Dragon's Dogma II — PS5 & PS5 Pro performance
Technical analysis last updated
Dragon's Dogma 2 receives a major frame-rate boost on PS5 Pro compared to the base PS5. On standard PS5, the game uses checkerboard rendering (1920x2160 in Graphics mode, 1536x1728 in Performance mode) but frequently dips into the 30-50fps range. PS5 Pro lowers native rendering resolutions to 1440p (Graphics), 1080p (Balanced), and 720p (Performance) reconstructed to 4K with PSSR. Performance mode on Pro achieves a mostly solid 60fps, while the new 1080p Balanced mode maintains 48-60fps with ray tracing enabled. However, PSSR introduces image quality compromises on Pro, including foliage pixelation, grass breakup, and noisy ray-traced global illumination.
Graphics modes on PlayStation 5 Pro
PS5 Pro solves base PS5's performance bottlenecks, delivering near-60fps gameplay in Performance mode and a viable 48-60fps VRR target in Balanced mode. However, PSSR upscaling causes notable visual noise, shimmering RTGI, and foliage breakup on fine details like grass.
Adds a new 1080p Balanced graphics mode, utilizes PSSR upscaling to 4K, boosts frame rates by up to 40 percent, and allows ray-tracing toggles across all modes.
Performance Mode
PS5 ProUnverifiedRenders natively at 720p upscaled to 4K via PSSR. Low base resolution results in heavy sub-pixel foliage breakup, grass pixelation, and flickering ambient occlusion in motion.
Balanced Mode
PS5 ProUnverifiedRenders natively at 1080p upscaled to 4K via PSSR with RTGI active by default. Improved image clarity over Performance mode, though foliage artifacts and RTGI shimmer remain.
Graphics Mode
PS5 ProUnverifiedRenders natively at 1440p reconstructed to 4K via PSSR with RTGI enabled. Sharpest image on PS5 Pro, but still exhibits grass pixelation and noisy RTGI reflections in shadowed areas.
Graphics modes on PlayStation 5
Base PS5 uses checkerboard rendering reconstruction to target 4K output. While it avoids PSSR-specific foliage pixelation and shimmer, frame rates frequently drop into the 30-50fps range due to heavy CPU bottlenecks.
Performance Mode
PS5UnverifiedCheckerboard 1536x1728 rendering. Maintains fine details without PSSR breakup, but resolution is noticeably lower than 4K output.
Graphics Mode
PS5UnverifiedCheckerboard 1920x2160 rendering reconstructs to 4K. Offers more temporally stable RTGI shading than PS5 Pro's PSSR implementation, though overall image sharpness is slightly softer.
PS5 vs PS5 Pro
Side-by-side comparison of graphics modes, resolution and technical features.
PS5 Pro delivers a substantial 20-40% frame-rate improvement over base PS5, enabling a reliable 60fps in Performance mode and a 48-60fps VRR target in the new Balanced mode. However, the update is marred by PSSR image artifacts, including foliage pixelation and noisy ray-traced global illumination.
| Metric | PS5 | PS5 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| PSFoundry Score | 71Good | 80Great |
| Recommended mode | Performance Mode | Performance Mode |
| Modes available | 2 | 3 |
| Highest target FPS | 60 | 60 |
| Highest verified capability | 60 fps target | 60 fps target |
| PSSR | No | Yes |
| Ray tracing | Yes | Yes |
| VRR | Yes | Yes |
| 120 Hz support | Yes | Yes |
| PS5 Pro Enhanced | No | Yes |
- PSFoundry Score
- 71Good
- Recommended mode
- Performance Mode
- Modes available
- 2
- Highest target FPS
- 60
- Highest verified capability
- 60 fps target
- PSSR
- No
- Ray tracing
- Yes
- VRR
- Yes
- 120 Hz support
- Yes
- PS5 Pro Enhanced
- No
- PSFoundry Score
- 80Great
- Recommended mode
- Performance Mode
- Modes available
- 3
- Highest target FPS
- 60
- Highest verified capability
- 60 fps target
- PSSR
- Yes
- Ray tracing
- Yes
- VRR
- Yes
- 120 Hz support
- Yes
- PS5 Pro Enhanced
- Yes
Known issues
PSSR upscaling causes pixelation, smudging, and breakup on thin animating elements like grass, foliage, rooftop tiles, and wooden bridges.
Combining PSSR upscaling with Ray-Traced Global Illumination (RTGI) introduces flickering noise and instability in dark and woodland areas.
Selecting the 30fps cap option results in uneven frame-pacing, causing choppy motion.
Enabling the optional 30fps frame-rate cap results in poor frame-pacing with inconsistent frame delivery on standard refresh rate displays.
