The best way to optimize FPS settings in League

FPS is everything in a competitive game, and we know exactly how to maximize it with the right settings for League of Legends.

Frame rate per second tells the user how many images a computer can generate per second. A higher FPS means a smoother animation and usually a better gaming experience. PC builders consider 200-400 FPS to be within competitive range for LoL, though most people will have no problems at 60-90 FPS. With League’s Swarm mode set to begin next week, players are going to want to make sure that their settings are up to snuff.

Here’s how to optimize the FPS settings in League to make the game run as quickly as it can.

Optimal FPS settings for League of Legends in-game

There are several ways to tweak the LoL system so the FPS settings get more power behind them.

Reduce video and audio

One of the easiest ways to increase FPS is by lowering the visual quality of the game itself. That way, more GPU power is available for frame generation. Videos and images are stored in VRAM, visual random-access memory. Riot requires computers to have 2 GB of VRAM and recommends having 4 GB. The more VRAM is available, the more images League can generate.

Notably, the shadow processing engine takes up a lot of VRAM space that could be used to render images faster instead of rendering depth. Some even prefer the lack of visual shadows, finding them distracting.

If the main problem is the game running with a low FPS rather than wanting a really high one, players can cap frame rate at 60 FPS. This capping can help limit fluctuations in frame rate that come from the GPU trying to create as many images as possible. If the screen is showing snippets of different frames, a fast FPS does a player no good.

Furthermore, maximizing frame rate puts a lot of stress on the GPU that can result in overheating and possible damage. A lower, but still good FPS can then preserve the life of the graphics card and other hardware.

To change the FPS settings in League, players must open up the game and hit ESC on their keyboard, then navigate to video. Riot recommends the following settings for PC and Mac as a starting point, from which users can adjust as desired.

• Settings: Custom
• Resolution: Match desktop resolution
• Character Quality: Very Low
• Environment Quality: Very Low
• Shadows: No Shadow
• Effects Quality: Very Low
• Frame Rate Cap: 60 FPS
• Uncheck Wait for Vertical Sync
• Uncheck Anti-Aliasing

Players can also, through ESC, go to the interface and change settings to reduce any hardware stress that might be causing lag.

• Uncheck Enable HUD animations
• Uncheck Show Target Frame on attack
• Uncheck Enable line missile display
• Uncheck Show Attack Range

Riot Support suggests testing all changes in a custom game before returning to the main servers.

Check for corrupted files

Making sure that League files are intact could also improve FPS. Because LoL updates every two weeks or sooner, file corruptions in processing aren’t uncommon. Fortunately, there’s a quick way to make sure files are clean. Players can either initiate a hard reset or reinstall through the Riot Client itself.

• Open League of Legends and click the gear icon in the top right corner
• Select Initiate Full Repair
• Wait for the files to be repaired, between 5 and 30 minutes depending on the damage

Disable sound effects

The last thing to check within League itself to improve the FPS settings is the sound. Sound operates similarly to the visual output in that shutting it down frees up more memory for performance. Players can hit ESC and disable sound from the panel there.

Troubleshooting FPS issues caused by the computer in League

Here are some tips to see if a computer can be tuned up to further boost FPS in League of Legneds.

End other processes and close other apps

League not only takes up VRAM, but RAM, random access memory, which is what lets computers store temporary data and run all major programs. If a player is having an issue with their frame rate but changing the in-game FPS settings isn’t helping, they might be using too much memory at once.

Players can free up memory by going to the Task Manager on PC or Activity Monitor on Mac. Both will tell the user how much CPU and RAM is being used at the moment. To free up room, right click on the app or process that’s taking up too much memory and click “End task.” This works the same on Mac and PC.

Users can also choose to close all apps and programs running except League to get the most available RAM. If they have a bit more time, they can also go through all files and permanently delete anything they don’t need.

Update and reset

Any number of hardware could be responsible for lagging FPS, which can be updated or even fully reset to catch problems.

In Windows, users can check on their graphics card, operating system, and Windows programs.

To check which graphics card the PC has installed, click Windows + R and type dxdiag. AMD, Intel, and Nvidia all have guides online on how to update the drivers and ensure peak performance. Additionally, Nvidia and AMD both have control panels, Nvidia Control Panel and Catalyst Control Center, that allow for users to perform full resets. Both can be found by right-clicking on the desktop, going into 3D settings or preferences, and restoring defaults.

Many slow PCs can see an improvement by changing their settings to the best performance as part of the following sequence.

• Right click Computer > Properties > Advanced System Settings > Advanced tab > Settings under Performance > Adjust for best radial performance > Advanced tab > Adjust for best performance of: Programs radial

Underpowered computers will likely see the greatest benefit, but all PCs should see at least a minor boost.

If everything else comes back okay, users can run a clean boot, where Windows restarts with a minimal amount of programs. From there, they can go through trial and error to see which program is causing an issue. In Windows 11, users should follow these steps.

• Search msconfig and choose System Configuration
• Go to Services > Hide all Microsoft services -> Disable All and Apply
• Move to the Startup tab and disable all items
• Choose Apply and restart the computer

For Mac, users running into issues with FPS settings will want to follow similar steps with different procedures.

Mac iOS has a special memory called NVRAM that stores information such as volume and display brightness that can affect League performance. To reset, users need to shut down and restart their computer. Before the gray screen appears, press Command-Option-P-R and hold until the Mac restarts again. At this point, some system settings may need to be reconfigured since everything was reset to default.

Like PCs, graphics card issues can affect FPS. Unlike PCs, Macs use Automatic Graphics Switching that switch to the best graphics system. It can save battery life at the risk of game performance issues. By turning it off, users change the system so that it always operates on the higher-performance discrete graphics processor.

• Open System Preferences
• Choose Battery and uncheck the Automatic graphics switching option
• Choose the Lock icon and reboot the system

The battery life may decrease, but at least it won’t keep affecting the League FPS.

Finally, users can closed all unused applications to reduce memory and CPU drain while playing LoL. They can do so through the following steps:

• Press Command-Shift-U and double click Activity Monitor
• Choose View then All Processes, Hierarchically
• Sort the listed processes by the CPU column by clicking on the header once
• If any processes take up more than 25% of the CPU, close by selecting the X icon and then Force Quit

Reduce computer heating

Computers are prone to overheating, especially when running memory-intensive games like League. For players who constantly hear their fans running, they should consider cleaning the computer vents with compressed air or investing in a fan.

Clean system registry

The system registry is the database that stores configuration settings and other options for the computer operating system. When it gets too full, it puts strain on the memory that can result in poor performance and a low FPS in League. There are several free options to download to help clean out the system registry.

Recommended LoL hardware settings for best FPS

Having the recommended hardware specifications can greatly help improve FPS in League.

Riot has both required and recommended system specs, but players who care a lot about having the highest FPS will want to go with the recommended ones. WHY

For PC, League no longer has DirectX9 support as of May 2024. Those on PC will want to make sure that they’ve updated their version of DirectX.

Mac computers notably have a bug where League of Legends won’t install on systems that have only run MacOS 10.15. Instead, players will need to rollback their computers to 10.14 and retry from there. Additionally, LoL won’t run on OS 12 or 13 – an important consideration for anyone thinking about buying a new Mac.

While players should do fine with 60 FPS, this guide will hopefully help those who want to change their FPS settings in League to whatever their hearts desire.