The best FoV (Field of View) for Back 4 Blood
To determine the best Field of View in Back 4 Blood, I have surveyed 78 players on their preference. Find out pros and cons brought by a wide FoV.
Generally, there is not a “best” setting for the field of view, but it comes down to your personal preference, the size of your screen and how close you are to it.
You may think of the FoV as a camera zooming in and out. When you increase the FoV, the camera zooms out, improving your peripheral vision.
FoV pros and cons
According to the PC gaming myth, a high FoV value is always the best choice in FPS games because you are able to look at a wider area, which helps to spot any incoming enemy.
The truth is that a high FoV brings both pros and cons.
A high FoV makes targeting more difficult. The wider the FoV, the smaller the enemy on the screen, so you need to be more accurate to hit them.
A low FoV helps your focus. Everything on the screen is bigger, so it is easier to focus on where you are aiming.
Very-low FoV values can also bring motion sickness and issues in close quarters combat as it is harder to keep a fast-moving target on your screen.
Back 4 Blood uses a horizontal Field of View
It is important to point out that in some games (like Overwatch, Apex Legends, and CoD) the FoV is calculated horizontally, while in others (such as R6: Siege, Battlefield, and Escape from Tarkov) it is calculated vertically. Do not forget this difference if you are trying to set the same Field of View in all your games.
In specific, Back 4 Blood uses a horizontal field of view based on the 16:9 aspect ratio.
60 horizontal FoV is equal to 47 vertical FoV with a 4:3 aspect ratio and to 36 with a 16:9 one.
80 horizontal FoV is equal to 65 vertical FoV with a 4:3 aspect ratio and to 51 with a 16:9 one.
100 horizontal FoV is equal to 84 vertical FoV with a 4:3 aspect ratio and to 68 with a 16:9 one.
120 horizontal FoV is equal to 105 vertical FoV with a 4:3 aspect ratio and to 89 with a 16:9 one.
Data
I have surveyed 78 PC players on their Field of View preference in Back 4 Blood. The results are displayed in the graph and table below.
| Field of View | Votes |
|---|---|
| 80 | 5 |
| 90 | 11 |
| 100 | 29 |
| 110 | 12 |
| 120 | 21 |
The minimum FoV allowed by Back 4 Blood is 60 and the maximum one is 120.
Note that I gathered my data in Discord servers with many hardcore gamers who are used to adjust all the game options depending on their needs, and usually they tend to use a high FoV.
There is not a “best” field of view value, and the most popular ones are 100 and 120. I am not surprised by these results because usually the 100-105 FoV range is the most used.
Among the surveyed, no one used a FoV lower than 80, which is close to the FoV on consoles. In my opinion, the game is almost unplayable at the minimum value of 60 as it causes discomfort.
I suggest using a very high FoV value (110-120) only if you have a great sight and reflexes. Generally, playing on a wide FoV also requires a better mouse control and speed in order to move faster across the screen, so you need a solid aim as well.
Instead, if you struggle at spotting and aiming enemies at a mid and long range, a lower FoV value will actually benefit your gameplay.
I have detected the fisheye lens effect at 120 FoV on 16:9 monitors. The fisheye effect is a strong visual distortion that in photography is produced with an ultra wide-angle lens. You can occur in it on PC when using a very-high FoV value.
Finally, if performance is an issue, be aware that increasing the FoV will impact negatively your fps because your PC must work harder to render more on the screen.
FoV on ultrawide monitors
Back 4 Blood is powered by Unreal Engine 4. Usually, games using this engine have a proper ultrawide support, but this is not the case.
I play on a 38 inches ultrawide monitor at about 75 Centimeters / 2.46 Feet of distance, so I can share with you my personal experience.
The current implementation zooms in the image, thus cropping the game by about 20-30%: vertically you are limited both at the bottom and at the top.
After several tests, I believe the maximum 120 FoV is the best option for an ultrawide user: horizontally we can see as much as a standard 16:9 monitor using 120 FoV, while vertically our vision is similar to a FoV of about 105.
Honestly, the vertical cropping isn’t a problem on 21:9 monitors. However, I read several complaints from 32:9 users as there the image is excessively zoomed in.
During the Open Beta, the player base already found a potential fix for the vertical FoV, but be aware that it is flawed because it distorts the image when using a high FoV, and moreover we can’t edit the weapons viewmodel (they are huge).
At the end of the day, if you have a 21:9 monitor, I suggest to just enjoy the game at 120 FoV. The developers might fix the cropping in the final game release or in the future, but as you can see from the comparative images below, it isn’t that noticeable and won’t hamper your gameplay.
Also, note that I have not detected the fisheye lens effect at 120 FoV on my ultrawide monitor, but it could appear once/if the cropping is fixed.
FoV at 16:9 and 21:9
Below, you can find images of the same scene at 60, 80, 100, and 120 FoV, both in 16:9 and 21:9 aspect ratio.
The 16:9 monitor is a standard 24 inches one with a resolution of 1920x1080, while the ultrawide one is a 38 inches display that runs at 3840x1600.
I took the screens in the game lobby.
16:9
21:9
Related: How to increase FPS in Back 4 Blood
The FoV is locked on console
Back 4 Blood is also available on Playstation and Xbox. I compared the images on PC and consoles, and it looks like the field of view is locked to about 70-80.
PS5 and Xbox Series X run the game at 4K and 60 fps, while Xbox Series S uses a 1296p dynamic resolution. Instead, the old consoles are limited to 30 fps: PS4 Pro works at 1296p, Xbox One X reaches 1872p, PS4 and Xbox One are restricted to 792p.
The developers might not add a FoV slider because the hardware resources on consoles are limited, and thus their graphic engine may not be able to keep the game at 60/30 FPS in any situation if the FoV is increased.
This reasoning is understandable, but nowadays there are many games with a Field of View option on consoles, such as Rocket League, Apex Legends, Battlefield I and V.
In most of them, increasing the FoV doesn’t have a noticeable impact on the performance and the overall fluidity of the game, so I hope that someday Turtle Rock Studios will consider this addition, at least for the new consoles. Console players deserve respect and the opportunity to play as they prefer.
Note: Info gathered during the Open Beta.
More FoV articles
Header image: Turtle Rock Studios
