Checked October 2, 2026: EA’s current PC guide starts with Full Screen, your monitor’s native resolution, V-Sync off, NVIDIA Reflex enabled, Adaptive Resolution off, Bilinear texture filtering, low shadows and low effects. Use 1920×1080 when native 1440p cannot hold a steady fight-time frame rate.
Use Full Screen, 1920×1080, V-Sync off, NVIDIA Reflex Enabled + Boost, Adaptive Resolution off, low shadows and low effects as a competitive PC baseline. Keep Texture Streaming Budget below your GPU VRAM.
Quick take
Best Apex Legends video settings at a glance
This setup cuts expensive effects while keeping character models and the map readable. Treat it as a starting point. If your frame rate stays below your monitor’s refresh rate during fights, lower resolution or the Texture Streaming Budget before you start raising graphics options.
| Setting | Recommended value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Display Mode | Full Screen | Keeps the game focused on the active display. |
| Aspect Ratio | Native, usually 16:9 | Avoids unwanted stretching unless you deliberately use a stretched setup. |
| Resolution | Native; 1920×1080 for more FPS | EA recommends monitor default. Drop to 1080p only when native resolution cannot hold your target frame rate. |
| Field of View | 110 starting point | Wide awareness; lower it if targets feel too small or performance suffers. |
| FOV Ability Scaling | Disabled | Stops movement abilities from changing the view and aim feel. |
| Sprint View Shake | Minimal | Reduces screen movement while sprinting. |
| V-Sync | Disabled | Avoids the extra latency V-Sync can add. |
| NVIDIA Reflex | Enabled; test Enabled + Boost | EA recommends Enabled. Boost is a useful test on supported NVIDIA GPUs when lower latency matters more than power and heat. |
| Adaptive Resolution FPS Target | 0 / Off | Prevents the game from changing resolution during a fight. |
| Anti-Aliasing | None | Saves performance; use TSAA only if jagged edges bother you. |
| Texture Streaming Budget | Medium or below available VRAM | Keeps texture memory inside the GPU’s limits. |
| Texture Filtering | Bilinear | Matches EA’s competitive starting point and keeps the filtering workload low. |
| Ambient Occlusion Quality | Disabled | Removes a costly lighting effect. |
| Sun Shadow Coverage / Detail | Low | Reduces shadow cost. |
| Spot Shadow Detail | Low; disable for extra FPS | EA starts at Low. Disabled is the next performance step if fights still dip. |
| Volumetric Lighting | Disabled | Improves performance and cuts bright haze. |
| Dynamic Spot Shadows | Disabled | No useful competitive payoff. |
| Model Detail / Effects Detail | Low | Keeps fights readable without spending frames on extra detail. |
| Impact Marks / Ragdolls | Low or Disabled | Reduces visual clutter and physics work. |
Display settings: resolution, FOV and latency
Use Full Screen and start with your display’s native aspect ratio. For most players, that means 16:9. A 1920×1080 resolution is still the safest competitive baseline when the goal is a stable frame rate. If your PC can hold the refresh rate of a 1440p monitor during busy fights, keeping 2560×1440 gives you a sharper image.
Set FOV to 110 if you want the widest normal view. A lower value makes enemies look larger but shows less at the edges of the screen. The current ProSettings sample lists 107 as the average among tracked Apex pros, so 104 to 110 is a sensible test range. Our Apex FOV guide explains the tradeoff in more detail.
Disable FOV Ability Scaling and set Sprint View Shake to Minimal. The first keeps abilities from changing your view, while the second makes movement easier to read.
Keep V-Sync off for competitive play unless screen tearing is the bigger problem. EA’s current baseline is NVIDIA Reflex Enabled on a supported card. Faide and Sweet both use Enabled + Boost, but Boost can raise clocks, power use and heat, so test plain Enabled first. Leave Adaptive Resolution at 0 unless frequent FPS drops make the softer image a worthwhile trade.
