COD Vanguard graphics settings – COD Vanguard runs quite smoothly for the most part, but it looks like some players are experiencing some performance related issues here and there. It makes sense, as not everyone is sitting with a powerful gaming PC. In fact, according to the latest Steam Hardware Survey done on October 2021, shows that most of the gamers still game on low-medium graphics cards like the GTX 1050 ti, GTX 1060, and the 1650.
But this is the greatest thing about PC gaming. You don’t need overpriced hardware to play games, as you can customize the in-game graphics settings of the game you want to play and then get the best performance out of it, even if you have a low-end gaming rig.
COD Vanguard Graphics Settings Guide for Multiplayer
Call of Duty Vanguard is finally here, and it is adding on to the hype that was already there, since the announcement of the trailer. People are thoroughly enjoying the title, and you can easily tell that by all the posts popping up Reddit. Check out this appreciation post by a Reddit user:
This is one of the most improved games from a beta that I can remember and one of the smoothest COD launches.
It looks much sharper, the sounds are fixed and it runs and plays much better overall. They have done a fantastic job and so far I love this much more than Cold War, which I have had fun with. The quality is just on another level entirely. Superb COD this year and the launch has been butter on my end.
Tweaking in-game graphics or video settings not only gives you a smoother experience but also gets rid of performance issues like sudden fps drops, stuttering, random freezing between matches, etc. The same is the case with Vanguard. Let’s see if it is possible to make this game run for people with low-end hardware by tweaking the in-game video or graphics settings.
Note: These settings are meant for low-end GPUs, and are set in such a way, so that users can get at least 60 FPS on Multiplayer. If you are out here, checking these settings for your RTX 3090, then you are at the wrong place.
Graphics Settings
- Display Mode: Fullscreen
[You get the best performance in Full Screen Mode, as Fullscreen apps are given the highest priority in Windows] - Display Resolution: 1920×1080
[All of these settings are meant to be specifically for 1080p. If you have a 1440p or 4k monitor, then you might need to lower your settings even further] - Monitor: Choose the correct one
[This setting is helpful for users who have multiple monitor setup] - Refresh Rate: 143.855
[I have a 144hz monitor. This settings depends on the Refresh rate of your Monitor. Keep it on Auto if you are not sure what to set] - V-Sync (Gameplay): Off
[I don’t see a reason for handicapping your framerate. You can turn this on if you are experiencing serious screen tearing] - V-Sync (Menus): Off
[Doesn’t really matter TBH]
- Frame Rate Limit: Custom
- Gameplay Custom Frame Rate Limit: 60/144/240 [Depends on the refresh rate of your monitor]
- Menu Custom Frame Rate Limit: 60 [Let this be on 60. Otherwise, the scene rendering in your lobby will keep on using your GPU at max rate. Your GPU won’t get any time to breathe]
- Minimized Game Custom Frame Rate Limit: 30 [30 is perfect]
- Aspect Ratio: Automatic
[It will pick 16:9 by default] - Focused Mode: Off
[An useless setting. Doesn’t have any effect on performance. This is meant for widescreen monitors] - Display Adapter: Choose the correct one
[If you have a gaming laptop with two graphics processor, make sure you select the dedicated one] - On-Demand Texture Streaming: Off
[You might start experiencing connection issues if you turn this on. Turning this setting On allocates up to 25 GB to this feature and requires sufficient available hard disk space]
Quality
- Quality Presets: Custom [Duh!]
