If you want to push past Platinum in Apex Legends ranked, your settings need to be dialed in. The difference between default and optimized settings is 30-80 FPS and significantly better target visibility. These settings are tested on Season 24 of Apex Legends as of February 2026.
Best Apex Legends Settings at a Glance
Display Mode: Full Screen
Resolution: 1920×1080
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Field of View: 110
V-Sync: Disabled
Adaptive Resolution FPS Target: 0 (Disabled)
Anti-Aliasing: None
Texture Streaming Budget: Medium (2-4 GB VRAM)
Texture Filtering: Bilinear
Ambient Occlusion Quality: Disabled
Sun Shadow Coverage: Low
Sun Shadow Detail: Low
Spot Shadow Detail: Disabled
Volumetric Lighting: Disabled
Dynamic Spot Shadows: Disabled
Model Detail: Medium
Effects Detail: Low
Impact Marks: Disabled
Ragdolls: Low
Display Settings
Field of View: 110. This is the maximum and nearly every competitive player uses it. Higher FOV means you can see more of your surroundings, which is critical in a battle royale where enemies can come from any direction. The only downside is that enemies at distance appear slightly smaller.
V-Sync: Disabled. V-Sync adds 10-30ms of input lag. In a game where TTK (time to kill) can be under a second, this extra delay costs you fights.
Adaptive Resolution: 0 (Disabled). This setting dynamically lowers your render resolution to maintain FPS. It makes the game blurry during intense fights, which is exactly when you need maximum clarity. Turn it off.
Graphics Settings Breakdown
Apex Legends runs on a modified Source engine that responds well to settings optimization. Lowering these settings removes visual clutter while improving both FPS and target visibility.
Anti-Aliasing: None. AA smooths edges but slightly blurs the image. At 1080p, the pixel density is high enough that jagged edges are not a major issue, and the clarity gain from disabling AA makes spotting enemies easier.
Texture Streaming: Medium. Set this based on your VRAM. 2 GB VRAM: Low. 4 GB: Medium. 6 GB+: High. Going above your VRAM capacity causes stuttering as textures swap in and out.
Ambient Occlusion: Disabled. AO adds shadow detail to corners and crevices. It is purely cosmetic and costs 10-15% FPS.
Sun Shadow Coverage and Detail: Low. Shadows help you spot enemies (you can see their shadow before them), so do not disable them entirely. Low provides enough shadow information for competitive play.
Volumetric Lighting: Disabled. This is the biggest single FPS gain. Volumetric lighting adds atmospheric light beams and fog that look cinematic but tank performance and reduce visibility.
Effects Detail: Low. Fewer particle effects means less visual noise during fights with multiple ultimates and grenades happening at once.
Model Detail: Medium. Low model detail can actually make enemy hitboxes harder to read at distance. Medium gives clear silhouettes without wasting GPU resources.
Per-GPU Recommendations
Budget (GTX 1060, RX 580): All settings Low/Disabled, 1080p. Target: 100+ FPS.
Mid-range (RTX 3060, RX 6700 XT): Settings as recommended above. Target: 144+ FPS.
High-end (RTX 4070+): Can raise Textures to High and Model Detail to High. Target: 240+ FPS.
NVIDIA and AMD Tweaks
NVIDIA users:
Open NVIDIA Control Panel and set for Apex Legends:
Low Latency Mode: Ultra (reduces render queue to 1 frame)
Power Management: Prefer Maximum Performance
Image Sharpening: Sharpen 0.50, Ignore Film Grain 0.17 (adds clarity without performance cost)
AMD users:
Open AMD Radeon Software and set:
Anti-Lag: Enabled (AMD equivalent of NVIDIA Reflex)
Radeon Boost: Enabled (dynamically lowers resolution during fast camera movements)
Sharpness: 80% through Radeon Image Sharpening
Autoexec Config for Competitive
Create a file called autoexec.cfg in your Apex Legends cfg folder and add these lines:
fps_max 0 (uncaps frame rate)
This removes the default frame rate cap and lets your GPU render as many frames as possible. More frames equals less input lag.
Audio Settings
Audio matters as much as video in Apex. Hearing footsteps gives you a massive advantage.
Master Volume: 70-80%
Sound Effects Volume: 100%
Dialogue Volume: 30% (callouts are less important than sound cues)
Music Volume: 0% (music masks footsteps)
Use headphones, not speakers. Enable Windows Sonic for Headphones or Dolby Atmos for spatial audio if you do not have a dedicated gaming headset with surround sound.
FAQ
What FOV do Apex pros use?
Almost every pro uses 110 FOV, which is the maximum. A few controller players use 104-106 for slightly larger enemy models at range.
Should I use NVIDIA Reflex in Apex Legends?
Yes, if you have an NVIDIA GPU. Apex Legends supports NVIDIA Reflex natively. Enable it in the video settings. It reduces system latency by 15-30% with zero FPS cost.
Is 144 FPS enough for competitive Apex?
144 FPS on a 144Hz monitor is a great starting point. You will be competitive at any rank with 144 stable FPS. 240 FPS on a 240Hz monitor offers a further improvement but with diminishing returns.
Why does my Apex FPS drop in the final ring?
Multiple squads fighting in a small area generates massive particle effects, player models, and physics calculations. Lower Effects Detail and Spot Shadow Detail to maintain FPS during late-game fights.
Does aspect ratio matter in Apex?
16:9 is standard and offers the widest field of view. Some players use 4:3 stretched for larger enemy models, but Respawn has explicitly stated they may patch stretched resolution advantages in the future.
