Next-Gen First-Person Shooters without the Graphics

(Image credit: Yan Krukov from Pexels)

So why Did I Upgrade my 1060 Graphics Card?

Worried that your gaming PC is too dated to handle competing in modern multiplayer shooters? Or perhaps you noticed that your new Nvidia or AMD graphics card is chugging while competing in any first-person shooter? Even gamers with optimal systems are dropping graphics settings for a better framerate to improve player performance. In 2019, GeForce tested the benefits of better FPS and monitor Hz. The Load Screen covers how even next-gen gamers give up graphics like ray tracing for better gameplay results.

Almost every PC multiplayer first-person shooter has its share of articles listing how to turn down graphics to improve your frames per second since better latency enhances a player’s chances. Both the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 have Performance modes that mimic this trade-off, so even console owners must make the same choice. Does the player want better graphics or better performance? Well, for first-person-shooter enthusiasts, the answer is clear.

Some titles require more than reducing resolution, including Halo: Infinite by 343 Industries. Articles list turning down many settings, but some like PCGamesN How to disable Halo Infinite high-res textures to boost fps on Gaming PCs focus on a particular fix. Players can exclude the entire package for maximum graphics to avoid destroying that precious framerate. Now that games are more commonly coming with additional packages for better graphics since some systems cannot handle them, disabling tricks will become more prevalent for boosting frames per second.

The plethora of available website guides clarifies that even AAA publishers struggle with the same issue. Activision’s Call of Duty Warzone, developed by Raven Software and Infinity Ward, can improve framerate by lower resolution settings in this GameRant Call of Duty Warzone best graphics article. Electronic Arts also sees similar coverage for their latest Battlefield as presented by ScreenRant’s Battlefield 2042 PC settings guide page. EA even draws the same notes for Respawn Entertainment’s Apex Legends according to Rock Paper Shotgun’s Apex Legends setting guide.

It happens to games on every PC platform, and the Epic Games Store is not free from low-resolution solutions to increased framerate. Fortnite, developed by People Can Fly, is a good example, as shown in the EuroGamer Fortnite Settings article. They recommend low/medium for textures and effects while disabling Shadows and Motion Blur for all players. The problem is worse on lower-powered PCs, and the platform now has a Fortnite performance mode (Alpha) listed in this Epic Games Fortnite Troubleshooting low frame rate guide.

Try escaping the added framerate of playing with lower graphics settings on any next-gen first-person shooter game, especially an MMO with fancy skins. Why bother spending more than MSRP on a graphics card if the settings are getting turned down anyways for better performance? Maybe upgrading to an older or cheaper card with higher Ram capacity would do just as good? PS5 and Xbox Series X/S gamers get left with the same option. It would be nice to crank the graphics all the way up on first-person shooter games without losing frames per second performance, but vanity has a cost in competitive gameplay.