The best FoV (Field of View) for Paladins
To determine the best Field of View in Paladins, I have surveyed 93 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 to 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 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, while with a high FoV it is simpler to spot and keep track of enemies.
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.
Paladins uses a horizontal Field of View
It is important to point out that in some games (like Overwatch and Apex Legends) the FoV is calculated horizontally, while in others (such as R6: Siege) 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, Paladins uses a horizontal field of view based on the 16:9 aspect ratio.
100 horizontal FoV is equal to 84 vertical FoV with a 4:3 aspect ratio and to 68 with a 16:9 one.
110 horizontal FoV is equal to 94 vertical FoV with a 4:3 aspect ratio and to 78 with a 16:9 one.
115 horizontal FoV is equal to 100 vertical FoV with a 4:3 aspect ratio and to 83 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 93 players on their Field of View preference in Paladins. The results are displayed in the graph and table below. They include both PC and console players.
| FoV | Votes | FoV | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 95 | 1 | 111 | 2 |
| 96 | 1 | 114 | 1 |
| 100 | 13 | 115 | 6 |
| 103 | 2 | 116 | 1 |
| 104 | 1 | 117 | 1 |
| 105 | 3 | 118 | 1 |
| 110 | 14 | 120 | 46 |
I believe that the percentage of players using a 100 FoV (the default value) is actually higher worldwide, but I gathered my data in Discord servers with many hardcore gamers who are used to adjust all the game options depending on their needs.
110 and 115 are popular choices among those who love a wide FoV. As far as I know, 110 is a value suggested by many pro players in other shooter games.
Almost no one uses a low FoV, and the great majority prefers 120, which is the maximum value allowed by the game engine (the minimum is 80).
No player complained about the Fisheye effect. It 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. Some players tolerate or don’t mind it, others just can’t stand it.
FoV on ultrawide monitors
Paladins is powered by Unreal Engine 3, and the ultrawide support during the Beta was flawless, but they removed it
The devs claim that using ultrawide monitors is unfair because you would have a larger vision than the rest of the players. I do not consider it a reasonable answer because we live in an era with a wide array of technologies, and among them there are monitors with a high refresh rate.
The extra field of view offered by ultrawide monitors does give an advantage, but I think the better reaction times provided by 144Hz and 200Hz monitors bring an even greater advantage in a FPS game such as Paladins, and those are fully supported.
FoV at 16:9
Below, you can find images of the same scene at 80, 100, 110, and 120 FoV, with a 16:9 aspect ratio. The monitor is a standard 24 inches one with a resolution of 1920x1080.
Third Person Perspective mode (TPP) is not allowed in Ranked, so I will only show screens in First Person Perspective mode (FPP).
I took the screens on Bazaar and Brightmarsh.
Bazaar - 16:9
Brightmarsh - 16:9
FoV on consoles
Paladins is available also on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. We must be grateful to the Hi-Rez developers because only a limited number of games provides a FoV slider on console.
The default field of view on console is also set to 100. Generally, on console a wide FoV isn’t required because many players play on a TV placed across the room, but if you use a monitor positioned in front of you, I suggest increasing the FoV value.
Considering the data from the survey, I recommend trying a field of view value from 100 to 120.
Performance-wise, I do not have exact info on the impact of a wider FoV on your fps. Please feel free to share your experience on Xbox One and PS4 as I believe that many players are interested on the topic.
More Paladins articles:
Header image (Drogoz Abyssal Lord): Hi-Rez Studios
