The Ultimate Baldur's Gate 3 Settings Guide to Maximize Your Steam Deck Experience

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Achieving A Better FPS For Baldur's Gate 3 on Steam Deck

Baldur's Gate 3 has been officially confirmed for the Steam Deck, but it does have its flaws. Players may experience low frame rates without optimal settings, and there were initial crashing issues for Steam Deck users. While these problems were addressed in a patch, some players still encountered difficulties launching the game even after Larian released their Hotfix.

Luckily, this guide can help players achieve a smoother and more visually appealing experience on their Steam Deck. However, it's important to note that Baldur's Gate 3 can be demanding on hardware. Nevertheless, with some adjustments, players can have a solid experience from beginning to end.

The Best Baldur's Gate 3 Settings On Steam Deck

If you're experiencing issues with launching Baldur's Gate 3 despite its verification, using this guide to launch the game on the Steam Deck, adjusting the settings to low or medium, and restarting the game after disabling Proton Experimental might resolve the problem. Alternatively, a fresh reinstallation could also help. Follow these steps to achieve optimal settings for Baldur's Gate 3 on the Steam Deck:

1. Launch Baldur's Gate 3.

On the title screen, select Options.

Highlight the Video menu.

Switch the Framerate Cap On.

Model Quality - Medium.

Detail Distance - Low

Texture Quality - High

Texture Quality - Trilinear

Animation Level of Detail - Medium

Dynamic Crowds - On

Shadow Quality - Medium

Cloud Quality - Low

Fog Quality - Low

AMD FSR 1.0 - Off - FSR gives Baldur's Gate 3 an unpleasant fuzzy and speckly sheen.

FidelityFX Sharpening - On

Sharpness - Move the slider approximately three-quarters full.

Anti-Aliasing - TAA

Ambient Occlusion - Off

Depth of Field - Gaussian

Depth of Field Quality - Quarter Denoise

God Rays - On

Bloom - On

Achieving A Better FPS For Baldur's Gate 3 on Steam Deck

Enhancing the visuals of Baldur's Gate 3 on the Steam Deck is undoubtedly a priority, yet simultaneously ensuring a more seamless frame rate is equally important. Utilize the following parameters to optimize the framerate on the Steam Deck:

With Baldur's Gate 3 running, press the Quick Access Menu button underneath the right trackpad.

Highlight the Battery icon to access the Performance Menu.

Switch on Use per-game profile to ensure the settings are saved.

Select Refresh Rate and move the slider down to 40.

Set the Framerate Limit to a fixed value of 40.

Disable the Thermal Power (TDP) Limit - for Steam Deck users utilizing the device without being connected to a power source, it is recommended to enable this feature for extended battery life. Nevertheless, keep in mind that this will have an impact on the device's performance.

Steam Deck users can expect a framerate ranging from 30 to 40 FPS with the aforementioned settings. Nevertheless, there will be occasional drops in highly populated regions, dense forests, and areas abundant with vegetation.

Baldur's Gate 3 is currently accessible for PC, while the release of the PlayStation 5 version is planned for September 6, 2023.