I found a guide to boost FPS that included a method to turn both off using variables.txt, but that was for beta and those methods no longer work at all. I've been looking and asking everywhere and frustratingly can't find an answer. Is it even possible to turn either of these off now?
It is no longer possible to turn off portraits (I wish you could too). If you set the variable to do it and (at least in my experience) try to load the video options, StarCraft II will crash. If shadows off was removed as an option, it was purely to maintain gameplay balance, as you can sometimes see an overlord casting a shadow along the edge of the Fog of War.
