the projected image. There is an option to select a proper refresh rate that ultimately contributes to the quality of gameplay.
VSync – This parameter gives options to set the highest image refresh quality. But it only works with the monitors that are compatible with the Vsync.
Dynamic Resolution – It targets the mid-range and low-end PC builds. Blurring the image to some extent increases the overall speed of the gameplay.
Frameskip – Like Dynamic Resolution, it also blurs the image a little and improves the overall game performance on mid to low PC builds.
Here are the graphics or video settings that work better on most PCs.
| Video Mode | Full Screen (Better Gameplay) |
| V-Sync | Off (If On can burden PC and need a compatible monitor) |
| Dynamic Resolution | Off (Turning it on cause reduced image quality) |
| Frameskip | Off (If on it reduces image quality |
| Graphics Settings Preset | Custom |
Advanced Graphics Settings
Once inside the basic graphics settings, press V to go directly to advanced mode.
Texture Quality: This parameter depends on VRAM and RAM “Check this VRAM guide“. Texture quality targets the resolution of the textures that are present inside Mortal Kombat 11. Higher texture settings ensure higher quality and contribute towards the clarity and detailing in the game. But need to set according to the RAM and VRAM of the system.
Antialiasing Mode: When it comes to graphics, antialiasing (AA) is the most demanding option in Mortal Kombat 11, with four different options. These types of antialiasing include Off, TAA, FXAA, FXAA+TAA. There needs a balance for optimal performance between these options as antialiasing to soften the edges of the objects and give them a good look, so turning AA Off causes low image quality. Out of the other three options, FXAA has a minimal impact on performance and slightly softens the images. On the other hand, TAA is more advanced and gives better image quality but resource hungry. FXAA+TAA combines the effects of both and produces an optimal visual quality with a balanced performance impact.
Anisotropic Filtering: At oblique angles, anisotropic filtering provides clarity in textures visuals. It has minimal impact on frame rates, so this parameter worthy of moving towards the upper end.
Bloom: Bloom is a visual preference, and for some, it is a cool effect where fingers of light bleed from a strong source of light in a halo pattern. Unlike other visual presets, it has little or no impact on the frame rates, so using it does not cause any performance issues.
Motion Blur: It acts as a cosmetic effect and keeps the cinematic feel in the fights. Motion blur affects frame rates and lowers them. Low-end hardware needs to turn Off this effect to free the resource and get optimum performance.
Lighting: Being an option of high demand in Mortal Kombat 11, lighting handles the complexity of character, objects, and game environment. Lighting directly affects the realistic look in the game, and higher lighting contributes towards better effects. Contrary to this advantage, lighting hits the resources big time and drops the frame rate. Turning it Off is not the solution as it is the largest factor in graphics quality. According to hardware, lighting needs a balance between medium to high settings.
Ambient Occlusion: It causes improvement of overall fidelity and dependant on GPU. Ambient Occlusion handles the brightness and lighting of an object that are close to each other.
Particle Density: This parameter alone plays an essential role in graphics in action games. Particle density in Mortal Kombat 11 handles the special moves and aftermaths of those moves. Any blood, sparks, and special effects need particle density factor. Although it causes load on the graphics card, a mid-ranged PC takes less impact at high settings.
Particles Mode: It doesn’t matter that this parameter runs on low, medium, or high settings as long as GPU or CPU handles it. This setting can work with CPU or GPU, but by default, GPU runs it. For rendering particles out of CPU and GPU, use the one that feels less bottlenecked.
Shadow Quality: Ideally, the graphics’ shadow quality affects the image and frame rate inside any game. But Mortal Kombat 11 shows little effect on FPS, and a higher setting ensures better resolution and improved shadow details of the characters and overall environment.
For the best experience, following the advanced Graphics setting of Mortal Kombat 11 is recommended.
| Texture Quality | Medium |
| Antialiasing Mode | TAA |
| Aniso Filtering | 8x |
| Bloom | Off |
| Motion Blur | On |
| Lighting | Medium |
| Ambient Occlusion | On |
| Particle Density | Medium |
| Particles Mode | GPU |
| Shadow Quality | Medium |
How to Optimize Mortal Kombat 11 Performance?
Due to high hardware requirements, Mortal Kombat 11 cause problem for players with Pc that bottlenecked hardware. In terms of graphics demand, the game is graphics hungry. If the settings that we provided above doest work for you, you may consider tweaking the below-mentioned settings to the lower end.
Texture quality affects the visuals of the game and comprises the hardware for resources. Lower the quality to get speedy gameplay, but the visual quality may get a hit.
Similarly, shadow quality uses PC resources with high intensity, so turning this parameter to the lower end gives more FPS.
Antialiasing and lighting affect the resources to a greater extent. Turning these settings to a minimum level reduces the visual experience of the game. Objects don’t look smooth, and shiny lighting shows no more in the game. But after turning these parameters off, additional FPS causes smooth gameplay.
To categorize the performance impact and priority index of these parameters, get the below table’s assistance.
| Parameter | Performance Impact (1-5) | Priority (1-5) |
| Texture Quality | 2 | 3 |
| Antialiasing Mode | 3 | 4 |
| Aniso Filtering | 1 | 4 |
| Bloom | 1 | 0 |
| Motion Blur | 3 | 1 |
| Lighting | 4 | 5 |
| Ambient Occlusion | 2 | 4 |
| Particle Density | 3 | 4 |
| Particles Mode | 2 | 0 |
| Shadow Quality | 2 | 4 |
Best Controller Settings
It is straightforward to set the controller for MK11, as training mode helps check the key combinations. So after getting skilled technically, try to train the controller to better handle the characters and their movements.
Here is a complete guide if you need help in setting up controller to PC.
For getting started with controller combination, head to the Options menu and get to the Controls tab. There are several options in that tab but don’t worry. We have got your back.
Release check options are specially made for joysticks and prove annoying. Toggling this setting On causes a special attack to land after releasing the button. It is better to keep this Off. Krushing blow should be On all the type as it allows delivering of Krushing blow by pressing down the keys. For beginners, this parameter can cause an unintentional impact, so keep it Off.
For input window timing, it is better to keep the value to medium. On “Long,” while delivering special moves, you get plenty of time, but it hinders smooth fights. On “Short” time, windows are small, and landing a combo gets difficult.
Keep alternate control On for D-Pad and Off for thumbstick. This function is useful for people who like to play using a fight stick. Button shortcuts add button combinations for special moves or landing combos. The below table contains controller parameter and their settings.
| Release Check | Off |
| Krushing Blow | On |
| Input Window Timing | Medium |
| Alternate Control | D-Pad (On), Thumbstick (Off) |
| Input Shortcuts | On |
| Button Shortcuts | On |
Conclusion
Mortal Kombat 11 is an action and fun-packed game that requires higher graphics demand. In this article, all the things from graphics to the controller got addressed. Follow this guide to master the skills in the game and gain an advantage over other players.
If you got any queries related to the best game settings for Mortal Kombat 11, let us know and leave your feedback in the comment section.
