• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 19:21
CEST 01:21
KST 08:21
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
[ASL22] Ro8 Preview: Within Reach5[ASL22] Ro8 Preview: In A Tizzy11[ASL22] Ro16 Preview: Holy Diver5[ASL22] Ro16 Preview: Rough Waters10[ASL22] Ro24 Preview: Siren's Call8
Community News
Weekly Cups (Sept 21-27): herO and ByuN double2Weekly Cups (Sep 13-20): herO scores triple3BSL Season 2313Weekly Cups (Sep 7-12): SHIN, ByuN, MaxPax double down1StarCraft open world shooter announced at BlizzCon111
StarCraft 2
General
StarCraft open world shooter announced at BlizzCon Weekly Cups (Sept 21-27): herO and ByuN double Recent Patches and the Future Stellar Fest 1 Replay Pack Balance hotfix patch 5.0.16b (July 16)
Tourneys
Stellar Fest TWO the Moon (Dec 16-20) 2026 GSTL Grand Finals SC2 INu's Battles#21 [ 3-Days tournament ] ScienceCraft (October 24-25) - Live Event Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament
Strategy
[H] ZvP Mid-Late Game: Stalkers Collossi HT
Custom Maps
[M] (2) Sweltering Sands [M] (2) Frigid Storage
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 545 And Drops and Rifts Mutation # 544 Double Trouble Mutation # 543 Enhanced Defenses
Brood War
General
Bot on ladder Official StarCraft website teases new content ahead of BlizzCon? a Announcement on the JEDI Ringing Where can I find Flash replays that work? BW General Discussion
Tourneys
[ASL22] Ro8 Day 4 [ASL22] Ro8 Day 3 [Megathread] Daily Proleagues [ASL22] Ro8 Day 2
Strategy
Cliff Jump Revisited (1 in a 1000 strategy) Replay Review Process - What do you do? Simple Questions, Simple Answers Odyssey Mineral Stack Saturation
Other Games
General Games
Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Total Annihilation Zero Nintendo Switch Thread EVE Corporation
Dota 2
Dota 2 Champions League Season 3 Begins April 25! Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
[TL LoL EUW IHs] Teemo shall perish
Heroes of the Storm
Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine All you football fans (soccer)! Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Artificial Intelligence Thread
Fan Clubs
MarineLorD Fan Club The Creator Fan Club The ShoWTimE Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Movie Discussion! [Manga] One Piece Diablo Animated Series on Netflix
Sports
Football (Soccer) Thread MLB/Baseball 2023
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
Recent Gifted Posts
Blogs
Violent-Cooperative Play and…
TrAiDoS
38 yo Retired SWE loo…
PurE)Rabbit-SF
Can Bots Beat Pros?? Starcr…
namkraft
[meme] I finally understa…
LUCKY_NOOB
Regacy Esports:Our Goa…
regacyesports
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 8512 users

Best graphic settings for optimized play?

Forum Index > SC2 General
Post a Reply
1 2 3 Next All
kuruptt
Profile Joined August 2012
Canada168 Posts
January 20 2013 14:55 GMT
#1
Hello there, I have searched a lot of threads about this on which graphic settings are the best to play on, specifically settings that are the easiest to see cloaked and burrowed units and have not found a conclusion! I've heard playing on lowest settings is the best, a combination of medium/low settings or lowest settings with ultra textures. It sucks that Sc2 doesn't have a training mode where we can test these out! I'm only a silver league player but I like to research these kinds of things to give me an edge. Right now I am using the settings that looks closest to the hybridic settings by Existor. I would still want to know which are definitely the best settings to see cloaked AND burrowed units. Has anyone came to a conclusion?
Deleted User 197942
Profile Joined July 2011
Romania151 Posts
January 20 2013 15:01 GMT
#2
Check out "thejakatakshow" on YouTube, there is a guide there for both HotS and WoL settings.
Mahanaim
Profile Joined December 2012
Korea (South)1002 Posts
January 20 2013 15:06 GMT
#3
It varies by what you mean by "optimized." Want the most eye-appealing? Highest settings. Want the units and the terrain to look completely different so that you can easily spot enemy units? Lowest settings.
Celebrating Starcraft since... a long time ago.
Targe
Profile Blog Joined February 2012
United Kingdom14103 Posts
January 20 2013 15:11 GMT
#4
Personally I just always run on low because the risk of my computer slowing down in a 200/200 fight isn't worth the possibility of spotting a burrowed unit, I rarely miss things like observers etc. though.
11/5/14 CATACLYSM | The South West's worst Falco main
WeRRa
Profile Joined December 2010
378 Posts
January 20 2013 15:12 GMT
#5
All koreans play on medium settings, cause then you can spot the invisible units the best and still have a good performence.
At least this is what MKP said at this stream.
InnoVation Fighting!!!
HeeroFX
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
United States2704 Posts
January 20 2013 15:23 GMT
#6
Personally I max everything out cause my computer is beasty, and I enjoy everything, But I think Low or medium is what a lot of pros will use unless they are streaming.
kuruptt
Profile Joined August 2012
Canada168 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-01-20 15:25:17
January 20 2013 15:24 GMT
#7
On January 21 2013 00:12 WeRRa wrote:
All koreans play on medium settings, cause then you can spot the invisible units the best and still have a good performence.
At least this is what MKP said at this stream.


Yes this is what I was looking for. Do you know the specifics of the settings to see invisible units?

Sorry if my post didn't make much sense. I want to know the best settings to see invisible units such as observers and burrowed roaches! I do not care if the game looks pretty, I much rather play on the lowest settings but I won't be able to see cloaked or burrowed units easily
TAMinator
Profile Joined February 2011
Australia2706 Posts
January 20 2013 15:44 GMT
#8
There is no "best". What graphic setting is best for you, is based on what you're comfortable with.
AicyDC
Profile Joined November 2012
United Kingdom71 Posts
January 20 2013 16:02 GMT
#9
It really doesn't matter that much and ultra settings look really good and low settings look really shitty, so I like to play on the highest settings.
It wasn't raining when noah built the ark
dani`
Profile Joined January 2011
Netherlands2402 Posts
January 20 2013 16:04 GMT
#10
What do you mean when you say SC2 does not have a training mode to test things out? You can just create a 1v1 game vs AI or use one of the various 'Unit Tester' custom maps to test out graphic settings in various contexts.

Regarding the optimal visual setting; I'd recommend just go with whatever your computer can run optimally and you like the best. Let's be honest here it's not like the (alleged) increased visibility of cloak units is something that will make you go from Silver to Gold. I mean no offense whatsoever here, I merely want to stress the gain is almost non-existent, thus I would recommend just going with whatever you are most comfortable with rather than something that will perhaps win you 1 more game in a 1000.
Grooovey
Profile Joined February 2012
Germany11 Posts
January 20 2013 16:08 GMT
#11
Im playing on low settings. Not because my isnt good enough for ultra settings but i dont like those ultra settings. to much effects and you could miss some game decideing moments.
My life for E-Sport
n0ise
Profile Joined April 2010
3452 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-01-20 16:14:33
January 20 2013 16:13 GMT
#12
wrong; for the record, i do feel there are definitely better settings you could get for a particular setup
kuruptt
Profile Joined August 2012
Canada168 Posts
January 20 2013 16:19 GMT
#13
Again people I don't care what looks best to me. I just want to see cloaked and burrowed units easier without going to super ultra high because I feel as the lower the settings the more responsive it is. So I want to know the best way to do this. As stated from many people in this thread koreans use mostly medium settings! The hybridic settings from existor is something like this. Need more input and conclusive information!
KDot2
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
United States1213 Posts
January 20 2013 16:29 GMT
#14
generally a lot of people agree that everything should be low except textures and effects which should be ultra

many people including pros play with these settings
SiroKO
Profile Joined February 2012
France721 Posts
January 20 2013 16:32 GMT
#15
On January 21 2013 00:06 Mahanaim wrote:
It varies by what you mean by "optimized." Want the most eye-appealing? Highest settings. Want the units and the terrain to look completely different so that you can easily spot enemy units? Lowest settings.


A lot of misinformations have been spread on this issue, most notably by commentators such as Tasteless and Artosis.
I've been to a few LAN tournaments and watched quite a lot of tournament streams. I've pretty much never seen any semi-pro/pro with low settings.
Fact is, the game has been optimized for medium settings + play.
With low settings, it is impossible to feel as well the flow of the game nor spot invisible units.
Our envy always last longer than the happiness of those we envy
imPermanenCe
Profile Joined July 2011
Netherlands595 Posts
January 20 2013 16:33 GMT
#16
You could test it yourself
I think it's partly subjective as well. Some people can spot things better with different settings.
I also think the lowest settings suck with cloak.
But why do you care for such precise settings? Do you have problems with lag that you can't play on somewhat above medium settings?
If you only care for cloak/burrow, just try the average medium setting and be done with it, I don't understand why you want exact settings.
Micro at its best is like an elegant dance between two people trying to achieve a similar end.
EtherealDeath
Profile Blog Joined July 2007
United States8366 Posts
January 20 2013 16:34 GMT
#17
On January 21 2013 01:32 SiroKO wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 21 2013 00:06 Mahanaim wrote:
It varies by what you mean by "optimized." Want the most eye-appealing? Highest settings. Want the units and the terrain to look completely different so that you can easily spot enemy units? Lowest settings.


A lot of misinformations have been spread on this issue, most notably by commentators such as Tasteless and Artosis.
I've been to a few LAN tournaments and watched quite a lot of tournament streams. I've pretty much never seen any semi-pro/pro with low settings.
Fact is, the game has been optimized for medium settings + play.
With low settings, it is impossible to feel as well the flow of the game nor spot invisible units.

Hmm time to try medium I suppose, although low with ultra shadows and effects has the most blatant invisible shit ever (because you have decent quality on the invis stuff contrasted with absolutely shitty terrain :D).
kiy0
Profile Joined August 2010
Portugal593 Posts
January 20 2013 16:45 GMT
#18
Many high level players use Texture quality on Ultra and then everything else on Low. I personally found this to be very satisfying.
Wisemen speak when they have something to say. Others speak when they have to say something.
WeRRa
Profile Joined December 2010
378 Posts
January 20 2013 16:55 GMT
#19
On January 21 2013 00:24 kuruptt wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 21 2013 00:12 WeRRa wrote:
All koreans play on medium settings, cause then you can spot the invisible units the best and still have a good performence.
At least this is what MKP said at this stream.


Yes this is what I was looking for. Do you know the specifics of the settings to see invisible units?

Sorry if my post didn't make much sense. I want to know the best settings to see invisible units such as observers and burrowed roaches! I do not care if the game looks pretty, I much rather play on the lowest settings but I won't be able to see cloaked or burrowed units easily

Well his settings are simply texture quality on medium, graphic quality on medium and unit portrais on 2D for a little bit better performance. He said most koreans play like this, cause you can spot invisible units the best. He said it somewhere in the Prime stream, cause TtPiG asked him there, cause most foreigners seem to play on low settings and MKP answered it looks shitty and you can't spot invisible units with low settings.
InnoVation Fighting!!!
grs
Profile Blog Joined April 2011
Germany2339 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-01-20 17:05:29
January 20 2013 17:05 GMT
#20
AFAIK: You want models on high, to be able to see protoss warp-ins and shaders and shadows on medium to better see cloaked units. You can also put everything on medium but these two are sufficient.
1 2 3 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 39m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
ViBE125
CosmosSc2 47
StarCraft: Brood War
Shuttle 604
Artosis 519
910 30
Dota 2
monkeys_forever632
Counter-Strike
minikerr13
Heroes of the Storm
Grubby5786
Other Games
summit1g7834
JimRising 559
shahzam557
C9.Mang0274
ArmadaUGS67
Trikslyr43
ZombieGrub31
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick609
Dota 2
PGL Dota 2 - Main Stream152
[ Show 10 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Hupsaiya 127
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• Migwel
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• Noizen246
Upcoming Events
PiGosaur Cup
39m
PiGStarcraft0
Kung Fu Cup
11h 39m
Stellar Fest
13h 39m
The PondCast
1d 10h
OSC
1d 13h
Stellar Fest
1d 13h
OSC
2 days
Stellar Fest
2 days
CranKy Ducklings
3 days
Online Event
3 days
[ Show More ]
FEL
3 days
AI Arena Tournament
3 days
BSL: Ladder Tournament
3 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
4 days
INu's Battles
4 days
herO vs Classic
Percival vs Rogue
BSL Open Qualifier
4 days
BSL Open Qualifier
4 days
Replay Cast
5 days
WardiTV Weekly
5 days
Replay Cast
6 days
INu's Battles
6 days
SHIN vs Cure
ByuN vs Zoun
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-09-27
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
Calamity Invitational

Ongoing

ASL Season 22
Super Anchor Qualifying S3
CSL 2026 AUTUMN (S22)
Acropolis #5
1win Private Club #1
Logitech G Play Connect 2026
SL StarSeries Fall 2026
FISSURE Playground #3
BLAST Open Fall 2026
Esports World Cup 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer Qual
Stake Ranked Episode 3

Upcoming

Acropolis #5 - GSB
Acropolis #5 - GSC
BSL Season 23
SC4ALL II: Brood War
BSL 23: Non-Korean Championship
HSC XXX
Stellar Fest 2: Lunar Cup
SC4ALL II: StarCraft II
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
RSL Offline Finals
Custodian Cup
Copium Cup
PGL Major Singapore 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 6
BLAST Rivals Fall 2026
IEM Beijing 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 5
PGL Masters Bucharest 2026
1win Private Club #2
Thunderpick World Champ. '26
ESL Pro League Season 24
Stake Ranked Episode 4
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.