Call of Duty titles have historically been demanding on gaming PCs. The case is no different with Warzone 2. Our guide to the best Warzone 2 settings helps give you the competitive edges the best Warzone 2 players are using to dominate the map. After reading our Warzone 2 settings guide, you will be able to hit competitively high FPS and reduce latency, all to help you spot enemies fast and rack up kills too.
Table of Contents
Warzone 2 system requirements
It’s important to understand Warzone 2’s system requirements before diving into our Warzone 2 graphics settings for both low-end and high-end gaming PCs. If your gaming PC specs match what Activision considers a competitive rig, then start with our high-end Warzone 2 graphics settings. Otherwise, start with our low-end Warzone 2 graphics settings and tinker to customize your experience from there.
| Specs | OS | CPU | RAM | GPU | VRAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Windows 10 64-bit | Intel Core i3-6100 or Core i5-2500K, AMD Ryzen 3 1200 | 8GB | NVIDIA GTX 960, AMD Radeon RX 470 | 2GB |
| Recommended | Windows 10 64-bit | Intel Core i5-6600K or Core i7-4770K, AMD Ryzen 5 1400 | 12GB | NVIDIA GTX 1060, AMD Radeon RX 580 | 4GB |
| Competitive | Windows 10 64-bit | Intel Core i7-8700K, AMD Ryzen 7 1800X | 16GB | NVIDIA RTX 3060ti, AMD Radeon RX 5700XT | 8GB |
| Tested gaming PC | Windows 10 64-bit | Intel Core i7-12700KF | 32GB | NVIDIA RTX 3070ti | 8GB |
Best Warzone 2 settings (low-end PCs)
Low-end gaming PCs should be able to achieve 80+ FPS during matchplay using the best Warzone 2 video settings outlined below.
Display
- Display mode: Fullscreen exclusive
- Display monitor: Select your gaming monitor
- Display adapter: Select your GPU
- Screen refresh rate: Auto
- Display resolution: 1920×1080 (1080p)
- Dynamic resolution: Off
- Aspect ratio: Automatic
- V-sync gameplay: Off
- V-sync menus: Off
- Custom framerate limit: Custom
- Gameplay custom frame rate limit: 200
- Menu custom frame rate limit: 60
- Out-of-focus custom frame rate limit: 30
- Display gamma: 2.2 (sRGB) for monitors, 2.4 (BT1886) for tv’s
- Brightness: 60 to 70
- Focused mode: Off
- HDR: Off
Global quality
- Quality presets: Custom
- Render resolution: N/A, locked when enabling NVIDIA image scaling
- Upscaling/sharpening: NVIDIA image scaling
- NVIDIA image scaling preset: Quality
- NVIDIA image scaling sharpness: 50
- Anti-aliasing: SMAA T2X
- Anti-aliasing quality: Normal
- Video memory scale: 85
Details and textures
- Texture resolution: Very low
- Texture filter anisotropic: Low
- Nearby level of detail: High
- Distant level of detail: High
- Clutter draw distance: Short
- Particle quality: Low
- Particle quality level: Very low
- Bullet impacts and sprays: On
- Shader quality: Low
- Tesselation: Off
- Terrain memory: Min
- On-demand texture streaming: Off
- Streaming quality: Low
- Volumetric quality: Low
- Deferred physics quality: Off
- Water caustics: Off
Shadow and lighting
- Shadow map resolution: Very low
- Screen space shadows: Off
- Spot shadow quality: Low
- Spot cache: Low
- Particle lighting: Low
- Ambient occlusion: Off
- Screen space reflection: Off
- Static reflection quality: Low
- Weather grid volumes: Off
Post-processing effects
- NVIDIA reflex low latency: On
- Depth of field: Off
- World motion blur: Off
- Weapon motion blur: Off
- Film grain: 0
Pro tip
Measure your FPS in Warzone 2 by navigating to the settings menu, then select the Interface tab. Under Telemetry, toggle FPS Counter to on. Now you’ll be able to see how your settings are affecting FPS.
While hitting 144+ FPS is ideal, that may not be achievable for some low-end gaming PCs.
If your FPS is too low, it may require adjusting your resolution below 1080p to 720p or 1280 x 720. Doing so can significantly move the FPS needle.
If you’re already getting high enough FPS after using the best settings for Warzone 2, you may have some GPU and CPU headroom to improve the graphics quality. Focus on adjusting your Details and Textures, Shadow and Lighting, and Post-Processing Effects to fine-tune the visual quality of Warzone 2.
Best Warzone 2 settings (high-end PCs)
High-end gaming PCs should be able to achieve 150+ FPS in matchplay using the best settings for Warzone 2 outlined below.
