Shortly after the release of Cyberpunk 2077 there are quite a few mods on the net. Some of them are aimed at the performance of the action role-playing game, others want to make the already very attractive graphics even more attractive.
We therefore took a closer look at the most popular modifications on Nexus Mods and Co., checked their effectiveness and, in the case of the graphic mods , made comparison images.
Even more guides on GameStar Plus:
In our GameStar Plus guides we tell you which adjusting screws you can turn to get as much performance out of Cyberpunk 2077 as possible without losing any great quality. We are also introducing you to a surprisingly inexpensive system on which Cyberpunk 2077 already runs smoothly:
- Cyberpunk 2077 Tuning Guide: How to Get More FPS
- Pimp My PC: Play Cyberpunk 2077 smoothly on a new system for 500 euros
In the GameStar test, we liked Cyberpunk 2077 very much and therefore received a 91 and therefore a platinum award. We had to deny Cyberpunk that for the time being. Read more about this in the following article:
more on the subject
Important:Which are the most popular mods is subject to constant change. New mods are also added every day. We will therefore update the article again and again to bring you up to date.
Last update: January 1, 2021
New added:NPC mod Alternate Crowd Behavior in the Gameplay section
Performance mods
“Optimized Raytracing Setting”
The Mod Optimized Raytracing Setting ( downloadable here ) is very popular among gamers who rely on ray tracing . It should improve the performance with activated real-time ray tracing while maintaining the great look.
In the short test, the mod actually proved to be helpful . On our test system with Nvidia Geforce RTX 3080, we achieved 37.4 FPS with 4K resolution, Raytracing Preset Ultra and DLSS quality mode. Thanks to the mod, we achieved an average of 43.8 FPS in the selected test sequence – an increase of around 17 percent.
So you install the mod:
- Download Optimized Raytracing Setting from Nexus Mods ( click here to download )
- Unzip or copy the optimizedRT.ini file to the “\ Cyberpunk 2077 \ engine \ config \ platform \ pc” folder
If you want to deactivate the mod again, it is sufficient to simply delete the optimizedRT.ini file . By the way, there are several versions of the mod, but we focused on the Optimized RT v1.05 version during testing .
Important: For the mod to work, you have to activate ray tracing in the game yourself. However, the individual effects must be switched off, otherwise your frame rate can drop massively.
Works with GOG, Steam and Epic, game version 1.06.
You also want to make game figure V more beautiful? In the following article you can read how you can change your appearance in Cyberpunk 2077:
more on the subject
“EZ Optimizer for Cyberpunk 2077”
Tool may contain malware:Anti-virus programs in connection with the EZ Optimizer for Cyberpunk 2077 tool sound the alarm for some users . Accordingly, the tool contains malware that can allow hackers to gain unauthorized access to your system.
Should you use the program, please delete it immediately. You should also do a complete system check with your anti-virus program. Windows Defender does a lot of work here, provided it is up to date.
If necessary, after cleaning it with an anti-virus tool, you should also think about changing passwords that you have used since you first used the EZ Optimizer.
The YouTube channel “EZ PC Tech” provides a tool including video instructions that promises an FPS boost and sufficient performance to play cyberpunk even on low-end PCs with a smooth 60 frames per second. According to the description below the video, a single click is all it takes. At the same time, however, the graphics quality should not be impaired. Here are the comparison pictures:
Screenshot in front of the apartment. Recorded in the Ultra preset, without ray tracing, DLSS and simple effects (film grain, chromatic aberration, etc.).
On our high-end test system with Geforce RTX 3080 , we were able to determine a full FPS boost of 46 percent (from 45.6 to 66.7 FPS) in the selected test sequence including the Max Boost preset .
Do not use, it appears to be malware.
“Config Overhaul Cyperpunk 2077”
The Mod Config Overhaul Cyberpunk 2077 ( download it here ) is very popular with Nexus Mods. It makes it possible to activate or deactivate graphic options in tabular form (embedded screenshot below) that are not even offered in the game settings.
According to some comments, the mod keeps what it promises and gets more performance out of Cyberpunk than is possible with the in-game options. This is how you proceed:
- Download file ( click here to download )
- Extract into the folder “\ Cyberpunk2077”
- ConfigOverhaulCyberpunk.exe run
However, we could not verify the positive reports on our test system. Config Overhaul actually has an effect on performance, but in the scenarios we tested we achieved the same effect with the presets that CD Projekt Red offers in the game itself. With 4K resolution and preset low , we achieve an average of 74.6 FPS, with the Very Low setting from the mod it is 75.3 FPS, which is within the measurement inaccuracy.
The mod did not cause any problems either, which is why you can try it out yourself without hesitation. However, should complications arise, for example the settings can no longer be reset, you can simply delete the user.ini file in the “\ Cyberpunk2077 \ engine \ config \ platform \ pc” file that is created by Config Overhaul.
Works with GOG and Steam, game version 1.04.
How much FPS which hardware brings in Cyberpunk 2077, you can read in our technology check:
more on the subject
“Cyerpunk 2077 remove anti-aliasing”
Config Overhaul offers, among other things, the option to switch off antialiasing. On our test system this leads to massive losses in terms of graphics quality (see embedded comparison images below), but at the same time did not result in any additional FPS.
