On Xbox Series S, Avowed’s Balanced mode is the smoother option, while Quality prioritizes visual detail. Windows Central’s hands-on guide, published February 17, 2025, reports targets of 40 FPS in Balanced and 30 FPS in Quality. Those are the guide’s reported figures—not a current official specification or a new benchmark.
How Balanced and Quality compare on Series S
| Mode | Reported frame rate | What it prioritizes | Reported resolution behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | 30 FPS, as reported by Windows Central in February 2025 | More visual detail, including foliage, shadows, and water effects | Mostly 1080p, according to the guide’s observations |
| Balanced | 40 FPS, as reported by Windows Central in February 2025 | Smoother combat and traversal, with reduced graphical detail | Drops closer to 720p, according to the guide’s observations |
Windows Central’s comparison noted visible differences in water effects and shadows, alongside reduced foliage and shadow detail in Balanced. Its resolution figures describe what the author observed; they are not guaranteed fixed outputs. Read the Windows Central Series S guide.
Which mode should you choose?
- Choose Balanced if smoother action matters more than the extra visual detail. The guide reports a 10 FPS difference between the modes.
- Choose Quality if you prefer the guide’s reported improvements to detail and are comfortable with its 30 FPS target.
The better choice depends on what you notice and value while playing; the reported figures do not make one mode universally preferable.
Can Avowed run at 60 FPS on Xbox Series S?
The February 2025 Windows Central guide reports 40 FPS for Balanced and 30 FPS for Quality on Series S, not a 60 FPS mode. These figures are secondary-source observations, not official targets confirmed by Obsidian. The official patch notes cited below do not provide a fresh Series S benchmark, so they do not establish a current 60 FPS option or updated mode targets.
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Why might the mode options be missing?
Windows Central says the display setup can affect whether the choices appear. Its guide recommends trying a 120Hz refresh rate on a suitable display. This is a conditional troubleshooting step, not a requirement for every Series S owner; VRR is also suggested by the guide but is not established as necessary to expose the choices.
- Connect a suitable high-resolution display, if your current setup does not expose the options.
- On Xbox, open Settings > General > TV & display options and set the refresh rate to 120Hz, if available. Menu labels may differ if the interface has changed.
- Close Avowed, make sure it is not suspended in Quick Resume, and restart the console.
- Open Avowed and check its Display settings for the mode choices.
- To change modes, restart the game and press X to apply the change, as described in the guide.
What later patches say about performance
Obsidian’s Avowed Team wrote in its official Patch 1.3.1 notes, published March 26, 2025: “Improved performance on Beauty and Balanced modes on Xbox when in larger cities.” The note confirms a performance improvement in those circumstances but gives no size for the improvement and no Series S frame-time measurements.
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Obsidian’s Patch 2.1 announcement, published March 25, 2026, lists fixes and an Xbox-specific animation-presentation improvement for XSX Performance mode; it does not announce a Series S Quality or Balanced target change. The May 15, 2025 Update 1.4 announcement likewise does not establish revised Series S targets. These notes do not confirm that the February 2025 guide’s figures remain unchanged, nor do they document a different target.
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