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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Start with a visibility-first profile: keep your display’s native output resolution, set Shadow quality and Fog quality to Low, turn Screen space AO Off, and leave Texture quality at Medium. Keep upscaling at 1x while you test. If those targeted changes do not meet your frame-time goal, compare an available 1.5x upscaler. This is a repeatable starting point, not a guaranteed FPS preset: the published guidance behind it was not benchmarked on a PC.
A practical starting profile
Apply these values before changing anything else. They reduce effects that can be expensive or distracting without immediately shrinking the entire image. The exact labels can vary with the build and hardware; use only options exposed in your Video settings.
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| Setting | Starting value | Reason | When to change it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Output resolution | Your display’s native resolution | Preserves the pixel grid used to read distant targets, silhouettes and effects. | Keep it native unless you have exhausted targeted cuts and accept a softer image. |
| Refresh rate | Highest usable rate supported by the display | Lets the monitor present frames as quickly as it can; the monitor itself does not create more rendered FPS. | Use a lower rate only for compatibility or stability. |
| Shadow quality | Low | Reduces shadow rendering quality and is a targeted cut. | Restore Medium if missing shadow detail harms readability and your measured frame time allows it. |
| Fog quality | Low | Reduces volumetric-fog resolution. | Raise it only when the visual improvement is worth the measured cost. |
| Screen space AO | Off | Removes soft contact shadowing, avoiding that extra effect. | Turn it on for richer contact shading if performance and clarity remain acceptable. |
| Texture quality | Medium | Balances surface detail and video-memory use. | Try Low on a constrained system; lowering textures is not an automatic FPS gain. |
| Upscaling | 1x initially | Renders at native internal resolution, retaining the clearest image. | Compare an available 1.5x mode only after targeted cuts fail to meet your goal. |
| Bloom and Area lights | Leave enabled initially | Their described performance cost is small, so cutting them first often buys little. | Lower them for a leaner image if you prefer the trade-off; restore them if the change is not worthwhile. |
| Depth of field | Your visual preference | The current tooltip is described as negligible cost with no gameplay-performance effect. | Change it for comfort or style, not as an FPS strategy. |
The profile is deliberately conditional. It does not claim that every PC will gain a particular number of frames, because the cited setting guide did not run a PC benchmark.
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How the visual trade-offs affect fights
Shadow quality is an inexpensive first cut because it changes the fidelity of shadows rather than the size of the entire frame. Low can make some environmental shading less distinct, so restore Medium if a shadow edge helps you read a corner or ability. Fog quality controls volumetric-fog resolution. Low can make atmospheric effects less detailed while preserving the geometry of heroes and terrain.
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Screen space AO adds soft contact darkening where surfaces meet. Turning it off removes depth cues around feet, props and walls, but those cues are rarely worth sacrificing frame time when a fight is already struggling. Texture quality is different: it primarily determines texture resolution and consumes video memory. A lower texture setting can help a system that is running out of VRAM, yet it may not change the main render bottleneck at all.
Bloom and Area lights are lower-priority cuts in the cited guidance. They can make an image look cleaner when reduced, but their described cost is small. Depth of field is likewise a comfort choice because the current tooltip describes negligible cost and no gameplay-performance effect. Do not spend time tuning it as an FPS fix.
Why native output resolution comes first
Output resolution determines the image sent to your display. Dropping it can make distant detail harder to read, and a lower pixel count by itself does not prove that your particular workload will become faster. Keep the output at the panel’s native resolution while you test shadows, fog, ambient occlusion and textures separately.
Upscaling is different from changing the output resolution. The game still presents the native output size, but it renders the scene internally at a smaller size and reconstructs it. That can reduce GPU work while sacrificing fine detail, shimmer control or clarity. The trade-off is worth testing only after the less destructive changes above.
What 1.5x and 2x mean at 1080p
For a 1,920 × 1,080 output, dividing each dimension by the scale factor gives the ideal internal dimensions shown below. These are geometry calculations, not measured FPS results; the game may round dimensions to hardware-friendly values.
| Upscaling mode | Ideal internal image | Internal pixels versus 1080p output | Practical consequence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1x | 1,920 × 1,080 | 100% | Maximum source detail and no upscaling softness. |
| 1.5x | 1,280 × 720 | 44.44% | Much less internal pixel work, with a visible clarity trade-off that must be judged in motion. |
| 2x | 960 × 540 | 25% | Very low internal resolution; use only if you accept a substantially softer image. |
At other output resolutions, calculate the same way: divide width and height by the selected factor, then treat the result as an estimate because rounding can occur. NVIDIA DLSS requires a GeForce RTX GPU according to the settings guide; select only an upscaler and modes that your system actually exposes.
