Start 1
Turn mouse acceleration off
Uncheck Enhance pointer precision, set the pointer-speed slider to the middle notch, and turn acceleration and angle snapping off in the mouse software.
Start 2
Rendering mode: Performance
Settings, Video, then restart. Performance mode drops Nanite, Lumen, and hardware ray tracing. It is the competitive path and it cannot use DLSS. That is the trade.
Start 3
3D resolution 100, then down in steps of 10
This is internal resolution. 70 percent is a large FPS gain and a softer picture. Do it after Performance mode, not before.
Start 4
View distance one step above what you can afford
Near is the FPS pick and it hides distant players. If you are losing people in the air, raise view distance before you raise textures.
Pick a renderer before you pick quality
Fortnite has two different games in the video menu. Performance mode is a lighter renderer. It is what you want for frame rate and delay. DirectX 12 is the pretty renderer: Nanite, Lumen, hardware ray tracing, DLSS, FSR, and XeSS all live there. You do not mix them. Performance mode has no DLSS because it is not running the features DLSS is there to pay for.
Use DirectX 12 only when Performance mode looks too flat and the PC can hold your refresh with Lumen off and ray tracing off. DLSS or FSR Quality is the way to buy some of that picture back. Frame generation adds frames you can see and delay you can feel. Leave it off for fights.
Changing rendering mode asks for a restart. Do it. Applying quality sliders without the restart leaves you measuring the old renderer.
- Window modeFullscreen
- Rendering modePerformance
- Frame rate limitUnlimited
- 3D resolution100%, lower only if you must
- View distanceNear, or Medium if you need range
- Textures, meshes, effectsLow
- NVIDIA ReflexOn + Boost
- Motion blurOff
Performance mode, then the sliders. Ray tracing and Lumen are not on this path.
| Setting | Set it to | Frames |
|---|---|---|
| Rendering modeThe single largest switch in the game. DirectX 12 is for a PC that can spend frames on lighting. | Performance | LargeThe single largest switch in the game. DirectX 12 is for a PC that can spend frames on lighting. |
| Nanite, Lumen, hardware ray tracingThey require DirectX 12. Epic’s own note is that ray tracing cuts frame rate hard. They are screenshot settings. | Off | LargeThey require DirectX 12. Epic’s own note is that ray tracing cuts frame rate hard. They are screenshot settings. |
| 3D resolutionLinear with pixel count. 50 percent is a different game visually. Step down by 10 and stop when the fight holds your refresh. | 100, or the lowest you can stand | LargeLinear with pixel count. 50 percent is a different game visually. Step down by 10 and stop when the fight holds your refresh. |
| View distanceThis one is information, not decoration. Pay for it before you pay for shadows. | Near for FPS, higher if you cannot see drops | LargeThis one is information, not decoration. Pay for it before you pay for shadows. |
| ShadowsIn Performance mode they are already reduced. In DirectX 12, Off is the FPS pick. | Off | SomeIn Performance mode they are already reduced. In DirectX 12, Off is the FPS pick. |
| Textures and effectsHigh textures need VRAM and stream in late, which stutters. Effects Low keeps explosions from eating the fight. | Low | SomeHigh textures need VRAM and stream in late, which stutters. Effects Low keeps explosions from eating the fight. |
| Anti-aliasingTSR and DLSS are DirectX 12 features. Do not stack a second anti-aliasing pass on top of DLSS. | Off in Performance mode, or the upscaler in DX12 | SomeTSR and DLSS are DirectX 12 features. Do not stack a second anti-aliasing pass on top of DLSS. |
| NVIDIA ReflexCuts the render queue. AMD users turn on Anti-Lag in AMD Software. There is no benefit to leaving Reflex off. | On + Boost | SomeCuts the render queue. AMD users turn on Anti-Lag in AMD Software. There is no benefit to leaving Reflex off. |
Show FPS, in the same video menu, so you can see the number while you change 3D resolution. One slider per drop.
X and Y sens, targeting, and no acceleration
Fortnite’s mouse and keyboard menu has sensitivity on X and on Y, plus targeting sensitivity and scope sensitivity. Those are multipliers. They are not acceleration. Set X and Y to the same number unless you have a reason to want vertical slower. Targeting sensitivity is ADS. Scope sensitivity is the sniper. Practice one, then the next.
There is no acceleration slider to hunt for. Epic reads raw mouse movement. Windows Enhance pointer precision still needs to be off. If the game feels faster on a flick than on a slow drag, you are either on the wrong Windows checkbox or a mouse profile with acceleration is the active profile.
Turn off mouse smoothing if a peripheral app offers it under that name. Smoothing is acceleration’s quieter cousin: it delays the start of a swipe.
- Mouse sensitivity X and YThe same number
- Targeting sensitivityYour ADS multiplier
- Scope sensitivityYour sniper multiplier
- Windows Enhance pointer precisionOff
Match X and Y unless you mean for them to differ. Targeting and scope are multipliers on that number.
If you stay on DirectX 12
Turn Nanite off unless you are specifically chasing image quality. Lumen global illumination and reflections at Epic are the pretty path and the slow path. Hardware ray tracing needs a GeForce RTX 2060 or newer, a restart, and Nanite plus Lumen. It is the most expensive lighting option in the menu.
DLSS Quality at 1080p, Balanced at 1440p, Performance at 4K is the usual split, and only if you like the look. FSR and XeSS are the same idea for AMD and Intel. Compare a landing, not the lobby. The lobby is not the game.
Measure a build fight, then the endgame
The lobby and the battle bus are cheap. A box fight and a stacked moving zone are not. Epic’s competitive notes treat Performance mode, an unlimited frame cap, and a 3D resolution you can hold as the frame-rate path. Confirm that path in a fight, with Show FPS on.
If you changed rendering mode, restart before you judge it. Quality sliders applied on the old renderer tell you nothing. Step 3D resolution down by 10, play one fight, and stop when the picture is as sharp as you can stand at your monitor’s rate.
View distance is the row that hides players. If a lower 3D resolution holds your frames and people still vanish in the air, raise view distance before you raise textures or effects.
- 1Set rendering mode, then restart.
- 2Turn Show FPS on.
- 3Play one build fight and one late zone.
- 4Move a single slider.
- 5Play those two moments again.
Leave these alone
DLSS and Performance mode at the same time
The menu will not honestly do both. If upscaling options are greyed out, you are on Performance mode, which is what you wanted for raw FPS.
Frame generation in ranked
The counter goes up. The picture is a guess between real frames, so aim feels late. Off for competitive, on only if you are filming or playing casually and you like the smoothness.