The Overwatch competitive scene is rapidly changing with the constant nerfs and buffs on major characters. One of the most important aspects of the game is getting frags, otherwise known as picks or kills. This allows players to engage in team fights to capture the point. This begs the question: What settings are best to frag like a pro?
25. Mouse Sensitivity
When playing a hit-scan character, or any character that requires aim, it is important to keep sensitivity in mind. Mouse sensitivity can make or break your aim in most games, which is why most professional Overwatch players use lower mouse sensitivities.
How To Apply:
Access your mouse settings (Control panel on Windows, System Preferences on Mac)
Find your pointer options tab
Use the slider to adjust the speed of your mouse
Uncheck “enhance pointer precision” (Not an ideal setting for gaming)
Advantages:
Pros use a speed of 5030 dpi for more control over their aim in certain situations
Effective for slight adjustments to aim when needed
24. Field of View
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The field of view directly adjusts your in-game vision. The higher the FOV, the more zoomed out your view is, and the lower, the more zoomed in it is. The professional Overwatch players use a field of view of 103, the maximum value.
How To Apply:
Pause your game
Select options from the menu
Move to the “video” tab
Adjust your Field of View to 103 using the slider
Advantages
Increased vision of the map and areas around you
23. Turn Off Limit FPS
Having higher frames per second is an obvious advantage in battle. It allows you to move around easier and to have a better time playing the game as a whole. This setting may be useful for someone whose FPS is fluctuating quite a bit, but for most players, this is not the case.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “video” tab
Switch the “Limit FPS” setting to “Off”
Advantages:
Higher Frames Per Second
Better quality video
22. V-Sync
V-Sync may seem useful, but it can actually be the opposite. It removes the presence of screen tearing, something that you may want to avoid. However, it also creates input lag, something you definitely want to avoid if you want an advantage against your opponents.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “video” tab
Switch the “V-Sync” setting to “Off”
Advantages:
Less input lag, or less of a delay after clicking or typing
21. Aspect Ratio
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While aspect ratio can be an extremely overlooked setting, it can make or break your gameplay. The standard aspect ratio that you typically see is 16:9, which is what you should be using. Other aspect ratios will simply hurt your field of view which reduces the amount of the map that you can see at one time.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “video” tab
Scroll down to aspect ratio and select 16:9 from the options
Advantages:
Higher field of view, meaning better sight on the map
Better awareness
20. Triple Buffering
The triple buffering setting ensures that one extra frame is buffered rather than the standard two frames. This is beneficial for situations such as screen tearing and for improvements to V-Sync. However, the GPU will then have more frames to buffer, requiring more memory. Therefore, it is better to turn this setting off for the sake of your performance.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “video” tab
Disable triple buffering
Advantages:
Your game will run much faster and smoother
19. Display Performance Stats
This setting is used in many games by streamers and YouTubers. When enabled, the performance stats for your internet connection are displayed in the top right corner. This is useful for telling you that lag is hurting your games and you may need to fix the lag, or take a break until the lag has disappeared.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “video” tab
Enable “Show Performance Stats”
Advantages:
Know when lag is hurting your gameplay
Less likely to run into games when you are experiencing lots of lag as you will know not to matchmake at that time
18. Effects Detail
Depending on your computer, you may either want this set to a higher setting, or a lower setting. If you are running it on a computer that has issues with performance, make sure to use a lower setting. If you are running on a higher end computer that has few issues, consider using a higher setting. The lower setting will reduce the amount of lag and lead to a better performance, but with the higher setting, you will have better visibility of enemy players.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “video” tab
Select the advanced options beneath graphics quality
Select low on effects detail
Advantages:
Mix of performance and better play experience suited for your situation
17. Local Fog Detail
When it comes to designs like fog, it can get in the way of your gameplay. With settings like a high field of view, you want to be able to see as much as possible without moving around a whole lot. Therefore, graphics such as the fog detail become a lower priority and should be set to a low setting.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “video” tab
Select the advanced options beneath graphics quality
Select low on fog detail
Advantages:
Better view of the map
Smoother performance and higher framerate
16. Shadow Detail
Another setting that developers added to make the game look better, but may be good to turn off, is shadow detail. By setting this to a lower setting, you are not only increasing your framerate and performance of your computer, you are also helping yourself with getting frags. When trying to eliminate other players, you don’t need these tiny details and should be focused on damaging them and where their hitboxes are located.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “video” tab
Select the advanced options beneath graphics quality
Select low on shadow detail
Advantages:
Higher frame rate and better performance
Higher chance of hitting player instead of details such as shadows
15. Voice Chat
Voice chat can be extremely useful for making call outs so the entire team knows that the supports need help or that the Genji needs healing. However, most teammates show rage and do not want to engage in speaking when this occurs. However, you can use “Press to talk” setting, which will only allow what you want to broadcast to be heard. Therefore, you are not hurting your team’s morale, and you can have as much rage as you want.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “sound” tab
Scroll down to voice chat mode and select “Push to Talk”
Advantages:
Better awareness of enemy players
Better positioning
Better communication
14. Aim Assist
Most games have aim assist, an option that helps guide the aim of the player towards the subject that they are planning to frag. Overwatch also includes this, which is useful for some characters, but may not be as useful for others. If you believe you can benefit from aim assist, be sure to apply this setting for your next competitive game.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “controls” tab
Select the advanced settings under vertical sensitivity
Adjust your aim assist to a setting you are comfortable with
Advantages:
Better aim
More frags and damage
13. Rebinding Controls to Character
This setting is one in which many players enjoy doing. With games like Fortnite, it was crucial to adjust the key bindings to fit your playstyle and a playstyle that made it easier to use certain abilities such as changing to a certain item slot or building a certain structure. With Overwatch, the same can be done for many characters, but this is mostly suited towards your own playstyle and the way that the character is designed to be played.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “controls” tab
