Marvel Rivals is visually striking, probably demanding, and in many setups may present inconsistent frame rates, freezes, or stutter. This guide collects practical steps you can try, organized from quick wins to deeper fixes, and it intentionally highlights uncertainty – because different PCs react differently, and patches or driver updates might change outcomes. Try changes one at a time, measure results, and revert anything that causes instability.
| Quick essentials, what most players check first | Why it matters, and what to expect |
| Does your PC meet recommended specs (CPU, GPU, RAM)? | If not, you may see low FPS or crashes, upgrading RAM or using an SSD often helps most |
| Run the game in Fullscreen or Borderless, test both | Some systems gain smoothing in Fullscreen, others in Borderless, test which is steadier for you |
| Use upscaling – DLSS or FSR – if available | Upscaling can raise FPS a lot with small visual cost |
| Turn down global illumination, shadows, and effects | These settings usually give the biggest FPS return |
| Update GPU drivers, test Game Ready vs Studio drivers | New drivers often fix problems, sometimes older Studio drivers are more stable |
| Try toggling HAGS and ReBAR in Windows and BIOS | These features may boost performance for some users, they may hurt for others |
Know The Baseline – System Requirements And Expected Bottlenecks
Before tweaking, check your hardware against what the developers list as minimum and recommended, because many issues simply come from running below recommended hardware. Marvel Rivals generally expects a midrange current CPU, about 16 GB of RAM, and a GPU comparable to an RTX 2060 or an AMD RX 5700 class card for recommended play. If your system does not meet these targets, you should expect limits in maximum FPS and occasional instability, and hardware upgrades – especially moving the game to an SSD or increasing RAM – may be the most reliable fix. Also, DirectX 12 support and a modern Windows build are commonly required for launch, so keep your OS reasonably current.
Tame The In-game Settings, The Fastest Practical Gains
At Rivals Sector, we’ve found that the single most efficient place to start is the game settings. Marvel Rivals uses advanced lighting and particle effects, and since these are often the heaviest on the GPU, reducing them is the easiest way to get the biggest FPS boost.
| In-game control | Practical recommendation | Why it helps |
| Resolution | Lower from native, or use render scale | Reduces pixel workload on GPU |
| Upscaling | Enable DLSS (Nvidia) or FSR (AMD), performance or balanced modes | Upscaling raises FPS while keeping acceptable visuals |
| Global illumination / SSGI | Low or Off | Lighting passes are costly |
| Shadows | Low | Shadow detail taxes both GPU and CPU |
| Reflections | Screen space or Off | High cost for minor visual gains in gameplay |
| Effects, post processing | Low | Big performance return with little gameplay impact |
| Anti aliasing | Off or lowest mode | Saves GPU cycles, may increase jagged edges |
| V-Sync | Off, use Adaptive or rely on framerate cap | V-Sync can add input lag and sometimes limit FPS |
These recommendations are probably the quickest way to noticeable improvement in Marvel Rivals, however some players report different sweet spots depending on monitor refresh and GPU architecture, so try a couple of presets and measure with an in-game overlay.
System And Windows Tweaks, Things That May Help But Require Testing
Beyond the game itself, modern Windows and GPU features can influence performance. Two features often discussed are Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling, abbreviated HAGS, and Resizable BAR, also called ReBAR. In some builds enabling these has improved frame pacing and reduced CPU overhead, in other setups they have introduced instability – so they probably require careful testing on your machine. Also try Windows Game Mode toggles, set the power plan to High Performance, and add the game to graphics settings as High Performance where possible. Finally, add the game executable to antivirus exceptions, because background scans can cause periodic microstutters.
Drivers, Shader Compilation And Launcher Options
Keeping GPU drivers current is usually helpful, but the most recent driver is not always the best for every game, and some users have reported improved stability when switching to Studio drivers instead of Game Ready drivers. You may also find a launcher option to precompile shaders useful, because shader compilation during gameplay can cause stutter spikes. If you experience crashes stating DirectX issues, verify your OS version and GPU support for the required DirectX level. Updating drivers with a clean install is recommended if you suspect driver corruption or regression.
Community Fixes And Stutter Troubleshooting, Anecdotal But Often Effective
Real player reports can surface useful quirks that formal guides miss, however they are anecdotal and require caution. For example, some players reported fixing persistent stutter by toggling Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling off, others by enabling it. Some found that moving the paging file to a larger custom size reduced hitching, and others noted that disabling certain antivirus products removed periodic freezes. These are plausible, they may work for you, however they also carry small risks – for instance changing system security settings, so test and revert if needed.
When Small Changes Are Not Enough – Hardware Considerations
If you constantly run below target FPS despite optimization, hardware is likely the bottleneck. Priority upgrades that tend to give the best real-world improvements are, in order of typical impact: 1) moving the game to an SSD if it is on an HDD, that reduces load times and streaming hitches, 2) increasing RAM to 16 GB or more if you are under that, which reduces paging and stutter, 3) upgrading the GPU for higher sustained frame rates on higher settings. CPU upgrades can help if you see very high GPU utilization but low CPU utilization, though many problems are GPU bound. Overclocking is an option for experienced users, but it can cause instability and may void warranties. The cost effectiveness of upgrades depends on your current components, so weigh options carefully.
A Simple Optimization Roadmap, Practical Steps To Follow
| Step | Action | Expected effect, notes |
| 1 | Lower in-game lighting, shadows, effects, enable DLSS/FSR | Often largest FPS gain with minimal clarity loss |
| 2 | Update GPU drivers, run clean install if necessary | Fixes known issues, may improve frame timing |
| 3 | Test HAGS and ReBAR toggles one at a time | May help or hinder, so measure before and after |
| 4 | Move game to SSD, raise RAM to 16 GB if needed | Fixes streaming hitches and memory pressure |
| 5 | Try shader precompilation or clearing game cache | Helps with stutter spikes caused by on-the-fly shader builds |
| 6 | If stutter persists, test disabling overlays and antivirus temporarily | Some utilities interfere with game loops |
This roadmap is designed to be iterative, because one change may mask another problem. Take notes as you test, that will help you identify what actually helped.
Final Caveats, Differing Reports And How To Keep Testing Responsibly
No single combination will guarantee perfect performance across all machines, that’s important to accept up front. Some players find that Fullscreen gives the best results, others that Borderless or Windowed removes stutter. Upscaling technologies like DLSS and FSR often offer strong FPS increases, however some visual differences are inevitable. Community tips are useful and may be worth trying, but they are not guaranteed and occasionally recommend risky steps, so proceed cautiously. Keep backups of important settings, and if you change low-level system options like virtual memory or security tools, document how to reverse them.
