To have the upper hand in highly competitive games such as Counter-Strike (CS2), every millisecond or frame per second (FPS) plays an important role. Due to this, it is very common for players to always seek ways to gain an edge over their opponents by optimizing their game settings. One of the options they can alter to improve their performance is the launch option. These commands, which may be set before the game launch, can influence graphical features, the networking component, and the game’s performance in general. In this article, we give you an overview of the best launch options for CS2 that you can use to enhance your gaming experience.
How to Set CS2 Launch Options?
Tinkering with CS2’s launch options is a straightforward process. In this section, we’ll guide you through setting your CS2 launch options.
- ☑ First, you need to open the Steam client.
- ☑ Next, go to the Library tab.
- ☑ On your left-hand side, locate Counter-Strike 2, right-click on it, and select properties.
- ☑ Next, go to the General section and click the Set Launch Options button.
- ☑ Enter the launch options you want to use and click OK.
Full list of CS2 Launch Options
For players who are looking to enhance their CS2 gaming performance, here is a list of launch options for CS2 that you can use for your setup:
- -fullscreen — This command will make sure your game launches in full-screen mode. Full-screen mode can provide better performance and reduce input lag compared to windowed mode.
- –refresh 120 —- This command will set your monitor’s refresh rate at 120. This command is particularly useful if your monitor supports high refresh rates.
- +fps_max 90 — Use this command to set your in-game max fps to 90. This command is useful to help you limit your FPS count.
- -nojoy — It removes the joystick support, which reduces RAM consumption.
- -forcenovsync — This command ensures that when you launch the game, Vsync is off. Disabling Vsync can reduce input lag and increase FPS but keep in mind it may cause more screen tearing.
- -softparticlesdefaultoff — This command improves your game performance by disabling all particle effects.
- +violence_hblood 0 — It removes all blood effects from the game.
- -console — It enables you to use the console when in the game. This can be useful for debugging, adjusting settings on the fly, and accessing hidden features.
- +mat_disable_fancy_blending 1 — This command greatly improves your FPS count by lowering the detail of in-game textures.
- +r_dynamic 0 — A simple command that disables dynamic lighting.
- -limitvsconst — This command limits the number of vertex shaders to 256, improving your FPS.
- +cl_forcepreload 1—This command ensures that your client preloads models so that they do not put an additional load on your PC during roads.
- -high — Once you set this launch command, you will set Counter-Strike 2 as a high-priority process on your PC and make sure you get the best performance possible within the available hardware. with this launch option command, you mark Counter-Strike 2 as a high-priority process for your computer.
- -novid — This turns off the intro video and makes sure it reduces startup time.
- -threads [number] — With this, you can fix the number of CPU cores the game can use.
- -low — Similar to the -high command, this command will ensure that CS2 runs at a low priority on your PC.
- -dxlevel 90 / 91 / 95 / 98 / 100 / 110 — With this command, you specify which version of DirectX CS2 will use.
- -vulkan — This command ensures that CS2 uses the newest version of DirectX: Vulkan instead of 11.
- -nohltv — Use this command to turn off the broadcast service Source TV to improve the technical performance.
The Best CS2 Launch Options
As previously mentioned, there are plenty of CS2 launch options out there you can use. If you are wondering which ones are the most important and important, here are some of the best CS2 launch options you can use:
- +fps_max 0 — Use this command to remove any FPS limitation in your game. This is what enables your PC to output the most FPS it possibly can.
- -high — This is a very important command you should use as it will set CS2 as a high priority on your PC and would allow you to get much better performance out of your hardware.
- -forcenovsync — This command forces Vsync to be off when you launch the game, which will reduce input lag and increase FPS, though it may introduce screen tearing.
- +mat_disable_fancy_blending — This command decreases the level of in-game textures which drastically increases the FPS. This is because in-game special effects can sometimes be very graphics intensive and may put a lot of workload on your GPU hence creating the need to turn off the special effects for the game.
- +r_dynamic 0 — This is a command that disables dynamic lighting, which helps improve performance.
- -nojoy — Removing joystick support with this command can reduce RAM consumption. If you don’t use a joystick, this can free up system resources and help potentially improve game performance.
- -nohltv — Turning off the Source TV broadcast service with this command can improve the game’s performance by freeing up system resources such as RAM.
- +cl_forcepreload 1 — This command changes the client to preload models to assist in cutting down on your PC’s load while gaming. Besides, it is necessary to state that preloading can also reduce the frequency of stutters.
- -fullscreen — This command ensures that CS2 launches in full-screen mode. This is beneficial because full-screen mode can provide better performance and reduce input lag compared to windowed mode. But you won’t be able to tab out from the game.