WARDOGS best settings for more FPS
FPS results · Best settings · Budget builds (UK) · Patch performance log
We'll update this with community data. We don't have verified WARDOGS captures yet, so the impacts below are described in words, from official notes and established guides. Once captures come in we'll replace them with measured figures. Early Access patches can rename or change options, so check your menu.
Change these, in this order
- Set Overall Quality to Custom.
- Turn on your card's upscaler at Quality (DLSS on RTX, FSR on AMD and GTX, XeSS on Intel Arc).
- Turn Global Illumination off.
- Lower Reflections, Effects and Particle Spawn Rate.
- Lower Shadows, Shading and Post-Processing to Low or Medium.
- Only then, if you still need frames, step View Distance / Mesh Detail down one notch.
- Leave Frame Generation off for competitive play.
Every option and its typical impact
| Setting | Typical impact (qualitative) and sources |
|---|---|
| Upscaling (DLSS / FSR / XeSS / TSR) | Usually the biggest single FPS lever. The official minimum-spec target (1080p Low @ 60 FPS) assumes upscaling. Start at Quality, then drop to Balanced only if you need to; very low modes make distant targets harder to read. store.steampowered.com · fps.tcno.co · games.gg |
| DLSS Frame Generation | Raises the frame counter but adds latency. Test with it off first. Since the Season 1 changelog it can be switched off without restarting. store.steampowered.com · beakmode.app |
| NVIDIA Reflex | Lowers latency on supported NVIDIA cards. Guides suggest On rather than On + Boost. hone.gg |
| Overall Quality preset (including Potato) | Use Custom so you know exactly what is set. The game has an automatic benchmark that picks settings, and the Season 1 changelog mentions it clamping Shadows on high scores. store.steampowered.com · hone.gg |
| Global Illumination | In Unreal Engine 5 games this is typically one of the heaviest options. Guides turn it off first for FPS. hone.gg · games.gg |
| Reflections, Effects, Particle Spawn Rate | Typically next in line, especially in heavy fights with explosions and destruction. Lower them before touching visibility settings. hone.gg · games.gg |
| Shadows, Shading, Post-Processing | Moderate cost. Low or Medium is the usual starting point. Removing shadows altogether doesn’t give a proven advantage. hone.gg |
| View Distance, Mesh Detail | These affect how well you can spot enemies at range. Keep them Medium to High and change other settings first. hone.gg · games.gg |
| Textures (World / Character / Effects), Texture Streaming | Mostly limited by video memory (VRAM) rather than raw speed. Keep them High if your card has the VRAM, and drop one step if you get hitches while moving around the map. hone.gg |
| Motion Blur, Depth of Field, Lens Flare, Bloom | Mainly a clarity choice; most guides turn them off. Don’t expect big FPS gains. hone.gg · games.gg |
| Frame limit, VSync, Main Menu FPS Limit | Use one frame limiter, a few FPS below your refresh rate if you have G-Sync or FreeSync. VSync adds latency. A main-menu cap only reduces load in menus. hone.gg · games.gg · beakmode.app |
Option names follow guides written against the launch client (hone.gg says it checked them against a 10 September build). "Typical" means general Unreal Engine 5 / guide experience, not a RigFPS measurement.
Help us measure it
Capture 60 seconds before and after changing one setting (same scenario) and submit both. Put the change in the notes field.