Best Honkai: Star Rail Settings — Graphics, 60fps, Auto-Battle & Controls (PC & Mobile)
30-second answer: Default settings are the best starting point — the game auto-detects your device on first launch. Just lock in three things: resolution 1920×1080 fullscreen, frame rate 60, and V-Sync off. If the game stutters, overheats or drains battery, drop the single Graphics Quality slider and everything else follows. HSR only accepts 30, 60 or 120 FPS — the 120fps PC mode is hidden and needs a registry edit plus a 120Hz monitor. Auto-battle is fine for daily farming but avoid it in hard content. Controls on both PC and mobile are best left at default — you almost never need to rebind anything.
The settings to pick (just copy this)
If you just want a fast answer: set resolution to 1920×1080 fullscreen, frame rate (FPS — frames per second, higher is smoother) to 60, and turn V-Sync off. Leave every other graphics option on 'Auto', meaning whatever level the game already chose. The reason is simple: on first launch HSR auto-detects your hardware and sets a fitting level, so new players barely need to touch anything. You only lower things when the game stutters, runs hot, or drains battery fast. And when you do lower them, you don't edit each line: just drag the single 'Graphics Quality' slider down and all sub-options (shadows, reflections, environment detail...) drop with it. Keep it fullscreen rather than windowed for smoother performance. This is the baseline; the sections below explain exactly when to change it.
| Setting | Recommended |
|---|---|
| Resolution | 1920×1080, fullscreen |
| Frame rate (FPS) | 60 |
| V-Sync | Off |
| Other graphics | Leave on auto / default |
| Image Quality (when lagging) | Drop one level |
60fps, and how to unlock 120fps on PC
HSR accepts exactly three frame rates: 30, 60 and 120 — nothing in between. The default and recommended pick is 60fps, since motion is clearly smoother than 30. On a weak, stuttering or overheating machine, drop to 30 to ease the load. The 120fps mode is special: on PC it's hidden from the in-game menu, and you should only enable it with a 120Hz+ monitor and a strong PC (120fps is roughly twice as heavy as 60). To enable it, edit the Windows registry: open Regedit, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Cognosphere > Star Rail, find the value whose name starts with GraphicsSettings_Model_h (usually GraphicsSettings_Model_h2986158309, but the trailing number can change after game updates — if you don't see that exact string, just pick whichever key starts with GraphicsSettings_Model_h), and change 'FPS':60 to 120. Two big warnings: after unlocking 120fps, do NOT touch any in-game graphics option — changing one instantly snaps the game back to 60fps. The settings menu still opens fine, but the FPS selector disappears from the graphics panel, so to go back to 60 you edit the registry number again. Because it's this fiddly, most players simply stay on 60fps.
- 1Open Windows RegeditThe registry editor
- 2Go to Software > Cognosphere > Star RailUnder HKEY_CURRENT_USER
- 3Find the key starting with GraphicsSettings_Model_hThe trailing number may change after each update
- 4Change 'FPS':60 to 120Only if you have a 120Hz+ monitor and a strong PC
- 5Don't touch any in-game graphics optionEditing one resets the game to 60fps
Overheating or lag? Lower exactly these
Heat and lag almost always mean graphics are set too high for your hardware. The heaviest options are usually Light Quality, Rendering Precision and Shadow Quality. Light Quality handles shadows and dynamic lighting, and lowering it often gives the clearest frame-rate boost. Rendering Precision is the sharpness the whole frame is drawn at and is also very heavy — some players with strong rigs still hear their GPU screaming, and just dropping these two settings cuts card temperature by tens of degrees. After that, if it's still heavy, lower Environment Detail, the Bloom Effect (light glow) and Anti-Aliasing (the edge-smoothing option) next — these cost a lot while barely hurting how the game looks. If you don't want to remember each one, just drop the master 'Graphics Quality' slider one notch and test. Don't slam everything to the lowest right away — you'll make the game ugly when one or two tweaks might be enough. Go gradually, one notch at a time, until the stutter is gone and the device is cool. Keep V-Sync off, since it can needlessly cap your frame rate low.
