The First Ten Minutes In Any Settings Menu

Most people skip straight past the settings menu, and most people are quietly worse off for it. The defaults are built for an average phone and an average player, which means they're rarely right for you specifically.

My routine starts with graphics. I check the frame rate option, and if there's a high-refresh mode and my phone supports it, I turn it on — but I keep an eye on heat and switch back if things warm up. Then I lower any 'bloom' or heavy effects that I find distracting.

Next is controls, as I've ranted about before: button size, placement, and sensitivity. Thirty seconds of adjustment here saves hours of frustration later.

Last is the quiet stuff — turning off vibration to save battery, muting the music if I'm playing in public, and checking whether there's a battery-saver mode. These tiny toggles add up to a game that fits your life instead of fighting it.