Apex Legends is built on a heavily modified version of the Source engine. While the game looks beautiful on “High” settings, the engine struggles to maintain consistent framerates when multiple ultimate abilities (like Gibraltar bombardments or Caustic gas) are deployed simultaneously.
The best video settings for Apex Legends require turning all graphical quality settings to “Low” or “Disabled.” You must also maximize your Field of View (FOV) to 110 to ensure you can see enemies flanking you in close-quarters combat.
Even if you have the Best Monitor for Apex Legends, your tracking will suffer if your PC is dropping frames. Here is exactly how to optimize your video settings to maintain a stable 144+ FPS.
1. Display & FOV Settings
Open your settings menu and navigate to the Video tab.
- Display Mode: Full Screen (Crucial! Borderless Windowed introduces massive input lag).
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9 (Native)
- Resolution: Your monitor’s native resolution.
- Brightness: 50% to 60% (Adjust based on your monitor).
- Field of View (FOV): 110 (The absolute maximum. This is mandatory for spatial awareness).
- FOV Ability Scaling: Disabled (If this is On, your sensitivity will change when you use Octane’s Stim or Bloodhound’s Ultimate, ruining your muscle memory).
- Sprint View Shake: Minimal (Reduces camera bouncing while running).
2. Advanced Graphics Settings
Scroll down to the Advanced Graphics section. In a competitive Battle Royale, visual clutter gets you killed. You want the game to look as clean and flat as possible.
- V-Sync: Disabled (VSync caps your framerate and introduces massive input lag).
- NVIDIA Reflex: Enabled + Boost (Forces your CPU and GPU to sync perfectly, eliminating input delay).
- Adaptive Resolution FPS Target: 0 (Do not use this. It will make your game look blurry).
- Anti-Aliasing: None (Turns off edge-smoothing, making the game slightly jagged but significantly sharper).
- Texture Streaming Budget: 2GB to 4GB (Set this based on your GPU’s VRAM. Setting it to ‘None’ makes the game look like a potato).
- Texture Filtering: Bilinear
- Ambient Occlusion Quality: Disabled
- Sun Shadow Coverage: Low
- Sun Shadow Detail: Low
- Spot Shadow Detail: Disabled
- Volumetric Lighting: Disabled (Turns off “god rays” that blind you when looking at the sky).
- Dynamic Spot Shadows: Disabled
- Model Detail: Low
- Effects Detail: Low
- Impact Marks: Low
- Ragdolls: Low
(Once your video settings are dialed in, make sure your movement settings are optimized. Read our guide to the Best Apex Legends Keybinds for Tap Strafing).
(Is your keyboard holding back your movement? Read our guide to the 5 Best Keyboards for Apex Legends).
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I uncap my FPS in Apex Legends?
By default, Apex Legends caps your framerate at 144 FPS. If you have a 240Hz or 360Hz monitor, you must remove this cap in Steam or the EA App.
Right-click Apex Legends in your Steam Library and select Properties.
In the “Launch Options” box, type: +fps_max 0
Close the window and launch the game. Your FPS is now uncapped.
Should I use an Autoexec file for Apex?
In the early days of Apex, players used custom .cfg files (autoexecs) to remove specific visual effects and bind multiple actions to a single key. Respawn Entertainment recently banned the use of complex autoexecs (specifically those used for movement macros). We highly recommend sticking entirely to the in-game settings menu to avoid an account ban.
