best settings

Every setting in the game's menu, with what to pick for the most frames and the clearest view of other players, or for the best picture.

The setting names and options are the game's own. The picks are ours: the game gives no recommended values, so these are the trade-offs most shooters work by. Start from the left column, check your frames with the FPS counter, then switch on what you miss from the right one.

display

Setting	For FPS and spotting players	For the best picture	Why
Screen Resolution	Your screen’s own	Your screen’s own	Anything else looks soft. Lower Render Resolution instead if you need frames.
Fullscreen	On	On	Fullscreen gives the game the whole GPU and the lowest input delay.
Frame Rate	Your monitor’s refresh rate or higher	Your monitor’s refresh rate	The game offers 30, 60, 120, 144, 240 and Unlimited.
VSync	Off	Every Frame	VSync stops tearing but adds input delay. Leave it off if your monitor has G-Sync or FreeSync.
Render Resolution	100%, lower only if you must	100%	This scales the 3D picture only, so the interface stays sharp. Lowering it is the biggest frame boost in the menu.
HDR	Off	On, with an HDR monitor	It only helps on a monitor that supports HDR.

graphics

Pick a Graphics Quality preset first (Minimum, Low, Medium, High or Ultra), then change the lines below. Some changes need you to go back to the main menu before they apply.

Setting	For FPS and spotting players	For the best picture	Why
Texture Quality	High	High	Costs video memory, hardly any frames. Drop to Medium only on a card with little VRAM.
Shadows	Medium Quality	High Quality	Shadows show you a player around a corner. Medium keeps them and saves most of the cost of High.
Additional Light	Disabled	On	Extra light sources look good in the city at night and cost frames.
Additional Light Shadows	Off	On	One of the heaviest settings in the menu.
HBAO	Off	On	Soft contact shadows. Pretty, and expensive.
Environment Reflections	Off	On	Screen-space reflections cost a lot for wet streets and windows.
Anti-aliasing	The lightest option	The best option	Smooths jagged edges. The heavier modes cost frames and can blur distant players.
Level of Detail	Medium	High	How detailed far-away objects are.
LOD Crossfade	Off	On	Smooths the switch between detail levels, at a small cost.
Object Visibility Distance	High	Render All	How far the game draws objects. Too low and things pop in late on the road.
Grass	Minimum Quality	High Quality	Less grass is fewer frames spent and a clearer view in the desert settlements.
Grass Draw Distance	Low	High	How far grass is drawn.
Water	Low Quality	High Quality	How the sea and other water are drawn.
Skinning	Two Bones	Four Bones	How smoothly characters bend. Two is cheaper and hard to tell apart in a fight.
Motion Blur	Off	Off	Blurs the screen whenever you turn. It makes targets harder to track.
Depth of Field	Off	Off	Blurs what you are not looking at, including what is coming up behind it.
Eye Adaptation	Off	On	With it on, leaving a dark room blinds you for a moment.
Post-processing	On	On	The game’s colour and light finish. Turning it off makes the picture flat rather than clearer.
Interface Window Blur	Off	On	Blurs the world behind menus. Costs frames every time the inventory is open.

controls

Setting	For FPS and spotting players	For the best picture	Why
General Sensitivity	Your own	Your own	Coming from another shooter? Convert your sensitivity so it feels the same. Sensitivity converter
ADS Sensitivity	Your own	Your own	Mouse speed while aiming down sights.
Hold to Aim	On	On	Aim only while you hold the key. Quicker to drop out of a scope in a fight.
Hold to Crouch	Your choice	Your choice	Toggle is easier on long sneaks through a building.
Hold to Sprint	Off	Off	With it off one press keeps you sprinting, which is kinder on long runs.
Invert Mouse Y-Axis	Off	Off	Only if you are used to it.
Display Key Markers in HUD	On	On	Shows the keys for actions on screen while you learn them.

sound, voice and the rest

Setting	For FPS and spotting players	For the best picture	Why
Voice Chat Mode	Push To Talk	Push To Talk	Nobody hears your room, and nobody hears you breathe behind a door.
Noise Suppression	On	On	Filters background noise from your microphone.
Echo Cancellation	On	On	Stops your speakers coming through your microphone.
Play Audio When not in Focus	On	On	You still hear an alarm or a car while you are tabbed out.
Frame Rate (FPS)	On	Off	Shows your frames, to check what each change does.
Network Latency (PING)	On	Off	Shows your ping. Pick the closest Region if it is high.
Packet Loss (LOSS)	On	Off	Lost packets cause rubber-banding. Worth seeing when fights feel off.
Streamer Mode	On if you stream	On if you stream	Hides your player ID, server and settlement, limits the world map and turns off the radio, so viewers cannot find you.