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The PC version of Borderlands 4 had a tough launch, with frequent frame drops and poor performance that make the game hard to run smoothly, even on high-end PCs. While updates are expected to resolve these issues, you can adjust some settings now to improve your frame rate.
We’ll examine Borderlands 4’s PC options to help you optimize your gameplay experience across different systems. These include visual settings and optional gameplay tweaks that can make combat more manageable. First, let’s look at the best visual settings to enhance performance on your PC.
Visual Settings
The images above show the game’s main hub at various graphic presets: low, medium, high, very high, and badass. The low preset reduces foliage and detail quality significantly, so only use it if your PC barely meets the game’s minimum system requirements. However, cranking the game beyond high causes a noticeable hit on performance. We recommend starting with the medium preset and using your preferred resolution upscaler. Our optimized settings below will give a good balance between quality and smooth gameplay.
Basic Settings
The main adjustment we suggest here is the Field of View (FOV) slider. The default of 90 feels narrow, especially with the game’s new movement features. Try increasing it to 100 and see how it feels. If you want it even wider, go up to 110 for a better experience.
Advanced Settings
In the visual options, you’ll find settings like resolution scaling, upscaling, and environment details. If you’re playing at 1440p or higher, enable an upscaler—Nvidia’s DLSS if you have an Nvidia GPU, or Epic’s TSR as a solid alternative. Start with the “Balanced” upscaling mode; decrease to “Performance” if your frame rate drops too much.
For environment details, reducing foliage density and HLOD (Hierarchical Level of Detail) loading to high improves both visuals and performance. Keep geometry quality at medium unless you have a powerful PC. Texture quality depends on your VRAM; with 8GB or less, stick to low or medium. If you have more VRAM available, you can increase textures with minimal impact on performance.
Textures streaming speed is often limited by your storage drive’s speed: SSDs should set this to very high, while HDDs or optical drives should use lower settings. Most recommended are medium settings for other options, with volumetric effects and reflections at low to minimize frame drops during combat. Feel free to lower other settings further to boost FPS if needed. For post-processing, disable motion blur and set quality to low; these don’t affect performance but can improve clarity.
When configuring these settings, enabling an upscaler at 1440p or above is crucial for better performance, with DLSS and TSR being the top choices. Start with balanced quality and reduce it if your frame rate is insufficient. For Nvidia RTX 40 series cards or higher, frame generation can help maintain 60+ FPS, but it may increase input latency if your frame rate dips below that.
Environment settings like foliage density and HLOD range are the biggest factors affecting visual fidelity. Keep both at high for the best visuals. Texture quality is VRAM-dependent; lower VRAM means sticking to medium or low.
Textures streaming speed is influenced by your storage. Use very high if on an SSD, and lower if on slower drives. We generally recommend medium settings across most options, but setting volumetric effects and reflections to low helps maintain stable performance during combat. Adjust others downward if needed to increase FPS. Disabling post-processing effects like depth of field, film grain, and motion blur further reduces CPU and GPU load.
Controls
In the control settings, two options are particularly helpful. Lower the Look Sensitivity and Mouse ADS Snap to Target. The default mouse sensitivity is quite high, so reduce it for finer aim control. The Snap to Target feature makes your reticle jump to enemy weak points when aiming with mouse and keyboard, which is especially handy with precision weapons like Jakob’s firearms. You can also rebind keys to your preference, emphasizing comfort for your specific setup.
Gameplay
Borderlands 4 uses a compass instead of a traditional minimap, showing enemy positions within your field of view. You can toggle a radar overlay that displays enemies on a top-down HUD, which can help track foes more easily in complex fights.
Accessibility Settings
Adjusting some accessibility options can make gameplay more comfortable. Lower Screen Shake Intensity and Camera Head-bob to 25% or less. You can turn them off for zero camera movement. Also, disabling Grapple View Tilt prevents your character from constantly looking at grapple points, reducing disorientation during traversal. If mantling onto ledges is a challenge, enabling Mantle with Forward allows automatic vaulting when running into surfaces.
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