Quake Champions Guide

Quake Champions settings and performance

Checked September 24, 2026

VERIFIED · Settings list checked2026-09-24

This page covers the settings that affect how Quake Champions runs, with the 1.31 additions marked, plus what the community has found actually helps with stutter. It does not invent a configuration-file path or a set of “best” values, because the developers have not published either and a wrong path sends you hunting for nothing. Verified 24 September 2026.

Settings list checked 1.31 patch notes (A) + community performance reports (C)

What 1.31 added to the settings

The final patch touched performance and readability directly.

SettingWhat it doesSource (level)
Adaptive FPS StabilizerA new option aimed at holding frame times steadier when the frame rate would otherwise fluctuate1.31 patch notes (A)
FPS LimiterFixed; a limiter that previously misbehaved can now be relied on to cap frame rate1.31 patch notes (A)
Threaded InputAdded, moving input handling onto its own thread to reduce input latency1.31 patch notes (A)
Enemy and ally outlinesA BOLD option was added for the outline rendering1.31 patch notes (A)
Weapon accuracy UIShows per-weapon accuracy in game1.31 patch notes (A)
Network packetsRedundant packets were removed, cutting network overhead1.31 patch notes (A)

Because 1.31 is the final version, this is the finished set of options: there will not be a later patch that fixes a setting or adds one.

Getting a stable frame rate

The single most useful reframing for this game: stability beats peak frame rate. An arena shooter is read through consistent motion, and a system that alternates between 200 and 90 frames per second is harder to play on than one that sits at a steady 120.

A sensible order of operations:

  1. Start with the Adaptive FPS Stabilizer and a deliberate cap. Use the (now fixed) FPS Limiter to cap below your average rather than above your best, so frames stop arriving in bursts.
  2. Lower graphical quality before lowering resolution scale. Community experience is that the game exposes a resolution scale rather than a percentage texture scaling option, so the coarse lever is resolution, not texture detail. Exhaust the quality options first.
  3. Turn effects down if fog or smoke obscures fights. Community reports describe effects on low as the practical way to keep sightlines readable, which matters more in an arena shooter than in most games.
  4. Leave outlines on, and consider BOLD. Enemy outlines are the main readability aid the game offers; the 1.31 BOLD option makes them clearer at a glance.
  5. Watch frame-time, not the frame counter. If your average is fine but the game feels bad, you are looking for stutter, not throughput.

Known community notes on performance

These are player-reported findings rather than publisher documentation, so they carry level C and should be tested on your own machine rather than assumed:

  • Enemy outlines appear thicker at low resolution scale, which some players like deliberately and others find distracting.
  • Low overall settings remain the common baseline in community advice, including from players running high-refresh monitors.
  • Stutter is usually configuration or driver related, not a server-side problem — the usual suspects are overlays, background applications and an unstable frame cap rather than the game itself.
  • A high refresh rate is not a substitute for a stable frame time. Players who report the best feel generally report consistent frames, not the highest number.

Troubleshooting stutter, in order

  1. Cap your frame rate below your typical average with the FPS Limiter and confirm the stutter changes character. If it does, the problem is frame pacing.
  2. Remove overlays and capture tools one at a time. Overlay hooks are a common cause of intermittent stalls.
  3. Update your GPU driver, then re-test before changing anything else, so you know what fixed it.
  4. Check your network path. 1.31 reduced packet overhead, but it cannot fix a bad route. In-game Playlist Queue stats show more than a raw ping and are worth reading before blaming your own machine.
  5. Drop resolution scale as a last resort. It is the blunt instrument, and it costs clarity exactly where an arena shooter needs it.

About configuration files

Quake Champions does have configuration data on disk, but the developers have not published a reference for it, and this page deliberately does not print a file path it cannot verify. If you need to reset or inspect local settings, the supported route is Bethesda Support rather than a path copied from a forum post:

  • Bethesda Support — help.bethesda.net

Anyone quoting a configuration path as official is going beyond what the publisher has documented. Treat such claims as community guidance, not documentation.

What this page does not do

  • No “best settings” preset. Hardware varies too much for one preset to be honest, and the game's own options are the reference.
  • No frame-rate benchmarks per GPU. This site has not run them, and publishing numbers it did not measure would break its sourcing rule.
  • No configuration-file instructions. See above: unverified paths are worse than no path.

For the hardware the game officially targets, see download size and requirements; for the patch that introduced these options, the update page.

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