How does it run on Steam Deck?

[GladioSanctus]

Title

[Jakethesnake12124]

I was unimpressed, but I have a first gen deck.

[sushyoshi]

If you consider that its a game that wasn't designed to be played on the steam deck, then I can positively say it runs great.

I realized that lowering the in-game graphic options does not change much performance, however, when you lower the resolution and manually set the GPU to lower than 1600, it can increase the performance and, more importantly, stop those micro stutters.

[Phirestar]

Quite well, from my experience with the OLED model.

Strangely, I’ve found that performance seems a bit better when I have it docked and playing on a television screen. It can get up to 60 fps quite often, though it’s definitely not consistent. Usually the game sits between 45 and 60, with some dips into the higher 30s, but I’ve never seen it drop below 30.

In handheld mode, I set the device’s frame rate cap to 40 and it sits there the majority of the time. Again, not sure how plugging it to an external screen offers better performance, even on the same settings.

This is with everything set to Low, except for textures which I have set to Medium. You could probably get away with putting a couple things higher, but Elden Ring is definitely pushing the limits of what the Steam Deck’s hardware can do. All of my playtime had been on it, though, so consider that.

[Marvdny]

High settings 30fps lock or low/medium with sometimes unstable 40. Its meh but playable

[GladioSanctus]

Originally posted by Phirestar:

Quite well, from my experience with the OLED model.

Strangely, I’ve found that performance seems a bit better when I have it docked and playing on a television screen. It can get up to 60 fps quite often, though it’s definitely not consistent. Usually the game sits between 45 and 60, with some dips into the higher 30s, but I’ve never seen it drop below 30.

In handheld mode, I set the device’s frame rate cap to 40 and it sits there the majority of the time. Again, not sure how plugging it to an external screen offers better performance, even on the same settings.

This is with everything set to Low, except for textures which I have set to Medium. You could probably get away with putting a couple things higher, but Elden Ring is definitely pushing the limits of what the Steam Deck’s hardware can do. All of my playtime had been on it, though, so consider that.

Well i had just about enough of the limited OLED gaming experience..so i went ahead and ordered myself a pre built, nasa computer. I will game like God intended men to game...on a PC.

[JotaFOC]

Originally posted by GladioSanctus:

Originally posted by Phirestar:

Quite well, from my experience with the OLED model.

Strangely, I’ve found that performance seems a bit better when I have it docked and playing on a television screen. It can get up to 60 fps quite often, though it’s definitely not consistent. Usually the game sits between 45 and 60, with some dips into the higher 30s, but I’ve never seen it drop below 30.

In handheld mode, I set the device’s frame rate cap to 40 and it sits there the majority of the time. Again, not sure how plugging it to an external screen offers better performance, even on the same settings.

This is with everything set to Low, except for textures which I have set to Medium. You could probably get away with putting a couple things higher, but Elden Ring is definitely pushing the limits of what the Steam Deck’s hardware can do. All of my playtime had been on it, though, so consider that.

Well i had just about enough of the limited OLED gaming experience..so i went ahead and ordered myself a pre built, nasa computer. I will game like God intended men to game...on a PC.

the thing is that you're going to have performance issues even with a high end computer, it'll stutter a lot and, in some specific parts the game drops frames like crazy, although the game runs smoother on linux.

[allegedly]

Originally posted by Phirestar:

This is with everything set to Low, except for textures which I have set to Medium. You could probably get away with putting a couple things higher, but Elden Ring is definitely pushing the limits of what the Steam Deck’s hardware can do. All of my playtime had been on it, though, so consider that.

I've been playing with settings on medium and frame limit set to 30, should I try low settings? did you set it to low because something was not right?

[Phirestar]

Originally posted by not_fran_:

Originally posted by Phirestar:

This is with everything set to Low, except for textures which I have set to Medium. You could probably get away with putting a couple things higher, but Elden Ring is definitely pushing the limits of what the Steam Deck’s hardware can do. All of my playtime had been on it, though, so consider that.

I've been playing with settings on medium and frame limit set to 30, should I try low settings? did you set it to low because something was not right?

I was just setting it to Low in order to increase frame rate. You can definitely set it higher and still have a playable experience.

I swapped to the High preset (with Motion Blur turned off), and I capped the device to 35 fps, or 36 as it decided, and I’m finding that to be a stable experience as well. Bumping it just those few extra frames above 30 makes a noticeable difference in the smoothness of gameplay.

This is just in handheld mode this time, mind you. I didn’t try High + 35 cap while docked to a screen yet.

[allegedly]

Originally posted by Phirestar:

Originally posted by not_fran_:

I've been playing with settings on medium and frame limit set to 30, should I try low settings? did you set it to low because something was not right?

Bumping it just those few extra frames above 30 makes a noticeable difference in the smoothness of gameplay.

I'm going to change it to see if I notice difference
thanks

[Big Sneeze]

The controls are far worse than the performance. You can NOT play an intensive action game on a handheld. There is no sufficient grip on the Steam Deck for frequent shoulder button use. I had this same issue on Switch with DS1 as well. If you use the shoulder buttons intensively, you are jeopardizing your grip on the machine and risking it having literally drop out of your hands.

[JotaFOC]

Originally posted by Big Sneeze:

The controls are far worse than the performance. You can NOT play an intensive action game on a handheld. There is no sufficient grip on the Steam Deck for frequent shoulder button use. I had this same issue on Switch with DS1 as well. If you use the shoulder buttons intensively, you are jeopardizing your grip on the machine and risking it having literally drop out of your hands.

Elden Ring is one of the most played games on the Steam Deck, I seriously doubt that you've played this game on it. 40-50 FPS is very playable, even 30 FPS, but don't worry, better handhelds, and probably the Steam Deck 2, are coming the next year. Finally, this game needs some serious optimizations.

[GladioSanctus]

Originally posted by JotaFOC:

Originally posted by Big Sneeze:

The controls are far worse than the performance. You can NOT play an intensive action game on a handheld. There is no sufficient grip on the Steam Deck for frequent shoulder button use. I had this same issue on Switch with DS1 as well. If you use the shoulder buttons intensively, you are jeopardizing your grip on the machine and risking it having literally drop out of your hands.

Elden Ring is one of the most played games on the Steam Deck, I seriously doubt that you've played this game on it. 40-50 FPS is very playable, even 30 FPS, but don't worry, better handhelds, and probably the Steam Deck 2, are coming the next year. Finally, this game needs some serious optimizations.

Would you say pvp is viable on those framerates?

[Phirestar]

Originally posted by Big Sneeze:

The controls are far worse than the performance. You can NOT play an intensive action game on a handheld. There is no sufficient grip on the Steam Deck for frequent shoulder button use. I had this same issue on Switch with DS1 as well. If you use the shoulder buttons intensively, you are jeopardizing your grip on the machine and risking it having literally drop out of your hands.

At least half of my playtime (~43 hours) has been in handheld mode. I’ve not had any issues with feeling like I’m going to drop the Steam Deck. The grips on the back where you fingers rest help with that, along with the shape of everything.

I usually sit with one leg crossed over the other and have the device resting in that ridge, which supports its weight too. I find it more comfortable playing that way anyhow, since my arms get tired holding it up in the air in front of me constantly.