Lords of the Fallen PC Hardware Guide
Official requirements explained
The official minimum CPU is an Intel i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600. These are older six-core mainstream chips, roughly in the range between a Ryzen 3 3100 and a Ryzen 5 3500X on our tier scale. The minimum GPU is a GTX 1060 or RX 590 with 6GB of VRAM, which sits near the older entry band represented by the Radeon R9 390. The game will run at that level, but it leaves little headroom, so demanding scenes will feel tight.
The official recommended level moves up to an Intel i7-8700 or Ryzen 5 3600, with an RTX 2080 or RX 6700 and 8GB of VRAM. On our tier scale the RTX 2080 is an upper-mainstream part and is the reference point for hitting the recommended tier. RAM rises from 12GB to 16GB, and the publisher explicitly requires an SSD. In practice the minimum is the threshold for running the game, while the recommended tier is the more comfortable target.
Both levels list 45GB of storage. The recommended level requires an SSD, while the minimum does not enforce one. You can start with a hard drive, but loading and asset streaming will be noticeably slower.
Recommended builds for three budgets
The entry build pairs a GTX 1660 series card or an RTX 3050 with a six-core chip such as the Ryzen 5 3500X or Core i5-10400F, plus 16GB of RAM. It suits players on a tight budget who want to start with moderate settings. It generally reaches the recommended tier, but you will need to compromise on high settings and resolution.
The mainstream build centers on an RTX 2080, RTX 4060, RX 7600 or RTX 3060 Ti, paired with a Ryzen 5 3600 or Core i5-11400, and 16GB of RAM. This is the best value for most players. It reliably reaches the recommended tier and leaves room to raise settings to medium-high.
The high-end build uses cards such as the RX 6950 XT, RTX 4070 Ti or RX 7800 XT, with a Ryzen 7 5700X3D or Core i7-12700K. Start at 16GB of RAM, and consider 32GB if you multitask heavily. This tier gives generous headroom at high settings, but it is not required to play the game well.
Graphics settings with the biggest impact
In action RPGs like this one, the settings that usually cost the most are shadow quality, volumetric lighting and fog, dense particle and effect work, and view distance. If you need to make cuts, start with shadows and volumetrics, which often change the image less than they cost in performance. View distance and object detail come next and can be adjusted in smaller steps.
Ray tracing, if offered, is usually the most expensive option. Unless your graphics card has strong ray-tracing hardware, leave it off and spend that budget on steadier frame pacing. Anti-aliasing and main texture quality are worth keeping, since they strongly affect image clarity while costing comparatively little.
Upscaling technologies such as DLSS, FSR and XeSS render at a lower internal resolution and reconstruct the image at your output resolution. In general they trade a small amount of image quality for extra performance headroom. Use the one that matches your GPU, DLSS on NVIDIA cards and FSR or XeSS on AMD and most other cards, and compare the results in-game to decide what you prefer.
Laptops and handheld PCs
Laptop GPUs often share names with desktop cards but differ in power limits and cooling. Because of this, a laptop part usually performs below its desktop namesake. When shopping, check the GPU's configured power and the cooling design, and treat the laptop as sitting a tier lower than the desktop card suggests.
Handheld PCs such as the Steam Deck or ROG Ally perform according to their built-in processor and integrated graphics, along with the power and fan modes you can select. In general you can lower resolution and graphics settings and use upscaling to gain smoothness. We do not have Steam Deck verification data, so we cannot give a compatibility rating for that device. Compare the official requirements with the handheld's specifications to judge for yourself.
Storage and memory
Aim for at least 16GB of RAM and use dual-channel mode by installing modules in the correct slots so bandwidth doubles. The 12GB minimum can run the game, but it gets tight quickly when other programs are open, so moving to 16GB makes for a steadier experience.
The game itself needs about 45GB of storage. The recommended level requires an SSD, and we would recommend an SSD for regular play regardless. It cuts loading times and improves streaming. If your SSD space is limited, install the game on a dedicated SSD rather than squeezing it onto the system drive.
Leave extra room for updates and save files. Filling the drive close to capacity increases the chance of failed updates and general slowdown.