Elden Ring: Nightreign is already a massive hit among handheld players, following in the footsteps of the original Elden Ring, which remains one of the most-played games on the Steam Deck. While Nightreign is currently marked as “Playable” and not fully Verified, it still offers a great experience with the right performance adjustments. Here is what you need to do in order to enjoy a stable gameplay around 30-40 FPS on the Steam Deck.
Best Settings for Elden Ring Nightreign on Steam Deck
Here are the recommended settings to get the best balance between visuals and performance:
- Resolution: 1280×720
- Texture Quality: Medium (Switch to Low for more stability during intense fights)
- Antialiasing Quality: High
- SSAO: Medium
- Depth of Field: Low
- Motion Blur: Low
- Shadow Quality: Low
- Lighting Quality: Medium (Set to Low if you’re getting stutters)
- Effects Quality: Low
- Volumetric Lighting Quality: Low
- Reflection Quality: Low
- Shader Quality: Low
- Global Illumination Quality: Low
- Grass Quality: Medium
Thanks to these settings, you can expect 30-40 FPS. There is no in-game frame limiter, but using the Steam Deck’s built-in frame limiter is highly recommended. Setting a 30 FPS cap will provide a smoother experience, reducing judder during gameplay.
If you’re aiming for 40 FPS, lowering additional settings may help, but expect dips during heavy action or boss fights.
Performance Tips
- Use the Steam Deck refresh rate limiter to lock at 30 FPS for more stable gameplay.
- If you’re experiencing stutters during battles, drop Texture and Lighting Quality to Low.
- Flashy effects and heavy particle use during some fights can cause frame drops even at lower settings.
Future Optimizations Are Likely
Nightreign’s launch on PC hasn’t been perfect, with performance issues affecting not just the Steam Deck, but desktop players as well. FromSoftware has acknowledged these problems and is expected to roll out performance updates soon. There’s a good chance Elden Ring Nightreign will eventually earn Steam Deck Verified status, just like the base game. Until official patches arrive, locking the game at 30 FPS and adjusting settings as needed is the best way to play.
Note that these adjustments are just for the Steam Deck, not the PC version.
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