Playing at the Top of Your Game: The Best FPS Fortnite Pro Settings

Fortnite by Epic Games is going to go down as one of this decade’s most influential and successful games.

With millions of players all over the world and countless tournaments, contests, and matchups every month, Fortnite has taken the world by storm. It’s grown bigger than the gaming world, becoming popular even with people who would have never played video games before. In this article, learn how to get a crucial Fortnite FPS boost and understand why it’s important for the ultimate gaming experience.

One of the best traits of Fortnite is that it can run on just about any PC; you don’t have to have the world’s best gaming PC to enjoy one of the world’s best games. Still, no one wants to run Fortnite on the lowest performance settings unless they have to, so we’ve created this guide to getting your settings just right for your unique style of play. If you want to go as pro as you can go in Fortnite, you have to learn from the best.

FPS Boost Part One: Understanding FPS in Fortnite and Draw Distance

If there are two graphical properties that most gamers would consider “most important,” it would be FPS (Frames Per Second) and draw distance (sometimes generally referred to as visibility or visibility range.) These two properties are particularly important for those who hope to improve their experience and their performance in Fortnite.

Let’s discuss FPS first.

If you’ve ever played a game that felt and looked “choppy,” you’ve experienced bad FPS. FPS can be hard to maximize for, as it’s often the first performance characteristic that takes a hit when settings aren’t done right. With that in mind, most serious gamers eventually learn that you have to prioritize FPS to some degree in order to do well in games.

Draw distance, on the other hand, determines how far your game will generate in-game graphics and to what level of detail.

In a game like Fortnite, where you only have one “life” per match, you need to be able to see enemies as soon as possible so you can react and get into position. Draw distance can be extremely taxing on system resources simply because it means your computer is generating more objects, but it can become even more expensive on your computer’s resources when those 3D objects have to be detailed.

If you’ve ever watched a Twitch streamer and seen them pick off an enemy with a sniper rifle from way across the map, you’ve witnessed one of the benefits of maximizing graphical draw distance.

Setting your game up to get a Fortnite FPS boost and draw distance requires some understanding of how the game uses your computer, but it also requires understanding your computer’s limits. You’ll need to do some testing, so be ready to jump in and out of Fortnite’s practice mode (or the single player side of the game if you own it) when you’re beginning to tweak your settings.

FPS Boost Part Two: Starting High and Working Down

Fortnite is a game with a lot of graphical flexibility. On the plus side, that fact means that gamers are able to pinpoint-customize Fortnite for the best graphical experience possible. On the downside, the video settings can appear a bit daunting.

Thankfully, there’s a pretty sure-fire process you can implement to get the right settings for your game.

First off, you’ll want to see what the game’s internal optimization process determines is your best settings. Usually, just selecting the “recommended” options is a good start. From there, bump all of the primary settings up one step higher.

In Fortnite, most of the settings are very straightforward in their labeling, and their descriptions tell you the expected draw on your GPU (graphics processing unit) and CPU (central processing unit.)

For the sake of explanation, let’s say the game suggests you use medium settings, bump each of the settings up one setting higher, and then ensure your FPS tracker is enabled. Fortnite has a built-in FPS counter that is quite accurate. Once you’re done bumping settings up, head into practice mode and keep an eye on your FPS counter.

In practice mode, you’ll want to really push your settings. Build lots of structures, blow stuff up, climb up a hill with a sniper to see the most objects at a time that you can, and see how your FPS holds up during quick movement. If you find that your FPS stays stable (above 60 FPS,) head out of practice and bump your settings up again. Repeat this process until you see a notable dip in your FPS.

FPS Boost Part Three: What to Cut When Things Get Rough

Once you see a dip in your performance, it’s time to start selectively lowering your graphics settings. Generally, the first pieces you’ll want to lower are the bells and whistles, the features that aren’t essential to performance. Foliage, grass, and water details are the first to cut; they provide no functional benefit to your play, even if they look really nice when you do have them on.
Cutting out foliage will greatly reduce the negative impact that a high draw distance will have on your FPS, meaning you can get the vision you need without tanking your FPS. If cutting down foliage doesn’t work, there are a few other options.

After foliage, shadows, lighting, and special particle effects should be the next to be reduced in quality. Each of these are details that can improve the overall appearance of the game but don’t generally affect how well you can see your opponents. In fact, some pro players even play with extra effects turned down so that there is nothing that obscures enemies from their vision. While that’s not the ideal for every player, some people prefer a graphically simple look.

In the end, maximizing your performance boils down to careful choice of the features you need most.

Always prioritize draw distance and FPS if you’re looking to win, but beyond that it’s up to you what graphical settings are most important. With a little bit of patience and experimentation, you’ll find the perfect match for you, and you’ll feel better than ever knowing you’re playing at the top of your game.