Experiencing low FPS in Marvel Rivals can turn what should be a fast-paced and thrilling multiplayer battle into a frustrating and sluggish experience. As a competitive game that features intense action, special effects, and quick reflexes, Marvel Rivals requires stable performance to ensure fair play and enjoyment. Whether you’re playing as Iron Man soaring across the battlefield or using Scarlet Witch’s chaotic magic, poor frame rates can disrupt gameplay flow, delay your reactions, and put you at a serious disadvantage. Understanding the causes of low FPS and knowing how to fix or minimize them is essential for players who want to get the best out of this game.
Understanding Low FPS in Marvel Rivals
What Is FPS and Why It Matters
FPS stands for frames per second and represents how many frames your computer or console can render each second during gameplay. A higher FPS results in smoother visuals and faster reaction times. In a game like Marvel Rivals, which includes fast movement, complex animations, and dynamic environments, keeping your FPS above 60 is recommended for a responsive and immersive experience.
Low FPS in Marvel Rivals may manifest as choppy gameplay, delayed inputs, or screen freezing during high-action moments. It can significantly affect your combat performance, making it harder to aim, dodge, or time your abilities properly. Players encountering these issues often need to adjust their settings or troubleshoot deeper hardware and software problems.
Common Causes of Low FPS in Marvel Rivals
Hardware Limitations
One of the main reasons for low FPS in Marvel Rivals is that the player’s hardware does not meet the game’s performance requirements. While the game is optimized for a wide range of systems, older PCs or low-end GPUs can struggle to render the high-quality textures, shadows, and ptopic effects used in the game. Key hardware bottlenecks include:
- Outdated or underpowered graphics cards (GPU)
- Low RAM (less than 8GB)
- Weak CPUs that cannot handle the game’s demands
- Hard drives with slow read/write speeds (HDD instead of SSD)
In-Game Settings
Even with decent hardware, running Marvel Rivals on ultra or high settings can drop your frame rate dramatically. This includes turning on features like anti-aliasing, ray tracing, or motion blur, which consume a lot of GPU resources. Additionally, running the game at high resolutions like 1440p or 4K without proper support can overload your system.
Background Applications
Running multiple programs in the background can interfere with performance. Apps such as web browsers, music players, video editors, and even some overlays like Discord or NVIDIA GeForce Experience may consume memory and CPU power that Marvel Rivals needs.
Thermal Throttling and Overheating
When a PC or laptop overheats, the system may reduce performance to prevent damage. This thermal throttling can cause sudden FPS drops in Marvel Rivals, especially during extended gaming sessions. Poor airflow, dusty fans, or lack of proper cooling solutions are often to blame.
Driver or Software Issues
Outdated GPU drivers, Windows updates, or bugs in the game client itself can cause poor optimization. If your drivers are not up to date, your system may not be taking advantage of the latest performance improvements or bug fixes provided by the manufacturer.
How to Improve Low FPS in Marvel Rivals
Optimize Game Settings
The easiest way to improve performance is by adjusting the in-game graphics settings. Players experiencing low FPS should try the following tweaks:
- Set graphics preset to Low or Medium
- Reduce screen resolution to 1080p or lower
- Disable motion blur, V-Sync, and depth of field
- Turn off shadows or lower their quality
- Limit frame rate to a consistent value like 60 FPS
These changes can help free up GPU and CPU resources, resulting in smoother gameplay without sacrificing too much visual quality.
Update Your Drivers
Ensure your graphics card drivers are updated to the latest version. NVIDIA and AMD frequently release game-ready drivers that optimize performance for newly released games like Marvel Rivals. You can use software like NVIDIA GeForce Experience or AMD Adrenalin to check for and install updates.
Close Unnecessary Background Applications
Before launching the game, close all unnecessary apps to free up system resources. You can use Task Manager to identify high-usage processes and terminate them. Disabling overlays such as Steam, Discord, or Xbox Game Bar may also help improve FPS.
Adjust Windows Performance Settings
Switch your Windows power plan to High Performance to ensure your CPU and GPU are not being throttled by energy-saving features. You can access this through Control Panel > Power Options.
Check Your Cooling System
Make sure your system is not overheating. Clean your fans and vents regularly, and consider using a cooling pad if you play on a laptop. Monitoring tools like MSI Afterburner or HWMonitor can help track temperatures during gameplay.
Advanced Tips for Consistent FPS
Use Game Mode and Hardware Acceleration
Windows 10 and 11 have a built-in Game Mode that prioritizes your system’s performance during gaming. Enabling Game Mode can reduce background interruptions and allocate more resources to Marvel Rivals. You should also disable hardware acceleration in browsers or apps like Discord that may interfere with your GPU.
Lower Resolution Scaling
If your system still struggles, consider lowering the resolution scale inside the game settings. This renders the game at a lower resolution and upscales it, which can improve FPS while keeping the display resolution intact.
Clean Installation of the Game
Corrupted game files can sometimes lead to performance problems. If you’ve tried every method and still experience low FPS, consider reinstalling the game to ensure all files are in proper condition.
Use Performance Monitoring Tools
Apps like RivaTuner Statistics Server (RTSS) or MSI Afterburner let you monitor FPS, GPU usage, and CPU load in real time. These tools can help identify if the bottleneck is your GPU, CPU, or RAM and inform future upgrades.
Should You Upgrade Your Hardware?
When Optimization Isn’t Enough
If all optimization efforts fail and you still face consistently low FPS, your system may no longer meet the requirements of Marvel Rivals. Here are some signs that it might be time to upgrade:
- Your GPU is several generations old (e.g., GTX 700 or RX 500 series)
- Your CPU usage hits 100% while gaming
- You have less than 8GB of RAM
- Your game loads slowly or frequently stutters
Upgrading to a newer GPU, adding more RAM, or switching from HDD to SSD can result in massive performance gains, not just for Marvel Rivals but for other modern games as well.
Low FPS in Marvel Rivals can take away from the immersive and competitive experience that the game is meant to offer. Fortunately, by understanding the common causes and applying the right fixes, players can improve performance and enjoy smoother, more responsive gameplay. Whether it’s through tweaking settings, updating drivers, or even upgrading hardware, taking the time to optimize your system can make a huge difference. As new updates and patches are released, keeping your game and PC in top shape will help ensure that every match runs at its best.