Mobile: staying cool and saving battery
On phones the real enemy isn't ugly graphics — it's heat and battery drain. A hot phone throttles itself (cuts performance to cool down), which makes the game stutter more. The fix: turn on the game's Performance Mode, and turn off your phone's Battery Saver while playing, since battery saver usually caps the chip speed and causes hitching. For graphics, mid-range phones should sit on medium, weak phones on low, strong phones on high — but even strong phones should trim a few options to hold a stable 60fps. Keep frame rate at 60 if the phone can take it; if it heats up fast, 30fps runs cooler and lasts far longer on battery. The first three to lower on mobile are Shadow Quality, Light Quality and Character Quality (the detail of the character models) — these cost a lot yet are hard to notice on a small screen. Long sessions on the charger also add heat, so for marathon farming, 30fps plus modest graphics is kinder to both the phone and your hands.
| Phone tier | Suggested setting |
|---|---|
| Low-end | Low graphics, 30fps to stay cool |
| Mid-range | Medium graphics |
| High-end | High graphics, still trim a few for stable 60fps |
| First to lower | Shadow, Light, Character quality |
| Beat heat & battery drain | On Performance Mode, off Battery Saver |
Auto-battle and combat settings
The 'Other Settings' group holds a few options that shape play. Set 'Ultimate mode during Auto' to Auto so that when auto-battle is on, characters fire their ultimate at the right moment instead of hoarding it uselessly. Turn on 'Show Action Value in battle' — this is the number that decides turn order. Action Value (AV) follows the fixed formula AV = 10000 divided by Speed (SPD): higher speed means a smaller AV, meaning an earlier turn. Seeing this number makes it click why fast characters act so often. If terms like SPD, Traces or ultimate are new to you, open GameVika's Glossary to look each one up. As for auto-battle in general: it's great for daily resource farming to save your hands, but don't use it in hard content — the AI plays dumb, won't switch targets or time bursts. In tough stages, manual wins; before you go in, review each character's kit on GameVika's Characters page so you know when to fire skills.
Controls and how to open the settings menu
To reach the settings panel: on PC press ESC; on mobile tap the phone icon in the top-left to open the menu, then tap the gear icon on the right edge. Inside you'll find display, audio, language and control-key options. On PC keybinds: leave them at default — HSR isn't a twitch game, so you almost never need to rebind anything. If you change one by accident, the 'Restore Defaults' button at the bottom-right puts it all back instantly. The sensitivity options (camera, zoom, target-lock sensitivity) sit at a default of 3 — only touch them if the camera turns too fast or too slow for your taste. A couple of handy extras: turn on 'Auto-lock 4-star Light Cones on pickup' so you never accidentally sell a good one, and set 'Always Walk' to No if you'd rather run while exploring the map. Set these once and you're done — no need to revisit.
FAQ
My PC is fairly strong but the GPU still screams and overheats — how do I fix it?
Lower the two heaviest options, Light Quality and Rendering Precision. These put a big load on your GPU; many strong rigs run the card flat-out for nothing because they're set too high. Dropping them one notch can cut card temperature by tens of degrees almost instantly, with barely any visual loss. If it's still hot, turn V-Sync off and lower Shadow Quality too.
How do I unlock 120fps on PC?
120fps is hidden from the in-game menu, so you edit the Windows registry. Open Regedit, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Cognosphere > Star Rail, find the key whose name starts with GraphicsSettings_Model_h (usually GraphicsSettings_Model_h2986158309, but the trailing number can change with updates — if you don't see that exact one, pick whichever key starts with GraphicsSettings_Model_h) and change 'FPS':60 to 120. Only do this with a 120Hz+ monitor and a strong PC, since 120fps is twice as heavy as 60.
After enabling 120fps it reverts to 60 when I change graphics — why?
That's expected with this method. Touching any in-game graphics option instantly drops you back to 60fps. The settings menu still opens normally — only the FPS selector is hidden from the graphics panel — so to return to 60 you edit the registry number. Because it's this awkward, staying on 60fps is the simplest choice unless you truly need 120.
Should I set FPS to 30 or 60?
Default to 60, since it's clearly smoother than 30. Only drop to 30 when the game stutters, runs hot, or drains battery fast — 30fps stays cooler and lasts much longer, which suits long mobile farming sessions. HSR has no step between 30 and 60, so just pick based on how your device holds up.
Up next for you…
Tools→