Ever since the release of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds back in 2017, Brendan Greene’s influence on the Battle Royale genre has been unquestionable. As the game popularised, many developers decided to jump on the bandwagon in an attempt to make the next-best Battle Royale game.
Some succeeded, others failed miserably. As a matter of fact, if you gave me a penny every time a new Battle Royale game was released, we could probably start developing our own. Game Gavel Royale, anyone? On a more serious note, as quirky as they may appear on the outside, learning the basics of any new Battle Royale game is not that simple.
Occasionally, you may even want to throw your gaming mouse across the room. But before you start learning how to get better at PUBG, you should first know how to optimize the game for ultimate performance. This is especially important if you’re constantly troubled by FPS drops when playing PUBG.
After all, sometimes, it’s really not you who sucks at the game, it’s your PC. If you’re gaming on a low to mid-range rig, there are many launch options you can do to run PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds seamlessly. With all of that being said, here are the best PUBG launch options for improved performance.
PUBG System Requirements
Before you attempt to download PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, you must ensure that your PC can run the game in the first place. Fortunately, you won’t require the absolute best CPU for gaming in order to play this Battle Royale.
Instead, you can get away with using a reasonably priced and reliable Intel i5 processor for gaming. Below, you will find the minimum and recommended PUBG system requirements necessary for running the game on your PC. If you want the best possible performance, check out our guide to the best PUBG settings for 2020.
PUBG Minimum System Requirements
- OS: Windows 7, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10 (64-bit)
- Processor: Intel Core i5-4430 or AMD FX-6300
- RAM: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 2GB or AMD Radeon R7 370 2GB
- DirectX Version: 11
- HDD: 30 GB available space
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
PUBG Recommended System Requirements
- OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5-1600 or Intel Core i5-7600K
- RAM: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB or AMD Radeon RX 580 4GB
- DirectX Version: 11
- HDD: 30 GB available space
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
Launch Options for Enhanced Performance in PUBG
As you may now be aware, smashing your desk every time you experience FPS drops won’t fix the problem. Neither will yelling like a maniac at 3 am. What may fix the problem, however, is adjusting a few launch options in PUBG. Trust me, your neighbors will thank you for this one. But what does this all mean?
Launch options are essentially settings that apply when you launch a game. They can help troubleshoot any issues that you may face when running PUBG, improving your overall experience with the game.
Do note that these launch options are helpful when it comes to improving performance, though they aren’t going to fix every single problem that may occur. For this reason, we highly recommend that you experiment with different settings to see what works best for you. With that being said, let’s discuss the best launch options for PUBG.
For this step, we highly recommend opening Notepad in order to write a string containing the following information. You can then adjust the bold text to suit your personal requirements.
-refresh 60
The above number should be changed depending on the refresh rate of your monitor:
- 60Hz monitor = -refresh 60
- 120Hz monitor = -refresh 120
- 144Hz monitor = -refresh 144
- 240Hz monitor = -refresh 240
If you’re still unsure, you can find out the refresh rate of your monitor by following these simple steps:
- Right-click on your Desktop and click on Display settings from the drop-down menu
- Scroll down to the bottom of the window and click on Advanced display setting
- Write down the refresh rate of your monitor. This can be found under Display information
-maxMem=13000
- 13GB RAM = 13000
- 14GB RAM = 14000
- 15GB RAM = 15000
- 16GB RAM = 16000
The launch command above simply controls the amount of RAM that you wish to allocate to PUBG. If you have 16GB of RAM and you want PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds to use 13GB, then use the -maxMem=13000 launch command. If you want PUBG to use more or even less RAM, replace 13000 with the desired amount.
-malloc=system
This launch command will let your OS (operating system) determine how much memory should be allocated to PUBG.
-USEALLAVAILABLECORES
This command does exactly what it says on the tin: it will make sure that all of your CPU cores are being used as you run PUBG. Which in turn, can improve overall performance greatly.
-sm4
The last command is useful if you’re still having trouble running the game. By adding this command to your Steam launch options, you can run PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds on DirectX 10 rather than DirectX 11. Do note that although PUBG won’t look as attractive, it should certainly run smoother.
How to Change PUBG Launch Options On Steam
Now that you know what the launch commands are, it’s time to apply them using Steam. If you used the same commands as us, your command string should look like this:
- -refresh 60-maxMem=13000-malloc=system-USEALLAVAILABLECORES-sm4
Next, go ahead and copy the entire launch command string from Notepad and apply it using Steam:
- Open Steam
- Navigate to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds in your games Library
- Right-click on PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
- Click on Properties from the drop-down menu
- Head to the General tab
- Click on the “Set Launch Options” button
- Paste your launch settings into the launch options field
- Press OK
Once you’ve done this, try and run PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds to see if your command string has improved overall performance. If it has, winner winner chicken dinner! If you’re still experiencing problems, then you can simply change the inputs above until your gaming experience has improved. Still having trouble? Then we suggest editing the PUBG Engine.ini file.
Edit the PUBG Engine.ini File For Improved Performance
The last thing you can do to improve overall performance is edit the PUBG Engine file. This requires you to simply go into your local folder, locate the Tsl Game file and replace the text found in the Engine folder. Here’s how to do it:
- Press WIN key + R to open the Run command
- Copy and Paste “%appdata%\Local\TslGame\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor” into the Run box and click OK
- Right-click on “Engine” (engine.ini) and open it with Notepad
- Delete all the contents of the file and replace it with the following text:
[/script/engine.renderersettings]
r.DefaultFeature.Bloom=False
r.DefaultFeature.AmbientOcclusion=False
r.DefaultFeature.AmbientOcclusionStaticFraction=False
r.DefaultFeature.AutoExposure=False
r.DefaultFeature.MotionBlur=False
r.DepthOfFieldQuality=0
r.DepthOfField.MaxSize=0
r.SwitchGridShadow=0
[/script/tslgame.tslengine]
FrameRateCap=0
- Click Save and Exit
Conclusion
Once you have applied the appropriate launch options, head on over to Steam and launch the PlayUnknown’s Battleground. If you did everything correctly, we hope that it has improved your gaming experience for the better.
If it has, feel free to let us know in the comments below. If it hasn’t, drop a comment and we’ll attempt to assist you as much as possible. Now that your gaming experience has improved, it’s time to improve your in-game performance.
You can do this by adjusting the in-game settings, learning the ropes or simply switching out your old peripherals. What about a high-end mouse for PUBG? One that is both ergonomic, affordable and reliable.
Additionally, you may want to consider purchasing a great PUBG headset. After all, crystal clear audio is vital when it comes to gaming.