The mod Cyberpunk 2077 remove anti-aliasing ( download it here ) does nothing else in principle. However, user KillinMcMillan4 points out in the comments that removing TAA (Temporal Antialiasing) leads to considerable artifact formation and other image errors. We can confirm this impression based on our experience with Config Overhaul. Here are the comparison pictures:
Apparently there are good reasons why CD Projekt Red has to activate antialiasing and not let you deactivate it in the game itself.
Only works with Steam, game version 1.03 and 1.04.
“Cyberpunk 2077 AVX Fix”
Some players are experiencing issues with the AVX instruction set extension. In many cases, these should be solved with the Cyberpunk 2077 AVX Fix mod ( downloadable here) .
It is sufficient to replace Cyberpunk2077.exe in the folder “\ Cyberpunk 2077 \ bin \ x64” with Cyberpunk2077_avxfix.exe . The best thing to do is to rename the original file (for example Cyberpunk2077_BAK.exe) before renaming Cyberpunk2077_avxfix.exe to Cyberpunk2077.exe .
This worked without any problems on our test system. Alternatively, you can make the entries in Cyberpunk2077.exe manually.
- Download a hex editor like HxD and open Cyberpunk2077.exe .
- Go to Hex value in the Search tab , copy “55 48 81 ec a0 00 00 00 0f 29 70 e8” into the line and press OK.
- Now replace the value with “c3 48 81 ec a0 00 00 00 0f 29 70 e8”, save the file and exit.
* Quotation marks are not included
Works with GOG, but should also work with Steam and Epic, game version 1.04.
Cyberpunk 2077 All-in-One Performance Patcher
There are also tools that combine several mods and simply run them yourself with a click. For example the Cyberpunk 2077 All-in-One Performance Patcher ( download it here ). However, in the comments, the mod meets with criticism. It is said to cause more performance problems than it solves.
We have also found that not every tweak actually brings something, which is why we cannot generally recommend such mods .
Works with GOG, we couldn’t test other versions.
Despite all the tips and mods, you have problems with performance or too many bugs and would you rather give cyberpunk back? Read the following article:
more on the subject
Graphic mods
If you want a different look for Cyberpunk 2077, such as more sharpness or clarity, you can look around at the various graphic mods, which are usually based on the Reshade program.
“Simple Realistic for Cyberpunk 2077”
The Mod Simple Realistic for Cyberpunk 2077, for example, makes the picture a little brighter and clearer. Here are the comparison pictures:
Cyberpunk Simple Mod disabled
However, the mod also costs some performance. On our test system, we achieved 41.7 FPS with 4K resolution, Preset Ultra (raytracing, DLSS and simple effects such as film grain, etc. deactivated). If the mod is deactivated, it is 44.4 FPS – that’s around six percent performance loss.
The advantage of the mod is that you don’t even have to install the Reshade tool. Simply extract the file into the folder “\ Cyberpunk2077 \ bin \ x64”. Press the “End” button in the game to deactivate or activate the mod.
Works with every client and all current game versions.
“Ultimate Vision – A Cyberpunk 2077 Reshade Mod”
Other graphic mods , such as Ultimate Vision – A Cyberpunk 2077 Reshade Mod , require Reshade to be installed. The mod gives the game a much more gaudy look, tweaks the color saturation and luminosity. Here are the comparison pictures:
Cyberpunk Ultra Vision Mod disabled
If the mod is active, we achieve 42.7 FPS on our test system; if the mod is inactive, it is 44.9 FPS – that is around five percent loss of performance. Should you still decide to do so, proceed as follows:
- Install Reshade ( download it here), click here to select a game … press
- If Cyberpunk2077 (Cyberpunk2077.exe) does not appear in the selection menu, select Browse and manually navigate to Cyberpunk2077.exe in the “\ Cyberpunk2077 \ bin \ x64” folder.
- Select Direct3D 10/11/12 as API (programming interface) (if already pre-selected, simply click on it).
- Now deselect all effects (standard effects cannot be deselected) and press OK.
Now all you need to do is move the INI file and the reshade-shaders folder from the unzipped mod file to the “Cyberpunk2077 \ bin \ x64” folder. In the game you can access the menu via the “Home” key. There you can now select the mod.
Works with every client and all current game versions.
Gameplay
“Alternate Crowd Behavior”
The behavior of the NPCs in Cyberpunk is criticized by many players. It doesn’t seem authentic, the characters are just hollow figures that often repeat themselves and disappear far too quickly.
The Mod Alternate Crowd Behavior ( downloadable here) wants to provide a little relief and give the AI residents of Night City a little more authenticity. But first of all: The mod does not work miracles even according to the description of the creator – the NPCs are not suddenly breathed more life. But the mod should at least be able to give a more organic impression of the crowd.
The mod is available in three versions:
- Almost: The NPCs despawn after five seconds as soon as they are no longer in your field of vision. Unless they’re within a 15-meter radius, then they despawn after 30 seconds.
- Slow: The NPCs despawn after five minutes, or ten minutes if they are particularly close to you.
- Default: Cyberpunk standard settings
There are also three other modifications (in the zip file), of which Alternate General AI should also influence the behavior of the NPCs. Alternate General AI, Alternate Streaming and Alternate Traffic are still in the testing phase.
This is how you install the mods: Copy the desired INI files from the zip file TemplarGFXs Cyberpunk Tweaks ( download it here ) into the folder “\ Cyberpunk 2077 \ engine \ config \ platform \ pc”. If you don’t like the changes, you can simply delete the files again.
