How to fine-tune your settings on PC and consoles
To ace the competition in Fortnite, you’re going to need plenty of tactical insight and sharply-honed survival instincts.
It’s just as important to bring the right settings to the table, though. This rings especially true if you normally shy away from the options menu and stick to defaults.
Take the time to adjust your sensitivity, tone down some graphics options, and the like, and it’ll absolutely make a difference. A smoother frame rate and clearer vision will not only help you in gun fights, but also in spotting enemies off in the distance too.
Whether you’re new to Fortnite or a veteran of the scene, our guide to getting the best settings in Fortnite will give you a major competitive edge over the competition.
By the time you’ve finished reading this article, you’ll understand:
- How to change settings in Fortnite.
- What the best settings for Xbox and PS4 are.
- How to optimise Fortnite on PC.
- How to find the best mouse sensitivity for you.
Without further ado, let’s get amongst it.
How to change settings in Fortnite
Before we start, here’s how you actually access the settings on the PC and console editions.
- PC: Hit the little three bar icon at the top of the main game screen, then the cog wheel.
- PS4 / Xbone: From the lobby, press the options / menu button, then the cog wheel icon.
Best PS4 and Xbox One Settings
This process isn’t as complex as the PC tweaks below, and it works in very much the opposite fashion.
You’ll be using joysticks to maneuver your character and aim. Sometimes the default sensitivity settings can make these actions a little too cumbersome. Time to spice them up a bit.
- Controller X and Y Axis: Set these to between 0.75 – 0.90 if you want to be able to turn faster in response to enemy gunfire.
- Gamepad ADS Sensitivity: This governs the sensitivity when aiming down sights. You’ll want this lower and sitting roughly between 0.50 – 0.70 for optimal accuracy.
- Gamepad Scope Sensitivity: This is for sniper aiming. Set this a little higher than the average. Roughly between 0.75 – 0.90 depending on whether you’re wanting to quickly snap to enemies, or go for a more measured shot.
Competitive PC Settings
Video settings
Here’s what settings you’ll need to fiddle around with to get the best performance out of your PCversion of Fortnite.
- Click the menu in the top right corner, select the cog and choose video settings.
- Window Mode: Fullscreen.
- Display Resolution: Your monitor’s native resolution. If you’re unsure, check your monitor’s resolution online.
- Frame Rate Limit: Unlimited.
- 3D Resolution: Set this to your monitor’s native resolution.
- View Distance: Medium is fine.
- Shadows: Turn off altogether for best performance.
- Anti-Aliasing: Medium gives the best balance of quality and performance.
- Textures: If you’re struggling with FPS, set this all the way down. Otherwise Medium or above is fine and it’ll make the game look a little nicer.
- Effects: Low. This will stabilise your FPS.
- Post Processing: Low.
- Vsync: Off, unless you’re experiencing major screen tearing.
- Motion Blur: Off, as it can hinder visibility.
- Show Grass: Off, so you can spot enemies more easily.
- Show FPS: Helpful for tweaking settings and testing performance.
Remember to click Apply in the bottom right before you exit the options screen.
Stretched settings
Some of the best Fortnite players lower their screen resolution so it stretches across the screen. It doesn’t look as nice, but the extra zoom provides some advantages and disadvantages:
Pros
- Everything seems closer. This makes enemies easier to spot and giving them a larger hitbox too.
- You boost FPS too as you’re playing at a lower resolution.
Cons
- Field-of-view (FOV) is dramatically reduced. You’ll need to be more aware of your surroundings if you want to survive!
Complete the following steps to play Fortnite in “stretched mode”:
- Enable Fullscreen.
- Lower your resolution.
- Experiment with different resolutions until you find a balance that works for you.
General PC Settings
Not only is it important to get your in-game settings right, it’s also vital that your PC is in top shape too.
This means making sure your Graphics Card’s (GPU) drivers are completely up to date. Make sure your version of Windows is regularly updated as well. Go and check if there are any updates you’re missing.
If you have an NVIDIA GPU, then there are some extra steps you can take to help boost performance in Fortnite.
- Open NVIDIA Control Panel and navigate to Manage 3D Settings.
- Click on the Program Settings tab and find Fortnite. If you can’t find it, click on Add and scroll down until you find it.
- Set Maximum pre-rendered frames to 1.
- Set Monitor Technology to G-SYNC (if you have a G-SYNC compatible monitor).
- Set Multi-Display/Mixed GPU Acceleration to Single display performance mode.
- Set Power Management Mode to Prefer maximum performance.
- Turn Vertical Sync off.
- Enable Threaded Optimisation.
- Set Preferred Refresh Rate to Highest Available.
Mouse Sensitivity Settings
Getting your mouse sensitivity right is a vital part of reaching the victory screen.
Many of the tips involved in tweaking your mouse settings are subjective though. What works for us might not work well for you. Experiment until you find your own personal sweet spot.
Getting Started
If you’ve got a mouse that has DPI settings, make sure you tune it to 800 or 400-450.
We found the lower you go, the more control you’ll have. It’s something you’ll get used to over time and with practice.
Otherwise, if you’re using a bog standard mouse don’t worry about all this. Instead, focus on the next step below.
Next, type ‘mouse settings’ in your computer’s search bar and click on the first result. Select ‘additional mouse options’ in the top right and it’ll take you to another screen.
Click the ‘pointer options’ tab and uncheck the ‘enhance pointer precision’ box. This ensures Windows isn’t skewing your aim with unnecessary background nonsense.
In-game Sensitivity Settings
You’ll find a whole host of mouse, controller and gamepad sensitivity bars to toy around with in the settings menu. For PC, we’re focused on all the mouse related stuff of course.
- Mouse Sensitivity – Governs your turn and aim speed when you aren’t scoped in. By default this is set far too high, so put it down all the way to between 0.03 – 0.5. This might seem very low but it works a treat.
- Mouse ADS Sensitivity – This is your sensitivity when aiming down sights. We have this around the 0.40 – 0.50 mark as it provides a decent amount of control during firefights. Any higher and your mouse will start flitting around the screen during heated battles.
- Mouse Scope Sensitivity – Your sensitivity when zoomed in with a sniper or scoped rifle. We like this a little higher than ADS, as you may be swiping across the screen more when focusing on a distant target.
A final tip. If you swipe your mouse across your mouse pad and your character does a full 360 degree turn in the process, this is a nice sign that you’re on the right track.
- 1. Chapter 2: Season 2 guide – Fortnite Chapter 2: Season 2 guide
- 2. Best Settings – Fortnite: Best Settings (PC, PS4, Xbox)
- 3. Best Keybinds 2019 – Fortnite: Best Keybinds 2019
- 4. System Requirements – Fortnite: System Requirements (PC and Mac)
- 5. Land Faster – Fortnite: How to land faster
With that, you should have everything you need to find the best Fortnite settings for you. It’s worth taking the time to tweak these settings.
Let us know of any tips you have for optimising Fortnite in the comments!
