How to Show FPS and Ping in Valorant: All Ways

You do not need third-party software to see FPS and ping in Valorant: the client has its own telemetry with graphs, and ping to every server is shown right in the lobby. Below: where to enable it all, what the numbers mean, and which external overlays work alongside Vanguard versus which ones it blocks.

Method 1: built-in Stats (recommended)

Open Settings → Video → Stats. Every parameter has four modes: Hide, Text Only, Graph Only and Show Both. Text is drawn in the top-left corner, graphs take more space to the right; the overlay cannot be moved or resized. What to enable:

Parameter	What it shows	Why
Client FPS	Frames per second on your PC	The main counter; Graph reveals dips you would miss in text
Server Tick Rate	Server tick rate, normally 128	If it drops, the problem is on Riot's side, not yours
Total Frame Time	Time of one frame in ms	16.7 ms = 60 FPS, 6.9 ms = 144 FPS; better than FPS for hunting stutter
CPU / GPU Frame Time	How much of the frame the CPU and GPU took	Whichever is higher is your bottleneck; see the FPS guide
Network Round Trip Time	Ping: a packet's trip to the server and back	This is what Riot calls "ping"
Packet Loss	Share of lost packets, incoming and outgoing	Any sustained value above 0% is a reason to open the packet loss guide

The same menu has Network RTT Jitter (how much ping fluctuates) and Network RTT + Processing Delays: effective latency including server and client processing; both were added in patch 4.10. For everyday play, Client FPS and Network RTT in Text Only are enough: they do not get in the way and do not cover the minimap.

Method 2: instability indicators

Settings → General → Other → Instability Indicators. Instead of numbers, four icons in the top-right corner that light up only when there is a problem: High Average Ping, Network Problem (packet loss and disconnects), Low Client FPS and Low Server FPS, each with Warning and Critical levels. Riot does not publish the thresholds and notes they "may vary per region or patch". This is the best option if permanent numbers on screen bother you: no icon means all is well.

Method 3: server ping in the lobby

Before a match you can see ping without any settings: in the lobby, above the Start button, there is a ping icon. Hover it and a list of your region's servers opens with the current latency to each, and that is where you mark your preferred ones. The feature is called Server Select and has worked since patch 1.10; the party leader or a solo player can change the choice, while the account region (shard) cannot be switched this way.

Method 4: NVIDIA, AMD and Windows overlays

• NVIDIA App: Alt+Z opens the overlay, Alt+R toggles the statistics panel with FPS and latency. Works in Valorant. Not to be confused with Freestyle filters: Riot disabled those in Valorant because of a flash bug.
• AMD Software: Adrenalin: Performance → Metrics → Show Metrics Overlay, hotkey Ctrl+Shift+O. Shows FPS, GPU load and temperatures.
• Xbox Game Bar: Win+G, the Performance widget. The simplest way without driver software, but Game Bar itself is better disabled for FPS, so it is not suited to permanent monitoring.
• Intel PresentMon: Intel's free overlay, works with any GPU, no documented conflicts with Vanguard.
• NVIDIA Reflex Analyzer: on 360 Hz G-Sync monitors with Reflex support it shows full system latency from click to frame; Valorant is on the supported list.

One rule for every overlay: launch it after the game. Vanguard blocks some programs that are already in memory when you press Play, while ones started later usually work.

What does not work

• Steam Overlay. Valorant is not sold on Steam and launches only through the Riot Client, so the Steam counter does not apply at all.
• MSI Afterburner + RivaTuner. In 2023 Vanguard blocklisted the low-level access driver RTCore64.sys that Afterburner uses, and failures still occur. The workaround is to disable "Enable low-level IO driver" in Afterburner's settings or use the built-in Stats.
• Console commands. Valorant has no console: there are no equivalents of CS2's cl_showfps or net_graph, everything is menu-only.

Which method to choose

For playing, built-in Stats in Text Only (Client FPS + Network RTT) plus the instability indicators. For diagnosing dips, Graph on Total Frame Time and CPU/GPU Frame Time. To compare yourself with pros you need settings, not counters: resolution, FPS limits and sensitivity are in the pro player database. In CS2 the same task is solved differently, through the console and Telemetry. The simplest way to watch the counters under real load is the aim trainer.

Frequently asked questions

How do I enable the FPS counter in Valorant?

Settings → Video → Stats → Client FPS → Text Only, Graph Only or Show Both. The counter appears in the top-left corner of the screen.

How do I check ping before a match?

In the lobby, above the Start button, there is a ping icon: hovering it shows the latency to every server in the region, and preferred servers are chosen there too.

What ping counts as high in Valorant?

Riot does not name specific numbers: the instability indicators only have Warning and Critical levels, and according to Riot the thresholds depend on region and patch. Go by the Network RTT graph: a flat line matters more than the absolute value.

Does Vanguard block NVIDIA and AMD overlays?

The NVIDIA App and AMD Adrenalin overlays work. Documented problems concern MSI Afterburner with RivaTuner because of the low-level RTCore64.sys driver.

Sources

Riot: Game and Network Instability Basics, patch notes 4.10 (RTT Jitter and Processing Delays graphs), Server Select. NVIDIA: Reflex Latency Analyzer. Intel: PresentMon.