XDefiant: Best Settings For Better Performance

XDefiant

By Nathan Round

Published May 22, 2024

Ubisoft's XDefiant is here, and although the game's launch was plagued with server stability issues, players can now hop in and battle it out in this fast-paced, free-to-play shooter. While many players may be looking for the best weapons to use and testing out the game's various factions to decide which one to play, there is another way players can level up their gameplay.

XDefiant is an action-packed multiplayer shooter that plays remarkably smoothly on both PC and console. However, players who want to boost their framerate and performance can benefit by optimizing their in-game settings to ensure the game runs at its absolute best. Here are the best settings for better performance in XDefiant.

XDefiant: Which Faction Should You Play As?

There is a wide range of factions that players can choose from in XDefiant. But which one should you play as?

Best Settings For Better Performance In XDefiant

Best Gameplay & UI Settings

best Field Of View Settings for better performance in XDefiant

As far as gameplay settings go, the only setting that affects your game's performance is Field Of View. Though maxing out your Field Of View is often preferred to increase your visibility of the battlefield, having this setting on high can negatively impact the framerate. If you find that your overall FPS is taking a hit, try setting your Field Of View anywhere from 90 to 100.

Best Video & Graphic Settings

Best Video & Graphics Settings for better performance in XDefiant

Video Settings
Display Mode	Set to Fullscreen. Yields the best results for a consistent framerate.
Display Resolution	Set to your monitor's native resolution. PC players can check their native resolution by heading to the Display Settings on their device.
Refresh Rate	Set to your monitor's native refresh rate to eliminate screen tearing. For example, if you have a 60HZ monitor, then set it to 60.00HZ.
Display Monitor	All down to personal preference, and it only applies to players running a dual monitor setup.
Triple Buffering	Set to Off. Although Triple Buffering does improve framerate, this is at the cost of increased input latency.
Reduced Latency	Set to On. Though it may lower framerate by a small amount, input latency is reduced.
NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency	Only applicable to NVIDIA Devices. Set to On. On will enable low latency mode, thus reducing latency and improving PC responsiveness. Setting to On + Boost will optimize latency for CPU-bound cases, but will draw more GPU power as a result.
Brightness	Preference-based
Contrast	Pick any setting that you prefer

Graphics Settings
DX12 Renderer	Only Set to On for devices with Windows 10 or newer. Otherwise, Set to Off.
HDR	Set to Off to avoid reducing framerate.
HDR Peak Brightness	Preference-based
HDR Peak Brightness for UI Elements	Preference-based
Graphics Quality	Essentially, it offers preset values for many of the latter graphic settings. For most devices, Medium is recommended. However, altering other graphic settings will set this value to Custom.
V-Sync Mode	Setting to Off is recommended to reduce input latency. If players experience screen tearing, then consider turning this on.
Framerate Limit	Setting to Off is often recommended to achieve the highest framerate possible. If players experience severe fps fluctuations or screen tearing, then turn this setting On.
Custom FPS Limit	Only applies if Framerate Limit is set to On. In this case, set to the highest value possible to achieve the highest framerate.
Shadow Quality	Can impact performance. Medium is often recommended. For low-end devices, set to Low.
Spot Shadows	Likewise, Medium is also recommended for better performance. Set to Low for low-end devices.
Spot Shadow Resolution	Again, it can impact performance. Medium provides a good middle ground. Set to Low for low-end devices.
Contact Shadows	Off to Sun Low is recommended to keep the framerate high.
Resolution Scale	85% to 100% is recommended for most devices. Lower-end devices can benefit from a performance boost if set to 50% or 75%.
Sharpening	This setting does not impact performance. Set to whatever value is preferred
Particle Quality	For a better framerate, set to either Medium or Low.
Volumetric Fog	Low is recommended to improve framerate.
Global Reflection Quality	Medium or Low will work great for boosting fps.
Local Reflection Quality	Set to Off or Low for a performance boost.
Vegetation Quality	Does not have a huge impact on performance. With that being the case, set to Medium.
Sub-Surfacing Scattering	Mostly down to personal preference. Setting to either On or Off does not have a huge impact in performance.
Ambient Occlusion	For boosting framerate, Medium or Low is recommended.
Object Detail	Mostly down to personal preference. To mitigate lowering performance, any value from 20 to 58 is ideal.
Extra Streaming Distance	Heavily reliant on RAM. A longer object streaming distance will use more memory. 10 is recommended for high-end devices, 5-8 for medium, and 5 and below for low-end devices.
Lens Flare	Has relatively little impact on performance. Set to Off for improved visibility.
Water Quality	For a better framerate, set to Medium or Low.
Chromatic Aberration	Preference-based.
Terrain Quality	For a higher framerate in *XDefiant, set to either Medium or Low*.