If you’ve been struggling with low frames per second (FPS) in Dota 2, you’re not alone. There’s nothing more frustrating than watching your favourite hero jitter across the battlefield while you try to outplay your opponents. In 2025, as Dota 2 continues to receive updates and visual tweaks, FPS can become a problem for those without top-tier hardware. But don’t worry, with the right tweaks and optimisations, you can dramatically improve your game's performance and enjoy buttery-smooth gameplay.
This Dota 2 FPS guide will walk you through all the necessary steps to boost your game’s performance. Whether you’re a casual player or an aspiring pro, these tips will help you squeeze every drop of performance out of your system.
Optimise In-Game Settings
First things first, before diving into advanced tweaks, adjusting your in-game settings is the easiest way to gain more FPS. Here’s how to optimise your settings without compromising too much on visual quality:
Video Settings
Resolution: Stick to your monitor’s native resolution for clarity, but if FPS is still struggling, lowering it slightly can give a significant boost.
Render Quality: Set this to around 80% for a good balance of performance and visuals.
Textures and Effects: Lower these if your GPU is struggling. Setting them to “Medium” or “Low” can help without making the game look like a pixelated mess.
Anti-Aliasing: Disable this. While it smooths out edges, it also consumes a lot of resources.
Shadows: Set this to “Low” or turn it off completely. Shadows are nice, but when you’re in the heat of battle, you won’t miss them.
Ambient Occlusion and Ambient Creatures: Turning these off can reduce the strain on your system without impacting gameplay.
Advanced Settings
V-Sync: Turn this off. V-Sync can introduce input lag, which isn’t ideal for a fast-paced game like Dota 2.
Max Frames Per Second: If your monitor is limited to 60Hz, you can cap your FPS at 60, but if you have a higher refresh rate, make sure this setting is uncapped to match your monitor’s potential.
Once you've adjusted your in-game settings, you should already see an improvement in your frame rate, but there’s more you can do.
Tweak Your System for Better FPS
Your PC setup plays a huge role in determining your Dota 2 FPS. Here’s how to optimise your system:
Update Graphics Drivers
This one might sound obvious, but it’s crucial. Regularly update your GPU drivers, as manufacturers often release updates that enhance performance, especially in popular games like Dota 2. Both NVIDIA and AMD frequently optimize their drivers for the latest game patches, and you don’t want to miss out on that free performance boost.
Adjust Windows Settings
Here are some quick Windows tweaks that can help:
Power Settings: Ensure your system is on “High Performance” mode. This prevents Windows from throttling your CPU and GPU performance to save power.
Background Apps: Close any unnecessary background applications that could be hogging resources, especially CPU-heavy processes like browsers or streaming services.
Game Mode: Turn on Game Mode in Windows settings to allocate more resources toward your game.
Graphics Card Settings
For NVIDIA users, open the NVIDIA Control Panel and go to “Manage 3D Settings”:
Set Power Management Mode to “Prefer Maximum Performance.”
Disable V-Sync here too, just in case.
For AMD users, access AMD Radeon Settings and:
Turn on Radeon Anti-Lag and Radeon Boost for better performance in competitive games.
Set Texture Filtering Quality to “Performance.”
Launch Options for a Boost
One of the coolest features in Dota 2 is that you can pass commands directly to the game through launch options. These commands can make a big difference in your FPS. To set launch options, right-click on Dota 2 in your Steam library, go to Properties, and find Launch Options.
Here are the best tried and tested launch options for FPS optimisation:
-novid: Skips the intro video, saving you time and resources.
-high: Prioritizes Dota 2 for CPU usage.
-nojoy: Disables joystick support, which can free up resources.
-console: Enables the in-game console.
-map_enable_background_maps 0: This command disables the animated background on the main menu, which can cause FPS drops even when you’re not in a match.
An Old but Gold Trick for FPS Boost
Now, let’s get into some of the old-school tricks that veterans have been using for years. This one is particularly useful if you’ve noticed a drop in FPS when navigating through Dota 2's menus:
Keep the Heroes Tab Open
If you’re experiencing low FPS, especially after the compendium updates or when browsing the game’s main menu, there’s a quirky trick: just leave the Heroes tab open while you're playing, and not the main background.
You wouldn’t think this would help, but the main background screen can be resource-intensive, running animations in the background even while you’re in-game. By keeping the Heroes tab open, you’ll reduce the load on your system, leading to a noticeable FPS boost.
This simple trick has been helping players for years, and even though it's an old method, it still works like a charm today. It’s a little hack that’s as effective as it is unconventional.
Beware of Ability Draft with This Launch Command
Here’s another helpful command: +map_enable_background_maps 0. This will disable the active background components and autoplay videos on the Dota 2 main page, giving you an instant performance boost. However, be careful if you're playing Ability Draft because disabling background maps can cause some issues. Specifically, it may prevent the Ability Selection screen from loading, which would leave you stuck in the draft.
If you’re a regular Ability Draft player, you might want to avoid this command or temporarily remove it when you queue for that mode. The last thing you need is to be locked out of ability choices while your teammates are counting on you to pick that perfect combo!
Hardware Upgrades for a Performance Boost
Sometimes, no matter how much tweaking you do, your hardware might just not be up to the task of running Dota 2 at your desired FPS. If you’ve optimized your settings and still struggle to get a playable framerate, it might be time to consider upgrading your components. Here are the components that will make the biggest impact:
Graphics Card (GPU): The most crucial component for gaming performance. Consider upgrading to a modern mid-range or high-end card from NVIDIA or AMD.
Processor (CPU): A fast processor will ensure that your system can handle the game’s demands without bottlenecking.
RAM: If you’re running with less than 8GB of RAM, consider upgrading to at least 16GB for smoother multitasking and gaming.
Conclusion: Smooth Sailing
With the tips in this Dota 2 FPS guide, you should be well on your way to a smoother and more enjoyable gaming experience. Whether you’re battling it out in high-octane ranked matches or casually queuing with friends, having consistent FPS will give you that edge you need to focus on outplaying your enemies-not your hardware.
Also Read: Best Dota 2 Hero for Killing: Who Reigns Supreme?