Select the hero you wish to configure controls for in top right
Change the controls including key bindings, sensitivity, and aim assist to suit your playstyle of that hero
Advantages:
Faster use of abilities leading to a higher advantage
12. Aiming Modes
There are three types of aiming modes: Dual Zone, Exponential Ramp, and Linear Ramp. The default and best aiming mode is dual zone, as it allows you more control over the sensitivity and your aim. Using dual zone will allow you to reach a 90% speed before accelerating the sensitivity, therefore it is better to use.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “controls” tab
Select the aim technique you wish to use
Advantages:
Better accuracy
More control over your aim
11. Crosshair Style
The crosshair can have a slight effect on your gameplay. Some of the crosshairs are somewhat distracting, though you can select a default crosshair for all characters that isn’t as distracting. This crosshair should be somewhat small with a gap or maybe even the dot crosshair. Both of these options allow you to see what you are hitting instead of a larger area, making your aim more accurate and precise.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “controls” tab
Scroll down to the reticle category
Adjust the settings of the reticle/crosshair to suit your playstyle and liking
Advantages:
More accurate and precise aim
10. Aim Ease In
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Another setting that depends on your playstyle and settings such as sensitivity is the “Aim Ease In” setting. With higher values, your crosshair will move in straighter vertical and horizontal lines, but it will make it more difficult to use slanted movements.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “controls” tab
Select the advanced options under vertical sensitivity
Adjust the aim ease in to your liking and playstyle
Advantages:
Better aim suited to your playstyle
More control over your aim
9. Local Reflection
This is another setting that is designed to make the game look better. However, in a competitive game, you need all the advantages you can get, including a slight boost to your frame rate. Therefore, turning off the local reflection setting, which shows reflections in water and shadows, will give you a slight boost to your frame rate.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “video” tab
Select the advanced options beneath graphics quality
Select disable for local reflection
Advantages:
Higher performance and frame rate
8. Model Detail
This setting makes the maps and characters look much nicer with better quality graphics and other features present. However, as with most settings, this does decrease the amount of frames the you will be getting. Therefore, you may want to disable this setting to ensure that you have a better performance.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “video” tab
Select the advanced options beneath graphics quality
Select low for model detail
Advantages:
Higher performance and frame rate
7. Close Other Programs
This isn’t much of a setting, but it is extremely beneficial in ensuring that you have a higher frame rate and better performance. With browsers such as Google Chrome open, you are reducing the memory that is going towards Overwatch, which is hurting your performance. By closing these other programs or browsers, you are ensuring that you have more memory in game and a higher quality performance by your computer.
How To Apply:
Minimize your Overwatch game
Click the “X” on other programs and close them
Advantages:
Higher frame rate and better performance
More memory dedicated to the game
6. Turn Up Your Sound
Some players view this tactic as a cheap way to get kills or take an advantage, but sound is crucial. Many players have loud footsteps or voice lines that alert you of an ultimate such as “High Noon.” Using sound to your advantage is a given and should not be neglected.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “sound” tab
Select the master volume and adjust the slider to your liking so that you can hear most of the environment, including footsteps around you
Advantages:
Better awareness of abilities being used
Better awareness of positioning of enemies
5. Turn on the Kill Feed
This setting is another important but crucial setting that must be enabled. While it may serve as a way to turn players away from treating Overwatch matches as team deathmatches, the setting to turn off the kill feed is a bad idea. The kill feed tells you which players are dead and alive and who you need to worry about in situations such as ultimates being used.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “gameplay” tab
Select kill feed display and turn the option on
Advantages:
Awareness of the other team
4. Turn on the clock
This can be a bit of a distraction, but it will also give you more information, which gives advantages when playing a competitive game. If you notice it is late, you may want to head to bed before you start getting drained from playing so long, or you may be able to tell before you have to get off for other activities that you need to attend out of a game. It is easy to get carried away in a video game. One minute it’s 5:00pm and you are 1 SR from Masters, and the next minute it is 1:00am and you are in platinum.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “video” tab
Select “system display clock” and turn on
Advantages:
Keep track of your play time
Know when you need to quit matchmaking
3. Resolution
This setting can be taken in either direction. If you’re computer cannot handle the demands of the game, lowering the resolution will give you a performance and frame rate boost. If your computer can handle the demanding requirements, then this may be a setting you want to push to the limit as it can give you better visuals of enemies and the map, both of which you can use to your advantage.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “video” tab
Select the resolution you wish to use
Advantages:
Better visuals of the players and areas of the map
OR
Higher performance and frame rate
2. Antialiasing
This is another setting that makes the game look better, but also costs you some of your game’s performance. This setting makes the game’s graphics look smoother, but this, as you can probably guess, is demanding. By lowering this setting, your able to increase the performance and get a higher frame rate.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “video” tab
Select the advanced options under graphics quality
Select the low setting
Advantages:
Higher performance and frame rate
1. Render Scale
This setting changes the scale at which the game renders the map. With a higher setting, the game is required to render more, but with a lower setting, the game will render less. Therefore, by lowering the render scale, you will be getting a higher frame rate and an increased performance for your computer.
How To Apply:
Pause the game
Select options from the pause menu
Select the “video” tab
Select the advanced options under graphics quality
Select a low percentage under 100% that you believe runs better without costing too much of the quality of your game
Trevor has conquered many lands, slain many dragons in Skyrim, and opened many vaults. Now, he wants to share his stories as well as others with those around the world.
Gamer Since:
2003
Favorite Genre:
FPS
Currently Playing:
Destiny 2
Top 3 Favorite Games:
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Sid Meier's Civilization V, State of Decay
