Settings
Stretched resolution in Marvel Rivals, with no black bars
A stretched resolution runs Marvel Rivals at a narrower shape than your monitor and stretches it to fill the screen, so heroes look wider. The usual way, 4:3, leaves black bars at the sides in this game. A 16:10 resolution does not: the game fills a 16:10 frame by itself, so you get a wider view with no black bars and a normal HUD. RIVALSFPS.GG sets up either in one switch, and since 5.5.0 it takes custom sizes too.
16:10 or 4:3
Marvel Rivals only draws edge to edge up to a certain shape. 16:10 is inside that limit, 4:3 is past it, and that is the whole difference between the two.
| 16:10 (Wide) | 4:3 (Classic) | |
|---|---|---|
| How much wider, on a 16:9 monitor | About 11% | About 33% |
| Black bars | None | Yes, unless a mod removes them |
| HUD | Normal | Normal with bars, about a third larger without |
| Installs anything | No | Only if you remove the bars |
| Resolutions | 1920x1200, 1680x1050, 1440x900, 1280x800 | 1920x1440, 1440x1080, 1280x960, 1024x768 |
A stretched view also shows less to your sides, because the same field of view is spread over a wider image. Whether wider heroes are worth that is a personal call, not a straight upgrade.
Set it up in RIVALSFPS.GG
- Open Settings, then Display, and switch Stretched Resolution on. The Launch options button on Home has the same switch.
- Pick a Resolution. Wide (16:10) presets are listed first, then Classic (4:3), and the list shows only the ones your display accepts. Custom size… at the end takes any other size; see custom sizes below.
- For a 4:3 preset, or a custom size narrower than 16:10, choose what happens to the Black bars: Keep them installs nothing and keeps the HUD normal; Take them off adds a small mod to your mods folder that removes the bars and makes the HUD about a third larger, with a few edge elements partly off screen.
- Start the game with Launch. The app stretches your display and asks whether to keep it. If the screen looks wrong or goes black, do nothing: it switches back after 15 seconds.
The app sets the game to the stretched resolution in Borderless mode each time it launches it, and puts your display and the game's settings back once the game closes. Launches from Steam or anywhere else run at your normal resolution.
Custom sizes
From RIVALSFPS.GG 5.5.0 the Resolution list ends with Custom size…, for a size the presets don't cover.
- Pick Custom size… in the Resolution list.
- Type a width and a height, such as 1728 × 1080, and press Apply. The app checks the size with your graphics driver first and saves nothing the driver refuses.
- Start the game with Launch as usual.
It takes any size your graphics driver lists, including custom resolutions you added in the NVIDIA or AMD control panel. Your three most recent custom sizes stay in the list, under Custom, after you switch to a preset, and the × beside the list removes the one selected. The line under the list says how the size looks on your screen: about how much wider, or narrower for a size wider than your screen, and whether it has black bars.
Add it for me (NVIDIA only)
If your driver doesn't list the size and you have an NVIDIA card, an Add it for me button appears under it. Close Marvel Rivals first.
- Click Add it for me, then Test it. Your screen switches to that size for a moment while your NVIDIA driver tests it, and may go black for a second.
- If it looks right, click Keep. The size is saved to your driver and to the list. If it looks wrong or stays black, don't click anything: it goes back by itself after 15 seconds, and Go back does the same straight away.
Turning Stretched Resolution off keeps a size the app added. The × beside the list is what removes it from your driver, and your screen may flash black for a second when it does. The app only ever removes sizes it added. On other graphics cards, add the resolution in your driver's control panel, then use Custom size….
Things to know
- Turn off NVIDIA Image Scaling, or GPU sharpening on other cards, in your driver settings before you play stretched.
- Keep the game's Display Mode on Borderless. If you switch it to Fullscreen, the game changes your display's mode and the stretch drops. Switch back to Borderless and the app re-applies it by itself. Since 5.5.0 the stretch is also less likely to drop when you alt-tab.
- In-game settings can't be saved while a stretched session runs. Make changes with Stretched Resolution off.
- Laptops with two GPUs often have the built-in graphics driving the screen, which may refuse the stretch. If that happens the app turns Stretched Resolution off, says so, and shows the manual steps before the game starts.
Is it allowed?
A 16:10 stretch changes your display settings and the game's own resolution setting, nothing else. Removing the 4:3 black bars uses a mod, and NetEase's rules on mods in general are covered in Are Marvel Rivals mods bannable?. If you would rather not run a mod at all, 16:10 needs none. A custom size changes the same settings, and Add it for me also adds the size to your NVIDIA driver's list of resolutions.
Common questions
Can you play Marvel Rivals stretched without black bars?
Yes, at 16:10. The game fills a 16:10 screen by itself, so a 16:10 resolution stretched across a 16:9 monitor has no black bars and a normal HUD, with nothing to install. At 4:3 the game adds black bars, and removing them takes a small mod that also makes the HUD about a third larger.
What is the best stretched resolution for Marvel Rivals?
16:10 is the one RIVALSFPS.GG suggests: about 11% wider on a 16:9 monitor, with no black bars and the HUD unchanged. 4:3 is about 33% wider but comes with black bars or a larger HUD. Within a shape, a higher resolution is sharper and a lower one is lighter on your graphics card.
Can I use a custom stretched resolution in Marvel Rivals?
Yes. In RIVALSFPS.GG 5.5.0 or later, pick Custom size… at the end of the Resolution list, type a width and a height and press Apply. It takes any size your graphics driver lists. On an NVIDIA card, Add it for me adds a size your driver is missing.
Does the stretch stay when I alt-tab?
Since 5.5.0 it is less likely to drop when you alt-tab. Keep the game's Display Mode on Borderless: switching to Fullscreen changes your display's mode and drops the stretch until you switch back.
Does stretched resolution increase FPS in Marvel Rivals?
It can. A stretched resolution has fewer pixels than your native one, so a PC held back by its graphics card renders each frame faster. A PC held back by its CPU at high frame rates sees little change.
Why can't I save my in-game settings while stretched?
While a stretched session runs, the game's settings file is held read-only so the game cannot write your native resolution back over the stretched one. The app puts your original settings back once the game closes. Change your settings with Stretched Resolution off.
How do I turn stretched resolution off?
Switch Stretched Resolution off in Settings, under Display. Your display and the game's resolution go back to how they were, and the black-bars mod comes out of your mods folder if you used it.
