Free Fire vs Free Fire Max: Which one is better for you?

Garena’s Battle-Royale juggernaut Free Fire has established itself as one of the most popular mobile esports titles out there. With over 800 million downloads since it was released in 2017, the game isn’t stopping to roll in terms of widespread success globally. A new version of the game was even released with enhanced graphics and animations, called Free Fire Max.

Free Fire Max saw launch last September 2021. The game is also seeing much success, especially for those who want to play with better technical qualities. But of course, comparing both games would always be present for Free Fire fans as a whole. And we are glad to dive deeper into our comparison for Free Fire and Free Fire Max.

Garena – Free Fire

Free Fire Max’s Better Graphic Experience

Free Fire Max was always intended and labeled as the version of Free Fire with better quality graphics. And it lived up to its expectations as it proved to be visually better compared to the original Free Fire game. Some of the most notable aspects indicating a much better graphic experience in Free Fire Max include the Ultra HD textures feature. Not just it enhanced the Battle-Royale elements such as the actual player avatar and game environment visuals, but also the weapon representation seen during the actual game of Free Fire Max.

In the original Free Fire game, the graphic quality is not much of a priority based on observation but prioritizes the quicker and more engaging gameplay for a Battle-Royale title. But both games also have the same gameplay, it’s just that the original one established it first. The Draw Distance is also better in Free Fire Max I must say.

Bigger Required Space

Yet one downside of having a better quality experience is requiring more phone space. The original Free Fire only requires around 500-700MB in size. While Free Fire Max requires you to have at least 1.5GB free storage and free RAM of up to 4GB to run smoothly. Still, this is understandable and normal for games with better quality graphics.

So if you’re up for the visuals, then definitely go for Free Fire Max.

Free Fire competitive side and downside

There is a case to be made about Free Fire being better if you plan to play competitively or even aim to climb the ranks. While most modern phones can run Free Fire Max just fine, if you want to utilize 120hz+ and extreme FPS counts, it would be wiser to stick to the basic version.

There is a certain trade-off in performance and how the game feels when you move to Max. You will have considerably lower frame rates and the higher fidelity of detail can make you perform worse in some scenarios. Having said that, if you are only playing for fun and your phone can handle it, definitely move on to FF Max instead.

Free Fire’s Unparalleled Success

Given Free Fire Max’s release date which was only less than six months ago, Free Fire of course is far more successful in terms of popularity and in the esports scene. The record of 800 million downloads alone is already proof of Free Fire’s massive success in the mobile gaming industry. But also, the esports scene of Free Fire is quite big and goes toe-to-toe with other Battle-Royale titles such as PUBG and Fortnite – with the game’s recent world series listing a $2 million prize pool.

However, Free Fire now also has the same fate as PUBG Mobile in India. Both games are now banned in the country due to national security purposes. Still, Free Fire Max is available for play there, and Battlegrounds Mobile India is also making waves as a rising Battle-Royale game as a substitute for PUBG.

Try out both versions of Free Fire for you to experience first hand both games and let us know what you think is better. Make sure to follow us for more gaming news and updates as it happens.