Introduction
Fortnite offers a lot of customization in its settings. There are a lot of option there that heavily impact gameplay. These settings range from personal choices like sensitivity and binds to widely debated options such as ‘Confirm Edit On Release.’ Some of these settings offer a clear gameplay advantage when dialed in, so let’s get into them.
Rendering Mode
In very simple terms, Rendering Mode in Fortnite determines how the game engine displays graphics on your screen, or how it ‘renders.’ Fortnite currently offers three rendering modes: DirectX 11, DirectX 12, and Performance Mode.
For competitive Fortnite, there is a clear winner here, and that’s Performance Mode. It will give you the best frames, the least input lag, and fewer stutters than any other Rendering Mode. However, there is a significant decrease in visual fidelity,. For most players, that trade-off is worth it given the performance increase, though.
So, if you are playing Fortnite in any competitive fashion, switch to Performance Mode. Your PC will thank you.
Edit Settings And Build Settings
Fortnite has a lot of customization when it comes to building and editing. Firstly, you can individually set Building and Editing Sensitivities. Changing these sensitivities is much more common on the controller, but players who use low sensitivity can actually benefit from increasing the Edit and Build sensitivities. It will take a bit of practice to get used to the change in sensitivity, but it’s well worth the effort.
Edit and build sensitivity are a matter of personal preference, but there is a setting that will significantly improve your editing, and that’s Confirm Edit On Release. It’s the single most important Edit setting in the game.
Edit On Release will make your edits much faster than before because it removes an entire setup from the editing process. With Confirm Edit On Release, you don’t need to press the edit button again to confirm the edit; it will auto-confirm the edit when you are done selecting the tiles.
Simple Edit is also worth looking into if you want to simplify things further. It actually makes editing very easy, but it does have flaws. A simple edit removes the tile selection part of the editing process. All you have to do is look in the general area where you want to edit and press the edit button once, and it will edit for you.
With Simple Edit, you do lose a bit of control because you can’t select the tiles by yourself. It is a great option for controller players and those who don’t have a super mechanical playstyle but rely more on game sense and strategy to win fights though.
Visibility And Colors
One of the single best ways to become a better Fortnite player is to improve your awareness, and that happens when you ensure the game looks right. In Fortnite, players inside the storm are hard to see. Similarly, nighttime in Fortnite decreases visibility significantly. So, let’s increase the visibility of the game.
First, increase the brightness in the game settings (100-125% is most commonly used) and also turn up the color vibrance in your GPU’s software to make the colors pop more.
Many pros also prefer using a Color Blindness setting to make it easier to see enemies in the storm. Deutranope and Tritanope are most commonly used. All of these combined will help you spot enemies much more easily and improve visibility overall.
UI Cleanup
Fortnite’s HUD is quite distracting by default, but you can clean it up. In the HUD settings, there are a lot of things you can turn on and off.
First up is the HUD scale. You can leave it at the default, but most players prefer sizing it down to 80% to lower to make it less distracting. You can also turn off things like Map and Backpack Keys; you already know the binds for map and backpack, so you don’t need the game to show you them.
The things you actually need in your HUD are the map, health, quickbar, resources, framerate, and ping. You can turn off the rest. Additionally, a lot of pros also turn on the Reticle Ammo Indicator. It shows your ammo count near your crosshair, which can be helpful.
Visualize Sound Effects
Now that visibility is covered, the next thing you need to ensure is sound. Of course, you should be using a capable headset that gives accurate spatial cues. But, along with that, you should also use a setting called “Visualize Sound Effects”. The setting was originally added as an accessibility feature for those with hearing problems, but it quickly became something everyone is using.
As the name suggests, it will give you visual cues for any sound you hear. Things like chests, enemy footsteps, and shots all appear on your screen as you hear them in your headphones. This can make pinpointing sound cues in chaotic situations much easier.
Custom Diagonal Movement
If you have ever seen a pro controller player, you might have noticed how smooth their strafes are. That was actually an advantage on the controller back in the day, as they could strafe sharper angles than KBM.
This setting was later added to KBM, too, and it’s called Custom Diagonal Movement. It basically gives you that controller movement on KBM, and it has become a staple for most players. Here are the best settings for it.
- Forward Diagonal Angle: 65-75
- Strafe Angle: 90
- Backward Diagonal Angle: 135
Custom Diagonal Movement will make your movement better, but it will feel weird initially. It requires a bit of getting used to, but once you do, your strafes will be much better, and you will be able to see more of your surroundings when you are moving.
Conclusion
These were some of the most important gameplay-impacting competitive settings that you should be aware of. Things like Confirm Edit on Release or Visualize Sound Effects do give you an advantage, while others depend on personal preference and playstyle. Usually, there is no hard-and-fast ‘best setting value’; it’s more about configuring them to your liking. This guide should be a good starting point. If you’re interested in more in-depth settings, you can visit our Fortnite Settings Guide.
