Marvel Rivals is a fast, hero-based shooter built on Unreal Engine 5, which means it looks great but leans on your CPU and GPU harder than its cartoonish style suggests. Destructible environments and ability effects can cause frame dips right when a team fight decides the round. This guide configures Marvel Rivals for a high, stable frame rate that keeps your aim and ability timing sharp.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
Our Top Picks
Top 3 picks at a glance
Display and upscaling first
Run in Fullscreen at native resolution. Marvel Rivals supports DLSS, FSR and XeSS along with frame generation on supported cards. For competitive play, set the upscaler to Quality or Balanced for a 25-45% frame boost, and be cautious with frame generation in a shooter because it adds a little latency; use it only if your base frame rate is already comfortable.
Cap your frame rate a few frames under your refresh so latency stays consistent, and confirm your monitor is running at its full refresh in Windows Display Settings.
Graphics settings that decide team-fight FPS
The Unreal Engine 5 features Lumen (global illumination) and Nanite are the biggest costs. Set Global Illumination and Reflection Quality to Low or Medium, Shadow Detail to Low, and Effects or Post Processing to Low so ability spam does not tank your frames. Model and Texture detail can stay Medium to High since they aid target recognition.
Turn off Motion Blur, and keep Anti-Aliasing at the temporal option the upscaler provides. Lowering Global Illumination alone can recover 15-30% of your frame rate during chaotic fights, which is exactly when you need the stability most.
| Setting | Value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Upscaler | DLSS/FSR/XeSS Quality | +25-45% FPS |
| Global Illumination | Low-Medium | Lumen is expensive |
| Shadow Detail | Low | Frees frames |
| Effects / Post Processing | Low | Smooth team fights |
| Textures | Medium-High | Target clarity |
| Motion Blur | Off | Cleaner tracking |
System tuning for UE5 shooters
Unreal Engine 5 games compile a lot of shaders. Install Marvel Rivals on an SSD and expect the first few matches to smooth out as the shader cache builds; do not judge performance on match one. Keep 16GB RAM and enable your memory profile, because UE5 traversal and destruction are CPU heavy.
Close background apps, keep your GPU driver current, and if you still see traversal or first-encounter stutter, lower Effects and Global Illumination another step. Those two settings are the usual cause of the sudden dips that ruin a clutch moment.
Keeping team fights smooth
The moments that matter most in Marvel Rivals, full six-versus-six team fights with ultimates flying, are exactly when Unreal Engine 5 effects and destruction stress your system hardest. If you only tune for calm scenes, you will still dip in the chaos. Lower Global Illumination and Effects specifically to protect those fights, and test in a busy match rather than the practice range to judge your settings honestly.
Because UE5 compiles shaders on demand, expect the first match after any update to hitch as the cache builds, then smooth out. Keep the game on an SSD, close background apps, and enable your memory profile since the CPU handles destruction and traversal. If frame generation is available, use it only when your base frame rate is already comfortable, since a shooter benefits more from low latency than from artificially higher frame numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I use frame generation in Marvel Rivals?
Only if your base frame rate is already high and you value smoothness over the lowest latency. In a competitive shooter, native high FPS with quality upscaling is usually the better feel.
Why is the first match always stuttery?
UE5 compiles shaders on demand. The stutter fades as the cache fills, so play a warm-up match after updates and keep the game on an SSD to speed the process.
Which single setting helps most in Marvel Rivals team fights?
Global Illumination. Lowering the Lumen-based lighting recovers the most frames during ability-heavy fights, which is exactly when you need stability. Effects and Shadow detail are the next best cuts for smoother team fights.
Bottom line
Marvel Rivals runs smoothly once you tame its UE5 features: use quality upscaling, drop Global Illumination, Shadows and Effects to Low, and keep textures readable. Add an SSD, 16GB of RAM with an enabled profile, and a warm-up match after updates, and the game holds a high frame rate exactly when team fights get busy.
