Unreal Engine 5 makes Arknights: Endfield look incredible, but the tech test can be a little wild on PC. You will notice it fast: the "Auto" preset loves to chase visuals, and your frame time graph pays the price. If you want the game to feel steady, head straight into Custom and start with the settings that actually move the needle. Even if you are just here to test the build, getting a stable baseline first saves a ton of fiddling later, and it leaves you more time to play (or do something else, like Arknights endfield boosting) without wrestling the menu every session.
Cut The Big Three
Shadows, volumetric fog, and reflections are usually the first to blame when the game dips mid-fight. Drop shadows one or two steps before you touch anything else; it is often the quickest win. Volumetric fog is another sneaky one, especially in wide outdoor scenes. Turn it down and the image still looks fine, just less "cinematic." Reflections are nice in screenshots, but in motion most people will not miss them, and the performance swing can be huge on mid-range cards.
Pick A Sensible Frame Target
A lot of players chase 120 because it sounds better on paper. In practice, 60 with clean frame pacing often feels smoother than an unstable 100-plus that spikes every few seconds. Cap it at 60, then watch for the stutters that come from inconsistent frame times. If you have an Nvidia GPU, DLSS Balanced is a great middle ground; it keeps the picture sharp enough while taking pressure off the GPU. Also try Nvidia Reflex on "On" rather than "On + Boost" if Boost causes weird swings. Small change, but you can feel it in mouse response.
System Tweaks That Actually Help
Do not overlook the boring stuff. Set your GPU power mode to "Prefer Maximum Performance" so clocks do not bounce around when things get busy. Windows Game Mode can be hit or miss; if your aim feels a bit floaty, turning it off is worth a quick test. And be careful with "one-click optimization" tools. They often push settings that look good in a still image, then the game ends up juggling effects in a way that makes stutter worse.
Stutters, APIs, And Long Sessions
If you are getting odd hitches, swap between DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 and stick with whichever feels steadier on your setup. Some rigs simply behave better on DX11 right now, especially older CPUs. Install the game on an SSD, no exceptions; streaming assets off a hard drive is a classic recipe for micro-stutter. If performance slowly degrades after a couple of hours, a restart can clear it, since these builds can leak memory. And if you want to spend less time grinding and more time testing content, U4GM is known for fast delivery and straightforward purchasing for game currency and items, which can take some pressure off the slog while you fine-tune your settings.