Mordor opens its doors in full splendor and fidelity, as "Middle-Earth: Shadow of War" gets released for PC with a tall order for its required hardware specs. PC gamers need not worry though, as there are several tips and tweaks to improve the performance of gaming hardware when playing the game.
"Shadow of War" followed the tradition which its predecessor, "Shadow of Mordor," began. Its system requirements have set the bar for PC gaming hardware threshold. The game, using its very own Firebird graphics engine requires a minimum of Intel Core i5-2300 or an Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) FX-4350 for a processor, NVIDIA GTX 660 or AMD HD 7870 for a graphics processing unit (GPU), and about 6 gigabytes (GB) of random access memory (RAM).
To enjoy the game in its full graphical radiance, PC owners will need the developer recommended Intel Core i7-3770 or AMD FX-8350 processor, NVIDIA GTX 970 or 1060, or AMD RX 480 or 580 GPU, and 12 GB of RAM. People who own systems more powerful than these can rest assured since they will not be having any hardware related performance issues with "Shadow of War."
For everyone else, however, turning down a few graphical settings might help redeem a few frames per second (FPS). Gamespot recommends keeping V-sync or vertical synchronization off since, while it reducing screen-tearing, it can actually make the game feel sluggish and laggy, and it does cost a few FPS. Textures are also advised to be set to High since Ultra is usually for the 4K texture pack and will require a beefy 8 GB of video memory.
Ambient Occlusion, despite being utilized by the game, is not specific as to which type is used, but the Medium setting was found to be a good compromise between performance and visual quality. Anti-aliasing (AA) may be one of the trickier options to balance, as different types of AA may have different visual effects, but one of the most popular methods right now is Temporal AA, which brings an acceptable mix of performance and visuals.
Everything else should be set to personal preference though players must keep in mind that resolution plays a big factor in frame rate. For everyone using the recommended specs or below, it is advised to stay at 1920 x 1080 (1080p) or lower.
"Middle-Earth: Shadow of War" is out now and is available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows.