How to test settings without fooling yourself
A quiet menu or an empty lane does not represent the workload that causes trouble. Use a warmed-up, repeatable section with a busy fight or the same replay segment each time. Hold every other variable constant so that a change in frame time has a plausible cause.
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- Enable the readings. In the HUD Telemetry option, set the display to show frame time and FPS always.
- Record a baseline. Warm up the same scene, then note the readings during the demanding section. Valve’s tooltip, as reported in the settings guide, defines frame time as the worst recent frame time and FPS as the current average; neither is an exported 1% low.
- Lock the test conditions. Use the same hero, camera position or route, output resolution, renderer, frame cap and sync state for every run.
- Change one control. Lower Shadow quality, repeat the section, and record the result before touching Fog quality or another option.
- Test the next targeted cut. Return to the baseline or keep a written sequence, then compare Fog quality and Screen space AO separately.
- Check image readability. Look at distant targets, silhouettes, particles and contact shadows during motion, not only in a static screenshot.
- Try textures only when justified. If video memory is constrained, compare Medium with Low. If frame time does not improve or the image becomes needlessly coarse, return to Medium.
- Test upscaling last. Compare 1x with the available 1.5x mode under the same scene and cap. Stop when the clarity loss is greater than the benefit you can measure.
A binding frame cap can hide differences between settings. If every test lands on the cap, temporarily use a sustainable uncapped or higher cap for comparison, then restore the cap you intend to play with. Keep the final comparison at the same cap and sync state you will actually use.
Choosing a profile for the problem you actually have
You want the clearest competitive image
- Keep native output resolution and 1x upscaling.
- Use Low shadows and Low fog, with Screen space AO Off.
- Keep textures at Medium unless video-memory pressure forces a lower trial.
- Restore Medium shadows or other effects one at a time if the missing detail affects decisions.
You are GPU-limited in large fights
Start with the visibility profile and verify it in a repeatable fight. If those cuts are insufficient, compare the available Quality-oriented upscaling mode at 1.5x. Do not assume that a larger scale factor is better: 2x at 1080p means an ideal 960 × 540 internal image, which can make distant information substantially harder to read.
You suspect video-memory constraints
Textures are the relevant first experiment because texture resolution uses video memory. Lower Texture quality from Medium to Low, then repeat the same scene. Keep the lower value only if it solves the observed problem without an unacceptable loss of surface detail. A texture reduction is not a universal frame-rate fix.
You are sensitive to tearing or input delay
Reflex, VSync and the frame cap are latency and synchronization choices, not a universal FPS recipe. The cited guide recommends Reflex Enabled when the option is available. VSync Off is appropriate only if you accept tearing. Players with active NVIDIA G-Sync who want tear-free output can use the guide’s separate G-Sync/VSync/Reflex route, but they should verify the effective frame rate rather than copy a universal cap. Choose a sustainable cap that fits your display and preference, then leave it fixed while comparing graphics settings.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsWhy team fights stutter
Team-fight stutter is a workload question, not proof that one menu option is always responsible. Effects, fog, shadows, texture streaming, a binding cap, sync behavior and a different phase of the fight can all change the observed frame time. Reproduce the same encounter after the scene has warmed up. Compare the worst recent frame time as well as average FPS, and repeat the run enough times to identify a consistent pattern.
If 1x versus 1.5x barely changes frame time, check the cap first and then compare the renderer under identical conditions. A CPU-limited scene can remain similar even when internal GPU resolution falls, but the readings alone do not prove that diagnosis. If the image is already blurry, return toward 1x instead of escalating to 2x without a measurable reason.
Renderer, caps and frame-time diagnosis
There is no established universal winner between DX11 and Vulkan in the cited material. Test the renderer under the same warmed-up fight, resolution, cap and sync state, and keep the one that behaves better on your system.
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If changing render resolution barely changes the readings, do not automatically conclude that the CPU is the limit. First check whether the frame cap is binding and whether the scene, camera and sync state truly match. A cap, a different fight phase or a different warm-up state can mask a real change.
When a scene stutters, compare the worst recent frame time shown by HUD Telemetry rather than relying only on average FPS. Repeat the encounter several times under identical conditions. If the image is already blurry, move back toward 1x or restore detail instead of spending more clarity without evidence of a useful gain.
Refresh-rate and monitor considerations
Select the highest usable refresh rate your current display supports. A high-refresh monitor can present frames more frequently when the game is producing them, but the display does not raise rendered FPS by itself. If your monitor limits the refresh-rate choice, upgrading it is an optional hardware decision rather than a guaranteed performance upgrade. Match the frame cap and sync method to the rate you can sustain, and prioritize stable frame time over a nominal number your system cannot hold.
Using Deadlock’s newer settings tools
Valve’s City Never Sleeps update, published September 29, 2026, added shareable settings codes and an instant video-settings preview. Use the code feature to apply a known configuration and the preview to inspect its visual result quickly. These tools improve setup and comparison; they do not establish a best profile or quantify an FPS increase.
