FromSoftware's latest DLC for the critically acclaimed Elden Ring adds a new location, new bosses and much more. So we've checked out how to run the game best on Steam Deck.

Renowned studio FromSoftware released its first DLC for the critically acclaimed action RPG Elden Ring and introduced a massive new location, new weapons, and many new bosses that will kill you over and over again. 

Naturally, with a new update the game’s tech and performance deserve another look. Without further ado, let’s dive in.

Performance Baseline

Out of the box, the game comes with four different performance presets, called ‘Quality Settings’: Low, Medium, High, and Maximum. We’ve benchmarked the presets across the game, and even with the added DLC region, the most taxing area is Limgrave.

The Limgrave starting area has a particularly high toll on the general idle performance; this means outside of combat, you would usually see higher frame rates than here.

But this is the worst-case scenario, as the game often takes place inside dungeons, caves, and ruins — and with most open-world areas usually performing better than this particular one. It’s still a great way to compare the game’s stock quality presets, both visually and in terms of numbers, despite being riddled with traversal stutter.

Exactly that traversal stutter, combined with high-intensity moments when fighting against a mob of enemies or a massive boss, is why a lower target frame rate remains the best way to play the game on Steam Deck.

While the game has moments without much action, the increased overall fluidity is only a worthy upgrade if you can bear regular dips into the mid-30s.

One setting looks interesting, though: “Auto-Detect Best Rendering Settings.” At first glance, this sounds like a dynamic resolution scaler, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

What this option does, is change some random graphical settings it thinks fit your system best, which is, however, anything but reliable and should be turned off. Otherwise, it’ll lead to potential performance loss, as seen below.

There’s still a way to make the game run much more stable: Many of the micro stutters during gameplay stem from background shenanigans of Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC), which Elden Ring uses. Thankfully, a certain compatibility layer called ProtonGE (our tutorial on how to install ProtonGE) fixes these, as it includes the newest and more optimised release of EAC.

Best Settings for Elden Ring on Steam Deck

Keeping all these findings in mind, here are our optimised settings for Elden Ring and its DLC Shadow of the Erdtree on Steam Deck.

On an OLED Deck, you can expect a battery life of around 3.5 hours.

If you still want to go for a 40 FPS target, simply lower Effects Quality, Volumetric Quality, and Grass Quality.

But keep in mind that you’ll have to accept uneven frame pacing because of the traversal stutters mentioned above and framerate dips during fast camera pans.