- Render Resolution: 100
[Increasing will give you performance issues, and decreasing this will make the game look blurry] - Dynamic Resolution: Off
[I don’t like my games changing resolution in the middle of a match, and ruining my chances of winning]
Details & Textures
- Texture Resolution: Low
[PvP in COD games is extremely fast-paced. Trust me, you won’t even get the chance to check out the detail level of environmental textures] - Texture Filter Anisotropic: Low
[Same as Texture Resolution] - Particle Quality Level: Low
[If you set this any higher, you will experience performance issues every time there is an explosion in front of you] - Particle Resolution: Low
[Since Particle quality is set to low, no point setting the resolution any higher] - Bullet Impacts & Sprays: Off
[Tell me, how many times have you actually considered checking out bullet impacts in a game? Yeah, exactly] - Shader Quality: High
[I had to keep this at High. The game looks bad on Low, and there is no Medium setting] - Tessellation: Off
[Always keep this off on low-end GPUs. Has huge impact on performance] - Level of Detail Distance Range: Standard
[This setting is tied to the Near Level of Detail and Distant Level of Detail settings, given below. I could explain more, but that would take a whole paragraph] - Near Level of Detail: Low
[This setting determines the detail of objects, when you are near them. Low is fine] - Distant Level of Detail: Low
[This setting determines the detail of objects, when you are looking at them from a greater distance. I would recommend setting this to Low as well] - Clutter Draw Distance: Low
[This determines the distance up to which small ground elements such as ground foliage, rocks and various decals are visible] - Volumetric Quality Level: Medium
[Again, doesn’t matter. You won’t be paying attention to lighting, fog, or clouds during PvP]
Shadow & Lighting
- Screen Space Shadows: Local Shadows Only
[This controls the shadows of your weapon and character. Local only is fine] - Shadow Map Resolution: Medium
[I played the game for almost 2 hours, not once I felt like checking how sharp are my shadows] - Sun Shadow Cascade: Low
[Determines the quality of distant sunlight shadows] - Cache Sun Shadows: On
[If you have enough RAM, then this setting will actually increase the game’s performance] - Cache Spot Shadow: On
[Same as Cache Sun Shadows] - Spot Cache Size: Medium
[This sets the cache size for spot light shadows] - Spot Shadow Quality: Low
[Didn’t notice any significant improvement in visuals with this set to High] - Particle Lighting: Medium
[Neither do I care about particles in PvP games, nor do I care about their lighting] - Ambient Occlusion: Off
[This setting just adds some soft shadows to objects. Not really useful] - Screen Space Reflection: Off
[Probably the most demanding setting in the game. In maps, where there is good amount of water on the ground, or plenty of reflective surfaces, your performance will take a huge hit]
Post Processing Effects
- NVIDIA DLSS: Off
[I personally don’t use this, because this makes the game look blurry. If you have a really low-end GPU, set this to Balanced, and keep sharpness at 30] - FidelityFX Super Resolution: Off
[This is nothing but AMD’s version of DLSS. So the same rule applies here as well. Use it if your PC is struggling really bad] - FidelityFX CAS: Off
[Actually, I will recommend using this, as it makes the game look sharp. Test it and see how big the difference in performance is] - Anti-Aliasing: Filmic SMAA T2X
- Anti-aliasing Quality: Medium [Too much AA makes the game look blurry]
- Filmic Strength: 0 [Don’t really like the Filmic effect. Personal preference]
- Depth of Field: Off
[Never turn on DOF in PvP games]
Advanced
- VRAM Usage Target: 85%
[85% is perfect. Lowering this any further might cause visual issues such as texture loading]
Gameplay
- Field of View: 105 [105 is the sweet spot in COD Vanguard]
- ADS Field of View: Affected
- World Motion Blur: Off
[You have no idea, how many opponents you will miss on your screen with this on] - Weapon Motion Blur: Off
[Motion Blur is not for PvP modes. Prove me wrong] - Nvidia Relex Low Latency: Off
[LOL!]
This how the game looks with the setting recommended above:
Trust me, the game is very much payable at low settings. You won’t have any issues spotting opponents in front of you, or snipers camping at a greater distance. And, you won’t have any issues with performance as well. As long as you have anything similar to a GTX 1060, you should be good.
That’s all folks!
Last Updated on November 5, 2021
Shoaib, 30, is a simple guy who loves to play video games, and enjoys new cuisines sporadically. He has been gaming since he was 7 years old, and with an experience of 22 years, under his belt, there is not a single AAA game in this world, that he hasn’t played. Despite being a MBA Graduate he decided to follow his passion. And because of his love for gaming, Frondtech came into existence.