[STEAM DECK] Persona 3 Reload Optimization Tips

Optimization tips to have higher FPS in Persona 3 Reload on Steam Deck (SteamOS).

Quick Start

The most important fps boosters are:

• Turning reflections off (see Graphics Settings)
  
• Using different Proton settings (see Proton Settings > Proton Hotfix)

In-game settings

Graphics Settings

• Rendering Scale: keep around 100% for best performance/quality ratio.
  
• Shadow Quality: isn't that impactful.
  
• Background Brightness: doesn't really matter, adjust as you like.
  
• Frame Rate Limit: 60 for LCD Deck, try 120 for OLED Deck if 60 isn't enough (although some locations have hard time reaching 60 fps).
  
• Reflections: TURN OFF - major fps boost in the game. This doesn't turn off all reflections in the game but UE5's ray-tracing which is very power demanding.

Display Settings

• Resolution: keep around the Deck's native resolution - so 1280x800 or 1280x720 whichever allows you.
  
• Screen Mode: check different settings to see which is the sharpest one. For me it's actually Windowed mode.
  
• Monitor: Steam Deck has only one screen. Or does it?
  
• VSync: preference, probably better with 60 fps cap.

Launcher settings

Proton Settings

Proton Hotfix (recommended)

As for now, changing Proton version gives significant performance. Most Persona 3 Reload related Proton fixes are now in Proton Hotfix. To force game to use it, follow these steps:

1. Go to your Persona 3 Reload Properties, then Compatibility.
   
2. Check Force the use of specific Steam Play compatibility tool.
   
3. Pick Proton Hotfix from the list.

The most notable areas affected by this change are Tartarus (is pretty smooth now) and Velvet Room (it isn't 60 fps but still better than power point presentation).

Proton Experimental (in special cases)

The previous method involved installing Proton Experimental. This is unstable branch that might cause some issues. If you want to test it out, here are the steps but I recommend sticking to Hotfix for stability.

1. Go to your Steam Library and search Proton Experimental. Install if not already installed.
   
2. Go into Properties, then Betas.
   
3. Pick the bleeding-edge - latest and untested dvxk (...) (the longest one).
   
4. Go to your Persona 3 Reload Properties, then Compatibility.
   
5. Check Force the use of specific Steam Play compatibility tool.
   
6. Pick Proton Experimental from the list.

[Anri]

I know this guide is old but I wanna add a few things.

!!!!!!!!!! Make sure you set the game to windowed and 720p, it fixes a ton of stutters and performance issues

[max]

Looks like the P3R performance improvements from Hotfix were added to stable branch as of Feb 29(?): https://steamdeckhq.com/news/steamos-3-5-17-released/

[Konrados232]

Nope, I wrote it myself. It looks like they copied it from here

[m99noble]

Did you just plagiarize this from

https://hardcoregamer.com/persona-3-reload/steam-deck-optimization/

Looks like it.

[Konrados232]

I've checked Proton Hotfix myself and it seems to work really good. Mentioned in the guide

[Rubidium]

Proton Hotfix is unrivaled in performance and doesn't require any extra config in or out of the game. It forces the graphics to lowest regardless of the settings.

[Trixie]

its better to use Proton-Hotfix because it has some nice improvements for P3R. (it could be up to 5X the fps in some places)

[tortoise]

changing my build to experimental made the game run worse for some reason. OLED deck, 5 fps max in tartarus

[Orin Scorin']

Often overlooked, yet just as impactful, are ways to improve the Audio Output. It is possible to bypass the default "PulseAudio Output" used as the Sound Output.

With just the built in speakers of the OLED Deck I noticed a fairly dramatic improvement in general audio definition and volume by switching the Audio output to "ACP/ACP3X/ACP6x Audio Coprocessor Speaker".

A HUGE caveat to this is that moving to a different audio solution requires updating Sound Output settings, likely because of the Steam OS/Proton translation layer, and the nonsensical saving these settings per specific Save File causes some annoyance at times. I have not had any issues with having to adjust the Sound Output settings when jumping between playing on the Steam Deck locally and my PC locally though, so that part is nice for when you get a chance to play it on your PC rather than Steam Deck for better visuals (usually).

[niKKo.]

why i cannot see the bleeing edge?