Learn which MSFS 2024 settings to change, what each major option does, and how to balance FPS, visuals, controls, realism and streaming.
In Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, change the graphics, traffic, assistance, controls and online-data settings that match your hardware and flying style. Start with Terrain LOD, clouds, render scaling, traffic density, controller dead zones and assistance presets; leave low-impact options alone until you identify a specific visual, performance or handling problem.
PC offers the widest range of graphics options. Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro manage more of them automatically, so some settings described below may not appear. Names and menu positions can also move between simulator updates, but their functions remain broadly the same.
MSFS 2024 settings that matter most
Use the simulator's detected preset as a baseline, then adjust one group at a time. Selecting a global preset again can overwrite individual changes, so check that the resulting profile remains set to Custom.
For a closer examination of image quality and the available anti-aliasing modes, see our explanation of the main Microsoft Flight Simulator graphics options.
| Setting | What it does | What to change |
|---|---|---|
| Display resolution and Render Scale | Resolution controls the display output; Render Scale changes the resolution at which the 3D scene is drawn. Both strongly affect GPU load and cockpit clarity. | Keep the display at its native resolution. Lower Render Scale gradually when GPU-limited rather than reducing the monitor resolution. |
| Anti-aliasing and upscaling | TAA prioritises a stable native-style image. DLSS or FSR can render internally at a lower resolution and reconstruct the image, improving performance at the cost of possible blur or ghosting. | Use TAA when glass displays and fine cockpit text look unclear with upscaling. Use a supported quality upscaling mode when higher resolution makes the GPU the bottleneck. |
| Frame Generation | Supported hardware inserts generated frames between conventionally rendered frames. It improves displayed smoothness but not the underlying simulation rate. | Enable it only after achieving a reasonably stable base frame rate. Disable it if latency, display artefacts or rapidly changing cockpit text become distracting. |
| Terrain Level of Detail | Controls how far detailed terrain is processed and drawn. High values can load the CPU heavily, especially near cities and complex airports. | Reduce it when the simulator is limited by the main CPU thread or pauses while turning towards dense scenery. |
| Objects Level of Detail | Controls the distance and detail of buildings, trees and other scenery objects. | Lower it at object-heavy airports and cities. Raise it when distant structures visibly appear too late and CPU headroom is available. |
| Volumetric Clouds | Changes cloud resolution, lighting and internal detail. Dense overcast conditions make its GPU cost more obvious. | Drop it one level when clear weather performs well but storms or layered cloud cause a large frame-rate loss. |
| Shadows, reflections and ambient effects | These improve cockpit depth, water, glass and lighting but add GPU work and, in some cases, CPU work. | Reduce reflections and shadow quality before sacrificing texture sharpness if the GPU is overloaded. |
| Texture Resolution | Controls the detail retained in aircraft, cockpit and scenery textures and affects video-memory use. | Keep it high when enough VRAM is available. Lower it if VRAM pressure produces severe stutters, delayed textures or instability. |
| Aircraft, airport and road traffic | Adds moving aircraft, vehicles, workers and other simulated objects. Traffic can consume considerable CPU time. | Use moderate values. At large hubs, reduce ground aircraft and airport activity before lowering every graphics option. |
Which MSFS 2024 settings improve FPS most?
The right setting depends on whether the limiting factor is the GPU, CPU, video memory or scenery connection. Lowering unrelated settings often changes the image without fixing the actual bottleneck.
- GPU-limited: reduce Render Scale, volumetric clouds, reflections and shadow quality. Try an available quality upscaler before lowering the output resolution.
- CPU-limited: reduce aircraft and ground traffic first, followed by Objects LOD and Terrain LOD. Busy airports expose this bottleneck more readily than rural flights.
- VRAM-limited: lower texture resolution and other memory-heavy visual settings. Frame Generation does not cure exhausted video memory.
- Streaming-limited: investigate bandwidth, photogrammetry and rolling-cache behaviour. Reducing clouds will not repair slow scenery delivery.
Our bottleneck-based MSFS 2024 performance guide explains how to identify which component is limiting the simulator. Make comparisons using the same aircraft, airport, weather and camera position; otherwise the test conditions change along with the setting.
Which assistance settings should I use?