Video analysis
Independent technical videos referenced in our analysis.
PS5 Pro gives us an up to 40% gain in frames per second taking the 30 to 45 FPS range on Bas PS5 and putting us more typically at 40 to 55 FPS.
PS5 Pro: PSSR 2 in Dragon's Dogma II – Visual Showcase. MajorBen ... Death Stranding 2: On The Beach - PS5/PS5 Pro - Digital Foundry Tech Review - ...
Dragon's Dogma II - PS5 Pro vs PS5 - Much Better On PS5 Pro - All Performance Modes Tested. @GamingTech-YouTube551 likes21K views1 year ago more.
Dragon's Dogma II - PS5 Pro vs PS5 - Much Better On PS5 Pro - All Performance Modes Tested. GamingTech•21K views · 26:16 · Go to channel ...
Dragon's Dogma II comparison on PlayStation 5 vs. PlayStation 5 Pro. Graphics, Resolution, Ray tracing, FPS Test at 4K 60FPS and up to 120Hz ...
Dragon's Dogma 2 - PS5/Xbox Series X/S and PC - Digital Foundry Tech Review ... Dragon's Dogma II - A Misunderstood Masterpiece. Uruz•23K views.
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Sources and verification
Every technical claim on this page is attributed. Nothing is estimated.
PSFoundry is primarily a source-based database. A game is only marked as personally tested when PSFoundry has directly tested it. All other technical information is attributed to its original source.
- UnverifiedDigital Foundry evaluates Dragon's Dogma 2 on PS5 Pro, highlighting substantial frame-rate gains that make 60fps viable alongside trade-offs in image stability caused by PSSR upscaling.Digital Foundry2024-12-01
Digital Foundry evaluates Dragon's Dogma 2 on PS5 Pro, highlighting substantial frame-rate gains that make 60fps viable alongside trade-offs in image stability caused by PSSR upscaling.
Open source - UnverifiedDragon's Dogma 2's Patch 7 introduces High and Low graphics quality settings, CPU performance optimizations in dense areas, and 120Hz output support on PS5 to enable Low Frame-rate Compensation (LFC) Digital Foundry2024-07-02
Dragon's Dogma 2's Patch 7 introduces High and Low graphics quality settings, CPU performance optimizations in dense areas, and 120Hz output support on PS5 to enable Low Frame-rate Compensation (LFC) with VRR. While performance in CPU-limited cities like Vernworth is improved, the game still operates with an unlocked framerate between 30 and 60fps, and the optional 30fps cap remains plagued by frame-pacing issues.
Open source
Frequently asked
Answers built from the verified data on this page.
What frame rate does Dragon's Dogma II run at on PS5 Pro?
On PS5 Pro, Dragon's Dogma II offers 2 graphics modes: Performance Mode targets 60 FPS at 4K; Balanced Mode targets 60 FPS at 4K.
What frame rate does Dragon's Dogma II run at on PS5?
On PS5, Dragon's Dogma II offers 1 graphics mode: Performance Mode targets 60 FPS at 4K.
Does Dragon's Dogma II support 120 Hz on PlayStation?
Yes. Performance Mode on PS5 Pro, Performance Mode on PS5 run with 120 Hz output on a compatible display. That is a 120 Hz output container with a higher frame-rate range — no mode targets a locked 120 FPS.
Does Dragon's Dogma II use PSSR on PS5 Pro?
Yes. At least one PS5 Pro graphics mode of Dragon's Dogma II uses PSSR, Sony's machine-learning upscaler, according to the sources cited in our analysis.
Is Dragon's Dogma II worth playing on PS5 Pro?
PS5 Pro delivers a substantial 20-40% frame-rate improvement over base PS5, enabling a reliable 60fps in Performance mode and a 48-60fps VRR target in the new Balanced mode. However, the update is marred by PSSR image artifacts, including foliage pixelation and noisy ray-traced global illumination.
What is the best graphics mode for Dragon's Dogma II on PS5 Pro?
Best overall balance: Performance Mode — Performance Mode targets 60 FPS at 4K. Best ray-traced image quality: Balanced Mode targets 60 FPS at 4K.
Patch history
Only updates that changed graphics modes, resolution, frame rate or visual features.
We only log updates with a documented effect on graphics modes, resolution, frame rate or visual features. None have been verified for this title yet.
The players' verdict
Recent player impressions of how the game runs on PS5 and PS5 Pro.
We publish player impressions from Reddit, ResetEra and specialist forums only when they discuss how the game actually runs. They never affect the PSFoundry Score.
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Browse the full PlayStation performance database or the PS5 Pro Enhanced games list.