Display
- Display mode: Fullscreen exclusive
- Display monitor: Select your gaming monitor
- Display adapter: Select your GPU
- Screen refresh rate: Auto
- Display resolution: 1920×1080 (1080p)
- Dynamic resolution: Off
- Aspect ratio: Automatic
- V-sync gameplay: Off
- V-sync menus: Off
- Custom framerate limit: Custom
- Gameplay custom frame rate limit: 300
- Menu custom frame rate limit: 60
- Out-of-focus custom frame rate limit: 30
- Display gamma: 2.2 (sRGB) for monitors, 2.4 (BT1886) for tv’s
- Brightness: 60 to 70
- Focused mode: Off
- HDR: Off
Global quality
- Quality presets: Custom
- Render resolution: 100
- Upscaling/sharpening: Off
- Anti-aliasing: SMAA T2X
- Anti-aliasing quality: Normal
- Video memory scale: 90
Details and textures
- Texture resolution: Low
- Texture filter anisotropic: Low
- Nearby level of detail: High
- Distant level of detail: High
- Clutter draw distance: Short
- Particle quality: Low
- Particle quality level: Low
- Bullet impacts and sprays: On
- Shader quality: Low
- Tesselation: Off
- Terrain memory: Min
- On-demand texture streaming: Off
- Streaming quality: Low
- Volumetric quality: Low
- Deferred physics quality: Off
- Water caustics: Off
Shadow and lighting
- Shadow map resolution: Normal
- Screen space shadows: Off
- Spot shadow quality: Low
- Spot cache: Low
- Particle lighting: Normal
- Ambient occlusion: Off
- Screen space reflection: Normal
- Static reflection quality: Low
- Weather grid volumes: Off
Post-processing effects
- NVIDIA reflex low latency: On + boost
- Depth of field: Off
- World motion blur: Off
- Weapon motion blur: Off
- Film grain: 0
With the introduction of NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD’s latest-generation GPUs and CPUs in late 2022, some players are adjusting their graphics settings upward in select areas in Call of Duty titles. These newer-generation gaming PC components can render high frame rates at 2K and even 4K resolutions.
But most Warzone 2 players don’t have an NVIDIA RTX 4090 GPU in the budget or the best graphics card for Warzone 2. Accordingly, it’s best for most players to still stick with 1080p resolutions in Warzone 2 to achieve at least 144 FPS in matches.
Our lineup of the best graphics settings for Warzone 2 for high-end PCs can support 2K resolutions on high FPS with RTX 3080 and 3090-series GPUs. Just consider that select Details and Textures, Shadow and Lighting, and Post-Processing Effects settings may need to be disabled or lowered from our suggested lineup of settings to achieve competitively-high refresh rates.
Essential Warzone 2 graphics settings
As with any AAA title, there is no shortage of video settings to choose from in Warzone 2. But not all are created equal. Only select Warzone 2 graphics settings meaningfully impact FPS and latency. We suggest focusing on the below video settings when wanting to move the needle for your FPS, latency, and graphics quality.
Impacts FPS and graphics quality
- Display resolution
- Render resolution
- Upscaling/sharpening
- Texture resolution
- Streaming quality
- Volumetric quality
- Spot cache
- Static reflection quality
Impacts latency
- Display mode
- NVIDIA Reflex
Warzone 2 includes a handy visual representation of how each video setting affects GPU and CPU loads. When selecting any of Warzone 2’s graphics settings, look in the lower right of the settings screen, and you’ll see both a slider that estimates the increased/decreased load based on each adjusted setting and text that lists the severity of the impact as Low, Medium, or High.
Why avoid using Warzone 2’s graphics presets?
Warzone 2 offers a lineup of graphics quality presets that strive to give players a great out-of-the-box gameplay experience. But it’s best to avoid using Warzone 2’s graphics quality presets since the default settings prioritize eye candy in the wrong areas.
Some low-end and mid-range gaming PCs will experience stutters and dropped frames even when using the lowest presets that blur your surroundings with reduced visibility.
On the higher presets, certain cinematic effects are added that actually put players at a disadvantage.
Warzone 2 developers want to ensure the game looks visually appealing and lifelike, even if that comes at the expense of performance. Higher FPS, avoiding dropped frames, and reduced latency provide competitive advantages, whereas beautiful visuals don’t.
That said, it’s best for each Warzone player to make the call on what level of graphics quality is best for their gameplay and gaming PC. To help, we’ve included below a graphic that displays the same scene using each of Warzone 2’s quality presets and our FPS results benchmarking each Warzone 2 graphics quality preset.
| Quality Preset | FPS | Visual Quality |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum | 175 to 186 | Very poor |
| Basic | 155 to 167 | Ok |
| Balanced | 145 to 155 | Good |
| Ultra | 140 to 151 | Great |
| Extreme | 135 to 142 | Excellent |
What graphics settings do Warzone 2 pros use?
Professional Call of Duty players and popular streamers overwhelmingly prioritize performance over video quality. The proof is in the pudding when reviewing our full Warzone 2 pro settings list.
In fact, most Warzone 2 players play at 1440p resolutions even though their gaming PCs can render high FPS at higher resolutions.
We are seeing a trend where the Warzone 2 players with god-tier gaming PCs are moving to 2K resolution, but many are doing so with low settings and disabling non-essential graphics settings that don’t improve your chance of notching more kills.
Other Warzone 2 adjustments for more FPS
If trying our suggested settings and not achieving high enough FPS, the underlying cause may simply be an underpowered GPU and/or CPU. Our guides to the best graphics cards for Warzone 2, the best Warzone 2 gaming monitor, and the best CPU for Warzone 2 are handy resources if you’re upgrading your specs.
Beyond graphics settings and pc specs, Warzone 2 pro players make several other adjustments to improve their gameplay.
Updating your settings to the best Warzone 2 FOV and the best NVIDIA filters for Warzone 2 are common adjustments the best players make to target enemies faster. Playing at the right FOV helps see enemies in your periphery faster. NVIDIA filters help improve other players’ clarity and visibility, particularly when lurking in the shadows or inside dimly lit rooms.
Updating your graphics drivers is also suggested. The most current NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD graphics drivers can help avoid recurring game issues and improve FPS and latency. Fortunately, updating your graphics drivers takes just a few minutes.