Choose an assistance preset that matches your experience, then customise individual aids rather than treating Beginner or Expert as permanent all-or-nothing choices.
| Assistance option | Use it when | Disable it when |
|---|---|---|
| Assisted take-off and landing | You are learning basic control or using limited input hardware. | You want direct control, realistic procedures or are diagnosing unexpected control inputs. |
| Auto-rudder | Your controller has no rudder axis and keyboard rudder control is too abrupt. | You use pedals or a twist axis, particularly with crosswinds and taildraggers. |
| Navigation guidance and route markers | You are learning circuits, visual navigation or an unfamiliar mission. | You want to navigate from instruments, charts and outside references without overlays. |
| Checklist and procedure assistance | You are learning an aircraft's flow and switch locations. | You want to complete the checklist yourself without automated actions. |
| Damage and failure assists | You want forgiving practice sessions. | You want mishandling, overspeed or excessive stress to have consequences where the aircraft supports them. |
A common problem we see is an assistance option quietly opposing the pilot's own input. If the aircraft steers, trims or changes power unexpectedly, review the assistance profile before blaming the flight model. For unrestricted manual flying, follow our steps for disabling piloting and navigation assists in Expert mode.
How should I set controller sensitivity and dead zones?
Use the smallest dead zone that removes unwanted movement, then adjust sensitivity for controllability without hiding the full axis range.
- Check the raw axis: leave the stick, yoke, pedals or throttle untouched and watch for movement. A flickering axis needs a small dead zone or hardware calibration.
- Add dead zone gradually: increase it only until the unwanted input stops. A large dead zone creates a numb centre followed by an abrupt response.
- Adjust sensitivity: flatten an overly twitchy pitch, roll or rudder response while retaining full travel at both ends.
- Check extremity and neutral values: change these only when the hardware cannot reach the expected endpoint or centre.
- Remove duplicate assignments: two devices bound to the same axis can cause throttle jumps, drifting controls or an autopilot that appears to fight the pilot.
MSFS 2024 stores control assignments by device and profile, so changing one controller does not necessarily alter another. Our guide to control profiles, key bindings and assignment conflicts covers the binding process in detail.
Should online data and photogrammetry stay enabled?
Keep online world data enabled when the connection is stable, but temporarily disable individual streaming features when diagnosing missing scenery, bandwidth spikes or pauses.
| Online setting | What it changes | Recommended use |
|---|---|---|
| Online world data | Provides streamed scenery and services rather than relying only on locally available data. | Leave enabled for the full world presentation. Disable temporarily to determine whether a fault is network-related. |
| Photogrammetry | Streams captured 3D city geometry. It adds recognisable buildings but can expose slow or inconsistent data delivery. | Keep it on for detailed supported cities. Turn it off if urban scenery looks malformed or causes repeatable streaming pauses. |
| Live weather, traffic and multiplayer | Adds network-supplied conditions and aircraft. Traffic also increases CPU load. | Enable the services you actually use. Reduce or disable traffic when testing performance at busy airports. |
| Rolling cache | Stores recently streamed scenery on disk for possible reuse. | Use it when revisiting areas or when the connection varies. Clear and recreate it if cached scenery appears stale or corrupt. |
| Data limits | Restrict the amount of downloaded scenery data. | Set them according to the connection's real allowance; an unexpectedly reached limit can reduce streamed scenery quality. |
Settings that rarely need performance tuning
- Sound sliders change the balance of engines, cockpit sounds, voices and interface audio, with little relevance to frame rate.
- Camera movement and shake affect comfort and visual presentation, not aircraft handling. Reduce them if head movement makes switches difficult to operate.
- Tooltips and cockpit interaction prompts help identify controls but do not change the underlying aircraft systems.
- Units, subtitles and accessibility options should be set for readability and preference rather than performance.
Common MSFS 2024 settings mistakes
- Changing ten settings together, then being unable to identify which one helped or caused a new problem.
- Maxing out Terrain LOD and traffic simultaneously at a large airport, creating a severe main-thread bottleneck.
- Lowering texture quality to fix a CPU limitation, which reduces cockpit clarity without addressing the cause.
- Using Frame Generation to conceal a very low base frame rate, resulting in smoother-looking output but sluggish controls and visible artefacts.
- Adding excessive controller dead zone instead of finding a duplicate binding or noisy device.
- Assuming every stutter is graphical when scenery streaming, cache data, add-ons or the chosen aircraft may be responsible.
Save a sensible baseline profile and alter one category at a time. That approach produces a better result than copying an extreme preset because MSFS 2024 performance changes sharply with aircraft complexity, weather, location, traffic and platform.