1 - Quality
I made 5 screenshots of the same point of view, each with a different Quality Level from the game.
Then I uploaded the images to Claude for a Quality Analysis & Rating, basis was 100% for Very High.
Here are its results:
| Criterion | Very High | High | Medium | Low | Safe Mode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw distance / LOD | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Shadows | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Atmospheric fog/depth | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Water detail | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Ground texture detail | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Character model/texture | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Edge sharpness / aliasing | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Total (/35) | 33 | 31 | 23 | 14 | 6 |
| Quality Index | 100% | 94% | 70% | 42% | 18% |
(Note: screesnhots from a random place on Toulan, it might not reflect every place in EU.)
Conclusion #1: Very High doesn’t add a lot (+6%) compared to High.
2 - FPS:
I also captured the FPS (with UI visible), and set the highest one (Low) as 100%:
| Setting | FPS | Relative to Low (163 FPS) |
|---|---|---|
| Low | 163 | 100% |
| Medium | 132 | 81% |
| High | 100 | 61% |
| Safe Mode | 90 | 55% |
| Very High | 79 | 48% |
(Note: these values are strictly connected to my PC, so ignore the FPS and read the rates only, which can even vary as well depending on your hadware.)
Conclusion #2: if your PC is suffering, take Low, not Safe Mode.
3 - And finally, Quality vs FPS:
3.1 - Equal weight (Quality = FPS)
| Setting | Quality % | FPS % | Combined Score (50/50) |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | 94% | 61% | 77.5% |
| Medium | 70% | 81% | 75.5% |
| Very High | 100% | 48% | 74% |
| Low | 42% | 100% | 71% |
| Safe Mode | 18% | 55% | 36.5% |
3.2 - You prefer a smooth experience ? Here FPS weights twice more
| Setting | Quality % | FPS % | Combined Score (weighted 1:2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 42% | 100% | 80.7% |
| Medium | 70% | 81% | 77.3% |
| High | 94% | 61% | 72% |
| Very High | 100% | 48% | 65.3% |
| Safe Mode | 18% | 55% | 42.7% |
3.3 - You prefer visual quality ? Here quality weights twice more
| Setting | Quality % | FPS % | Combined Score (weighted 2:1) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very High | 100% | 48% | 82.7% |
| High | 94% | 61% | 83% |
| Medium | 70% | 81% | 73.7% |
| Low | 42% | 100% | 61.3% |
| Safe Mode | 18% | 55% | 30.3% |
Conclusion #3: choose Low or Medium until you have a recent and powerfull PC.
The screenshots:
