WARDOGS DLSS, FSR, XeSS and frame generation: which to use and when
Use your card's native upscaler on Quality at 1440p and 3440×1440, Balanced at 4K, and native at 1080p. Frame generation is a visual smoothness tool, not an aim tool: it adds latency you'll feel in a 200 m firefight, so keep it off unless your base frame rate is under 60 and you're playing casually. Pair the upscaler with 20–30% sharpening and Reflex/Anti-Lag on.
Which upscaler
| GPU | Use |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA RTX 20/30/40/50 | DLSS (Super Resolution). DLSS 3 frame-gen on 40/50 series only. |
| NVIDIA GTX 10/16 | FSR. No DLSS hardware. |
| AMD RX 5000/6000/7000/9000 | FSR 3.1 (or 4 on RDNA4). AFMF from the driver is not a substitute for in-game frame-gen. |
| Intel Arc | XeSS. |
Which mode by resolution
| Resolution | Mode | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p | Native or DLAA | Upscaling from 720p looks soft; the game's own TAA is acceptable here |
| 1440p | Quality (render 960p) | Sharper than native TAA, ~25% more FPS |
| 3440×1440 | Quality | 34% more pixels than 16:9 1440p; the upscaler earns its keep |
| 4K | Balanced (render 1253p) | Enough pixels that Balanced still looks clean; Performance if you're under 60 |
Frame generation, honestly
DLSS 3 / FSR 3 frame generation inserts a generated frame between real ones. The counter doubles; the latency goes up by about one real frame, because the game must hold a frame to interpolate. At 60 base FPS that's ~16 ms added. In a game where fights open at long range and every shot is a small target, you feel that as shots that should have landed.
- Off for anyone who cares about aim, and for anyone already above 90 FPS.
- On if your base is 45–60 and you'd rather have smooth visuals for a casual session.
- Never turn it on to "fix" a low base frame rate under 40; it amplifies the stutter.
Settings that go with it
- Sharpening 20–30%. Higher adds shimmer on foliage.
- NVIDIA Reflex On (not On + Boost) or AMD Anti-Lag On. They cut the render queue latency that upscalers can add.
- Frame cap 2–3 FPS below your refresh rate, VSync off, G-Sync/FreeSync on.
- If you use DLSS, force the latest DLSS DLL through the NVIDIA App's DLSS override for the cleanest image.
When native beats upscaling
If your card holds your target frame rate at native with the settings on the presets page, stay native. Upscaling exists to buy frames; if you don't need them, you don't need the softening.
FAQ
Should I use DLSS in WARDOGS?
At 1440p and above, DLSS Quality is close to free and looks cleaner than the game's TAA. At 1080p, native usually looks better.
Is frame generation good for WARDOGS?
It doubles the frame counter and adds roughly one frame of input latency. Fine for casual play above 60 base FPS; leave it off if you care about aim.
Which is better, DLSS or FSR?
Use the one your card supports natively: DLSS on RTX, FSR on Radeon (and GTX), XeSS on Arc. DLSS has the edge in image stability; FSR 3.1 is close.
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