When you play a game for a while, especially FPS games, you automatically start to look at the settings, mostly because you need more performance or just want to know what’s behind the settings options.
We’ve already covered various settings options on our blog, and you can find our previous articles on these topics here.
In Valorant, there is the Cast Shadows option in the video settings. But what is it, and how does it affect my system?
Let’s go!
Note: This article was written in English. Translations into other languages may not provide the same linguistic quality. We apologize for grammatical and semantic errors.
What Does Cast Shadows Mean in Gaming?
Cast Shadows is a setting that makes shadows appear on your player model and weapons. This option does not affect the regular shadows on the map.
You can see the difference in the pictures above. In the bottom picture, there are shadows on both arms.
How Do You Activate Cast Shadows in Valorant?
To activate Cast Shadows, you can simply set Cast Shadows to “On” in the video settings of Valorant, and the effect will be activated immediately in the game.
Does Cast Shadows Lower FPS in Valorant?
Cast Shadows is an additional operation that needs to be handled by your system in addition to the standard rendering.
Unless you have a high-end system, Cast Shadows can be noticeable in the FPS.
It depends a lot on your system. When I tested Cast Shadows a bit more closely for this article, I didn’t notice any FPS drops.
Does Cast Shadows Increase Input Lag in Valorant?
As with the FPS, an additional process makes more work for your system, so it should typically also lead to an input lag. Still, again I could not detect any noticeable input lag in my tests, so I can assume that the input lag is only minimally increased.
Of course, again, it depends on your system. I did my tests with a high-end system, so I can’t judge whether weaker systems might experience more input lag issues.
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Comparison Cast Shadows On or Off in Valorant
Pro:
- nice Shadows on your Hands/Arms and Weapons 🤣
Contra:
- minimally less FPS
- minimally more input lag
Final Thoughts – Turning Cast Shadows On or Off in Valorant?
When I first started looking into the Cast Shadows option, I had to read up on what Cast Shadows actually does in Valorant because I couldn’t tell the difference between on and off.
This option is one of those little options that nobody needs, and nobody would miss.
Cast Shadows costs minimal resources, but the effect doesn’t give you an advantage, so I recommend turning it off. I wouldn’t even sacrifice 1 FPS for this effect. 😀
Especially in the competitive game Valorant, which was developed especially for Esports, I’m surprised about such an option. But maybe the developers thought, “nice to have.” 😀
To be clear, you won’t find any competitive or pro gamer in the world who uses the Cast Shadows effect in Valorant.
Masakari out – moep, moep.
Former pro gamer Andreas "Masakari" Mamerow has been an active gamer for over 35 years, more than 20 of them in the competitive scene (Esports). In CS 1.5/1.6, PUBG and Valorant, he has led and coached teams at the highest level. Old dogs bite better...