After importing a code, verify the actual values in your Video settings. Hardware can hide options, round internal resolutions or expose different upscaler modes, so a code is not proof that two systems are rendering identically.
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A configuration file is not inherently a better first step than the in-game menu. The menu exposes the settings you need for the controlled process above and lets you see which options your current build supports. Use a config only when you understand the value it changes, can restore the previous file, and can confirm the resulting in-game value. Avoid copying undocumented launch options or community numbers as if they were benchmarks.
The Deadlock Handbook guide, updated October 6, 2026 and checked against the October 5 patch, presents hardware presets as starting points rather than measured benchmarks. It also reports that Valve has not published official system requirements; that is a statement from the third-party guide, not an official requirements page. Treat any preset as a hypothesis to test in your own demanding scene.
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Evidence, limits and responsible expectations
Jonathan Houle’s Hone guide, published October 1, 2026, says its recommendations use Valve’s English setting definitions and tooltips extracted by GameTracking on September 30, after the City Never Sleeps update. It explicitly says the proposed profile was not benchmarked on a PC. Read it as a supported starting point, not first-hand performance testing: Deadlock Best Settings for FPS: Keep Fights Readable.
The complementary Deadlock Handbook settings guide recommends retaining native resolution, trying Quality upscaling when GPU-limited, and reducing shadows and particles for busy fights. Its presets are labeled starting points, and its requirements statement should be attributed to that guide.
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No named Deadlock FPS benchmark or official recommendation establishes a universal frame-rate gain, a universal cap, or a universal DX11/Vulkan choice. Evaluate each change on five practical axes: average FPS, recent worst frame time in the same scene, distant-target readability, image quality lost, and latency or tearing under your chosen sync setup.
A concise decision sequence
- Set native output resolution and the display’s highest usable refresh rate.
- Set Shadows Low, Fog Low, Screen space AO Off and Textures Medium.
- Keep upscaling at 1x and establish a warmed-up fight baseline with HUD Telemetry visible.
- Change one setting at a time, holding hero, camera, renderer, cap and sync constant.
- If the target frame time is still missed, test an available 1.5x upscaler and inspect distant readability.
- Choose Reflex, VSync, G-Sync and the frame cap according to your tearing and latency preference, then verify the effective result.
- Save or share the final values with the City Never Sleeps settings-code tools, and re-check them after patches.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Deadlock settings should I start with for more FPS?
Keep native output resolution, set Shadow quality and Fog quality to Low, turn Screen space AO Off, leave Texture quality at Medium and keep upscaling at 1x. Measure that profile in a warmed-up fight before trying a 1.5x upscaler.
What does 1.5x scaling mean in Deadlock?
At 1,920 × 1,080 output, 1.5x means an ideal 1,280 × 720 internal render, or 44.44% of the output pixels. It may reduce GPU work, but the calculation is not an FPS guarantee and the image can lose fine detail.
Should I enable NVIDIA Reflex and VSync in Deadlock?
Use Reflex Enabled when the option is available if reducing latency is your priority. VSync Off avoids added synchronization but permits tearing. With active G-Sync and a tear-free goal, use the appropriate combined route and verify your effective frame rate rather than copying a universal cap.
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Is a Deadlock FPS config a better first step than menu settings?
No. The in-game menu shows which options your build and hardware support and makes one-change-at-a-time testing straightforward. A config is useful only when you understand the value, can back it up, and verify the resulting setting in game.
Why does Deadlock stutter in team fights?
Busy fights can expose effects, streaming, cap or synchronization behavior that a quiet lane hides. Repeat the same warmed-up encounter, watch worst recent frame time and average FPS, and hold the hero, camera, renderer, resolution, cap and sync state constant.
Should I lower textures for FPS?
Try Low only when video-memory pressure is plausible. Texture resolution uses VRAM, but lowering it is not an automatic FPS improvement. Return to Medium if frame time does not improve or surface detail becomes distracting.
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Does lowering my monitor resolution always increase FPS?
No. A lower pixel count may reduce some GPU work, but it can make distant targets harder to read and does not predict your result. Test targeted effects first and use upscaling only after measuring those changes.
Do Deadlock’s settings codes prove two PCs have the same performance?
No. The City Never Sleeps tools can share and preview values, but hardware may hide options, round internal dimensions or expose different upscaler modes. Verify the imported values and test them locally.
The Bottom Line
For a dependable first pass, keep native resolution and 1x upscaling, use Low shadows and fog, disable Screen space AO and leave textures at Medium. Measure in the same demanding fight with HUD Telemetry, then test one change at a time. Move to 1.5x upscaling only when targeted cuts are insufficient and the clarity trade-off is acceptable; choose caps and sync settings around your own display and latency preference.
Quick Recap
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