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
Multithreaded rendering on
Video, General. This lets the game use more than one CPU thread. Off is a leftover for very old chips. On is the default you want.
Start 3
Anti-aliasing None, or MSAA 2x
MSAA 4x is the expensive pretty option. None is the clearest and fastest. 2x is the compromise.
Start 4
NVIDIA Reflex On + Boost, VSync off
Limit FPS to your refresh only if the frame time is messy. Otherwise Unlimited, with Reflex on, is the low-delay setup.
Video settings that move the number
Valorant’s renderer is intentionally cheap. If you are far under your refresh rate, the cause is usually the laptop GPU, a 4K desktop resolution, MSAA 4x, or something outside the game. Do the Windows guide first if a machine this light cannot hold 144.
Material, texture, and detail quality are mostly VRAM and a little GPU. Low is the FPS pick. Medium is enough to tell agents apart. Anisotropic filtering 4x or 8x is cheap sharpness. Bloom, distortion, and cast shadows of first-person hands are clutter. Off.
- Display modeFullscreen
- Multithreaded renderingOn
- Material / Texture / DetailLow
- Anti-aliasingNone
- VSyncOff
- NVIDIA ReflexOn + Boost
- Bloom and distortionOff
General stays on high-performance choices. Quality stays low except where you still need to read the map.
| Setting | Set it to | Frames |
|---|---|---|
| Display modeLowest delay. Windowed fullscreen is easier to alt-tab and slightly worse. | Fullscreen | SomeLowest delay. Windowed fullscreen is easier to alt-tab and slightly worse. |
| ResolutionNative is sharp. If you are GPU-bound, 1920×1080 on a 1440p monitor is a real FPS gain. Stretching is a feel choice, same as in CS2: the frames come from the pixel count. | Native, or one step down | LargeNative is sharp. If you are GPU-bound, 1920×1080 on a 1440p monitor is a real FPS gain. Stretching is a feel choice, same as in CS2: the frames come from the pixel count. |
| Multithreaded renderingUses the extra cores. Off caps a modern CPU for no benefit. | On | LargeUses the extra cores. Off caps a modern CPU for no benefit. |
| Anti-aliasingMSAA is the costly line in an otherwise cheap game. None also keeps distant heads a little crisper. | None | LargeMSAA is the costly line in an otherwise cheap game. None also keeps distant heads a little crisper. |
| Anisotropic filteringFloors and walls stay sharp at an angle. The cost is small. | 4x or 8x | SmallFloors and walls stay sharp at an angle. The cost is small. |
| Improve clarityA sharpness pass. It can look good and it can shimmer. Settle FPS first. | Off while testing | SmallA sharpness pass. It can look good and it can shimmer. Settle FPS first. |
| Bloom, distortion, shadowsVignette, first-person shadows, and ability bloom hide information and cost a little. | Off | SmallVignette, first-person shadows, and ability bloom hide information and cost a little. |
Valorant already uses raw input
Valorant does not offer a mouse-acceleration slider because it reads the sensor directly. There is nothing to “set to zero” inside the game. The Windows checkbox still needs to be off, for the reason in the Windows guide: every other program, and any moment the game is not in raw input, still uses it.
Scoped sensitivity is a multiplier on your hipfire sens. 1.0 means the scope matches. ADS and scoped sens are not acceleration. Change them when you want the scope slower or faster, then leave them. The same is true of Focus mode sensitivity.
Vendor software is where Valorant players accidentally reintroduce acceleration. Open G Hub or Synapse, select the mouse, and confirm acceleration is off and angle snapping is off for the profile that is active while Valorant is running. A profile that only applies on the desktop is a classic way to “have it off” and still feel it in game if the game profile is a different one.
| Setting | Set it to | Frames |
|---|---|---|
| Enhance pointer precisionThe game ignores it in a match. The rest of the PC does not. | Off | LargeThe game ignores it in a match. The rest of the PC does not. |
| Scoped sensitivityA multiplier, not acceleration. 1.0 matches hipfire. | Whatever you can track with | SmallA multiplier, not acceleration. 1.0 matches hipfire. |
| Angle snappingIt straightens swipes. That is a kind of acceleration sideways. | Off in mouse software | LargeIt straightens swipes. That is a kind of acceleration sideways. |
| Polling rateSafe default. Higher only if the PC stays smooth. | 1000 Hz | SmallSafe default. Higher only if the PC stays smooth. |
Vanguard, overlays, and the laptop GPU
Vanguard has to run. Closing it closes the game. Do not download a tool that claims to “optimize” it. If Valorant is the only game that stutters, update the chipset driver from the motherboard or laptop maker, then the GPU driver, and confirm in Task Manager that the discrete GPU is the one working.
The NVIDIA Reflex Latency Flash indicator, in the same video menu, draws a marker you can photograph if you are measuring click-to-photon. You do not need it on during a match.
Limit FPS On, set just under the monitor, is the right call when an uncapped counter swings by 100 frames in a round. A flat cap feels better than a higher average.
HRTF and the buffer
Enable HRTF in Valorant’s audio settings if you play on headphones. It is the game’s own positional model. Stacking it with Windows Sonic or a DAC’s virtual surround makes footsteps harder, not easier. One spatial processor.
If shots feel late and the FPS counter is fine, look at network buffering under Settings, General. Minimal is the low-delay choice. Move it toward Moderate only when you are dropping packets and the game feels like it teleports. That setting does not raise FPS. It changes how much network jitter you are willing to feel.
Leave these alone
Process-lasso profiles and “Valorant booster” apps
They set priorities Vanguard and Windows already handle, and some of them are malware. Multithreaded rendering and Reflex are the supported version of that idea.
Playing at 4K with MSAA 4x on a mid-range card
The game will do it. It will also throw away the refresh rate you bought. Native 1080p, anti-aliasing off, is the competitive picture.