Since its release, Baldur's Gate 3 has proven to be one of the most impressive RPGs in recent years. With its deep story, complex characters, and an impressive open world, it is a title that deserves our attention.
But what if you want to experience this epic adventure on the Steam Deck? After trying out a few settings, a few have proven to be particularly helpful.
Here are the Baldur's Gate 3 settings for the Steam Deck:
1. Steam Deck Settings
3 points menu => Performance => (Advanced view) => “Limit TDP” to 12 => “Scaling filter” to FSR
First, we will look at the "thermal power limit", also called TDp (Thermal Design Power).
To do this, press the three dots on your Steam Deck (open the settings) and then go to Performance. There, if you haven't already done so, open the "Advanced View". Then scroll down to 'Limit TDP' and set the slider to 12. Further down you will find the scaling filter. Here, set the slider to FSR.
2. Game settings
There are many graphical settings in Baldur's Gate 3 that can be optimized. It is important to adjust the settings as best as possible so that the game runs smoothly and looks good at the same time. To make the changes, go to Options in the game and then to the Graphics tab.
Ingame => Options => Graphics =>
- VSync: Off
- General presets: Ultra
- Shadow quality: Low
- Cloud quality: Low
- Instance Details: Medium
- Fog: Medium
- Animation LOD Level of Detail: Medium
- Anti-aliasing: SMAA
3. Desktop mode settings
Desktop mode => Resolution to 1920 x 1080 => “AMD FSR 1.0” to “Ultra Quality”
For those who prefer to enjoy the game in desktop mode, we recommend setting the resolution to 1920 x 1080. In addition, you should set the “AMD FSR 1.0” slider to 'Ultra Quality'.
That looks pretty cool, but we would still stick with the game mode – the FPS will thank you.
4. A few words about performance
The Steam Deck manages to run the game smoothly and without interruptions, especially in the first act. However, in the second and third acts, you may experience occasional frame drops, especially in more demanding scenes. We hope that optimizations and updates will come in the future to further improve the gaming experience.
All in all, however, it can be said that Baldur's Gate 3 is a lot of fun with the right settings.
Have fun!