Here’s how to turn on Riot’s disabled experimental sharpening feature

Valorant’s recent 1.11 update introduced significant modifications to the tactical shooter’s economic system and agent balancing. However, one particular adjustment has generated mixed reactions within the competitive community.

Riot Games deliberately deactivated the experimental sharpening graphical option in this patch cycle. This functionality previously enabled gamers to operate at minimal graphical presets for enhanced frame rates while maintaining sufficient visual distinction between opponents and environmental elements.

Although Riot didn’t explicitly confirm the connection, substantial evidence suggests this feature was responsible for the intermittent performance hitches reported by players throughout recent weeks. These frame drops became particularly evident during firefights, when the sharpening algorithm needed to process not only characters and surroundings but also projectile trails, impact effects, and blood spatter simultaneously.

The performance degradation was even more pronounced on the practice range, where users consistently experienced latency spikes upon entering the training environment. Testing demonstrated that transitioning between Valorant’s aim training modules reliably triggered these issues, creating noticeable gameplay interruptions as the system instantaneously generated multiple bot targets.

• Valorant’s performance inconsistencies continue frustrating competitive players

What alternatives exist for competitors seeking enhanced image clarity? Counter-Strike: Global Offensive encountered identical technical challenges earlier this year, prompting Nvidia to develop specialized diagnostic versions to identify performance bottlenecks in that popular FPS title.

Disabling the problematic feature undoubtedly improves Valorant’s overall smoothness, though many players depended on the visual enhancement it delivered. Fortunately, workaround solutions remain available through external graphics utilities. Gamers currently have two primary approaches: a streamlined method with potential minor visual compromises, or an advanced configuration offering superior graphical fidelity alongside sharpening benefits.

How to Activate Sharpening Through Nvidia’s GeForce Overlay

The most accessible approach for enhancing game clarity utilizes Nvidia’s GeForce Experience overlay system. This utility permits real-time application of post-processing filters directly over active gameplay sessions. These visual modifications are completely secure and won’t trigger anti-cheat penalties. Nvidia’s established partnership with Riot has already delivered features like Reflex latency reduction for RTX 2000 and 3000 series owners, and the overlay functionality doesn’t violate game policies. This tolerance exists partly because excessive filter application often degrades overall visual quality.

However, with appropriate configuration adjustments providing 5-10% clarity improvements in specific scenarios, competitors should experience enhanced target identification capabilities. Crucially, since this processing occurs after frame rendering by your graphics processor, there’s virtually no measurable performance penalty. Nvidia hardware owners can activate the GeForce overlay by obtaining the GeForce Experience application from official distribution channels.

After installation, navigate to the settings gear icon positioned in the top-right corner and activate the in-game overlay feature. Users can then access the configuration options below to assign custom activation shortcuts. The standard key combination is ALT+Z. Following Valorant launch, players can press the designated hotkey and select the “Sharpening” filter option. Begin with conservative values, as minimal sharpening delivers substantial benefits. If dark outlines appear around objects, you’ve exceeded optimal intensity levels.

Configuring Sharpening via Nvidia Control Panel

The Control Panel alternative provides more sophisticated customization potential than the overlay method, though it demands greater technical familiarity.

Launch the Nvidia control panel application, select “Manage 3D settings” from the navigation menu on the program’s left side. Here, competitors can activate sharpening either system-wide or for specific applications only. The global configuration typically suffices for most usage scenarios. The preset values of “Sharpen 0.50, ignore film grain 0.17” might prove insufficient for some displays, so users should test adjustments by restarting Valorant between modifications.

Pro Configuration Tip: For competitive play, set sharpening between 0.30-0.70 and film grain ignore between 0.10-0.25 based on your monitor’s resolution and panel type. Higher resolutions generally require less sharpening intensity. Always verify settings in actual matches rather than just the practice range.

Regrettably, AMD’s Radeon software suite currently lacks compatibility with Valorant, likely resulting from their competitor’s exclusive partnership with Nvidia. Community members attempting Radeon sharpening implementation have documented system crashes requiring hardware restarts, making experimentation inadvisable. Eventually, Radeon support should expand to include Valorant through their open-source sharpening functionality. Meanwhile, AMD hardware users must rely exclusively on Valorant’s integrated graphical options.

Performance Consideration: While waiting for AMD compatibility, consider adjusting in-game brightness and contrast settings alongside monitor configurations to maximize visibility without external sharpening tools.

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