Team Fortress 2 is a highly popular first-person shooter. The game has been around for 15 years, but people continue to enjoy it with their friends on Steam.

Because it’s such an old game, TF2 has the advantage that it can be played on the best graphics settings, even on older PCs. In this guide, you will learn how to do that.

TF2 Max Graphics Configuration

To use a TF2 max graphics configuration, you will need to edit the in-game settings and the Steam launch options. So the first thing you need to do is to open the Library tab in Steam find TF2 listed there, right-click on it, click on Properties, and then go to the General Properties section. There, you will find the Launch Options input box.

The next thing you need to do is to write the following commands in this input box:

-novid -high -USEALLAVAILABLECORES

Command Explanation:

Command	Explanation
-novid	Disables the startup video, allowing you to start playing the game without delay.
-high	Increases the game’s frames per second by setting its priority to high. In other words, it tells your PC: “Hey! Allocate as many resources as you can to this process!”
-USEALLAVAILABLECORES	Ensures that all of your CPU’s cores will be used, which may further enhance performance.

Advanced Video Settings in TF2

One thing that you need to do to have the best graphics settings for TF2 is to adjust the in-game settings. This is not complicated at all, but it’s good to understand what each option does.

Open Team Fortress 2 and go to the Options menu. There you will find the Video tab. Click on it and set your resolution. If you want to use your default resolution, don’t change anything. In many cases, using the 1920 x 1080 resolution will be the best choice.

Just change your display mode if you want to play the game in a window.

The next thing you need to do is to click on the Advanced button. This will open up a new TF2 settings window, where you can adjust the settings that control your visual experience.

Graphics Settings for Team Fortress 2 (TF2)

Setting	Description
Model Detail	Always set it to High. This variable determines the visual quality of the agent models, and there’s no reason to make any quality compromises here unless you have an ancient PC. Using the High value allows you to spot enemies a bit easier, and your experience will be much better than if you use Low or Medium.
Water Detail	This TF2 graphics setting is less important because there’s not much water in the game. But you should still set it to Reflect All.
Texture Detail	This is the most important TF2 setting for your visual experience because it controls the quality of all the textures inside the game. Using the High value will give you a significant competitive advantage simply because it allows you to distinguish everything with clarity.
Shadow Detail	This is not as important as other TF2 graphics settings. But if your PC can handle it, choose the High option.
Shader Detail	Shader Detail is a Team Fortress 2 setting that depends on your GPU’s VRAM. If your PC is capable, use the High option here as well. In principle, any GPU with 2GB VRAM or more will allow you to do this. But if you’re not entirely sure, just set it first on Low and see how it goes. Then switch to High and test if everything works well.
Color Correction	The impact of enabling this is good visually, and your number of frames per second won’t suffer.
Filtering Mode	This can significantly improve a scene’s texture quality, so you should set it to Bilinear or even Trilinear if you have a decent PC. Going higher than that is not that useful.
Wait for Vertical Sync	This can create lags and lower fps on some PCs, so you should disable it.
Multicore Rendering	Enabling this guarantees that your PC uses all of the cores of its GPU to support the game and maximize performance.
Use Bloom Effect When Available	Enabling this might be fun for some players, but from a competitive standpoint, it doesn’t make sense because it only hinders your ability to understand what’s happening.
Motion Blur	This is another setting that gives you a competitive disadvantage. But if you enjoy the effect, you can enable it. After all, you’re not competing professionally.
Antialiasing Mode	This significantly impacts graphics, but it also consumes a lot of resources and may drastically lower fps. Enable it only if you have a decent PC.
High Dynamic Range	This TF2 option can give colors a much better look. Enable it, but only if it doesn’t hinder performance. Sacrificing fps for a more colorful experience doesn’t always make sense.
Field of View	A wider FoV will give you a competitive advantage, so always use the maximum value here.

Summary

TF2 provides lots of graphics settings. Understanding what they do and tweaking them correctly will result in a much better visual experience.

Frequently Asked Questions