diff --git a/src/client/client.cpp b/src/client/client.cpp
index 9d06f3055..48dc61984 100644
--- a/src/client/client.cpp
+++ b/src/client/client.cpp
@@ -640,9 +640,11 @@ void Client::step(float dtime)
 		if (num_processed_meshes > 0)
 			g_profiler->graphAdd("num_processed_meshes", num_processed_meshes);
 
-		auto shadow_renderer = RenderingEngine::get_shadow_renderer();
-		if (shadow_renderer && force_update_shadows)
-			shadow_renderer->setForceUpdateShadowMap();
+		if (force_update_shadows && !g_settings->getFlag("performance_tradeoffs")) {
+			auto shadow = RenderingEngine::get_shadow_renderer();
+			if (shadow)
+				shadow->setForceUpdateShadowMap();
+		};
 	}
 
 	/*