Graphics settings for FPS and visibility
Turn Anti-Aliasing off for the lightest workload. TSAA smooths edges, but it also softens the picture and costs performance. Texture Streaming Budget works differently: it controls how much VRAM the game may use for textures. Do not pick a budget larger than the memory available on your GPU. Medium is a reasonable start, then lower it if you see stutter or a VRAM warning.
Use Bilinear texture filtering for the lightest first-party competitive baseline. If your frame rate is already steady, test Anisotropic 2x for clearer angled surfaces and keep it only if fight-time performance does not change. Ambient Occlusion is a heavier effect, so leave it disabled.
Set Sun Shadow Coverage, Sun Shadow Detail and Spot Shadow Detail to Low for EA’s baseline. If you still need frames, Spot Shadow Detail is the first shadow option to disable. Keep Volumetric Lighting and Dynamic Spot Shadows off. Those effects add lighting polish, but little useful information in a fast fight.
Low Model Detail and Low Effects Detail are the practical choices. Put Impact Marks and Ragdolls on Low or Disabled. Color Blind Mode does not improve FPS, but it can make UI colors easier to distinguish, so test the available modes in the Firing Range instead of copying another player’s choice.
Should you use 1080p or 1440p?
Use 1080p when your PC cannot keep a steady frame rate at 1440p. Use 1440p when your system stays close to your monitor’s refresh rate and you prefer the sharper image. ProSettings currently reports that 77% of its 87 tracked Apex players use 1920×1080, and 83% use a 240Hz refresh rate. That does not make 1080p mandatory. It shows how strongly competitive players favor frame rate and motion clarity.
If you want a non-native aspect ratio, read our Apex stretched resolution guide before changing it. A stretched image changes how the game looks, but it does not change hitboxes.
Two current player examples
Resolution is the setting pros vary most. Their shared choices are Full Screen, 110 FOV, V-Sync off, Reflex Enabled + Boost, Bilinear filtering and low or disabled effects.
| Player | Resolution | Shared competitive choices | Source record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faide | 2560×1440 | 110 FOV, Reflex + Boost, Bilinear, low effects | August 31, 2026 |
| Sweet | 1680×1050 | 110 FOV, Reflex + Boost, Bilinear, low effects | July 20, 2026 |
That range is the useful part: copy the low-cost graphics choices, then choose the resolution your own PC can hold steadily.
How to change Apex Legends video settings
- Open Apex Legends and select the settings icon from the main menu.
- Open the Video tab.
- Apply the settings above, then save the changes.
- Load the Firing Range and watch the frame rate while shooting, moving and using abilities.
Turn on Performance Display in the Gameplay tab, then test during movement, gunfire and ability effects instead of standing still in the menu. Keep the settings if the frame rate stays stable. If it drops hard, lower shadow detail first, then resolution. Lower Texture Streaming Budget when the game reports a VRAM problem or texture stutter.
What to change first if Apex still has low FPS
- Check resolution. Dropping from 1440p to 1080p usually has a larger effect than changing one minor detail option.
- Keep the VRAM budget realistic. Lower Texture Streaming Budget if the game warns that the choice exceeds available memory.
- Update the GPU driver. NVIDIA, AMD and Intel regularly ship game fixes. Use the official update tool for your GPU rather than an old driver package from a third-party download site.
- Close heavy background apps. Browsers, recording tools and launchers can compete for memory or CPU time.
- Cap to a frame rate your PC can hold. A stable cap can feel better than large swings between a high peak and a low fight-time frame rate.
Change one item at a time and test again. That takes a few extra minutes, but it tells you which setting fixed the problem.
Sources and checking method
We rechecked every recommended value on October 2, 2026 against EA’s current Apex PC settings guide. We used current 2026 records for Faide and Sweet to show where experienced players depart from that baseline. EA’s September 14 Marked Midseason patch notes do not list a change to these video options.
