If you asked me what the most popular MMORPGs of this generation are, I would reply with the Elder Scrolls Online. The fact that you can now play this on the Steam Deck is incredible. In this article, we’ll discuss the performance of ESO on the Steam Deck and the best settings to run the game.
ESO works best with Vsync turned Off and anti-aliasing set to FXAA. A mixture of Medium to High settings will ensure beautiful gameplay while providing good performance. You can expect a stable FPS between 45 and 60 with a battery life of 1.5 to 2 hours.
Keep reading this article to learn more about the best settings and performance for Elder Scrolls Online on the Steam Deck.
Best Settings For The Elder Scrolls Online
According to ProtonDB the Elder Scrolls Online has a Gold rating for play on the Steam Deck. This is fantastic news because the game is well integrated into the system with good control schemes and optimized graphics settings. Which means you can run the game close to the highest settings possible.
It’s a good idea to set the Steam Deck’s global FSR in the Scaling Filter menu to OFF. It will also be helpful to set the FSR Sharpness to 0. This is because the game taxes system resources as it is, but rather than FSR improving graphics or performance, it merely hinders it.
Additionally, it can be helpful to set a certain Max Particle limit. We’ve tested these settings for quite a while and I’ve found that 1024 is the best setting in this regard to ensure quality gameplay. Another thing I noticed was the benefit of turning OFF VSync. Which in most cases is helpful, but due to the nature of ESO, dampens the experience of the game.
If you’re looking for a more in-depth look at the best settings in the game then check out the table below:
| Option | Setting |
|---|---|
| Display Mode | Fullscreen |
| VSync | Off |
| Texture | High |
| Anti-Aliasing | FXAA |
| FSR Mode | Off |
| Subsampling | High |
| Shadow Quality | High |
| Screen Space Reflection Quality | Medium |
| Planar Reflection Quality | Off |
| Max Particle | 1024 |
| Particle Suppression Distance | 50 |
| View Distance | 37 |
| Ambient Occlusion | SSAO |
| Grass | High |
| Depth of Field | Circular |
| Bloom | ON |
| Distortion | ON |
| Sunlight Rays | ON |
| Show additional Ally effects | OFF |
Performance of Elder Scrolls Online
By ProtonDB’s assessment, we carried out a few more tests on the Steam Deck to ensure that the game runs well with the settings we’ve mentioned above. I’m happy to state that our results were really good. Let me share some of them here:
Framerate
Elder Scrolls Online performed very well on our recommended settings, and we consistently got 60 FPS. The game performed much better with an uncapped FPS rate of 90-100 FPS. But t 60 FPS we experienced a very smooth experience overall.
Temperature
The Temps for the Elder Scrolls were fairly consistent as well. With the settings, we recommended ESO did not merely demand the same temperature as before, and you would vastly experience between 50-60 degrees.
I believe this is a good temp average to maintain in a game like ESO because it means the game can run for quite a while without overheating or causing additional issues.
Battery Life
ESO on the Steam Deck can run for quite a bit of time. With its internal battery set to full charge before usage, you can expect a consistent 1 to 1.5 hours of game time.
With the settings we mentioned above, the upper end of that range is far more achievable and smooth.
GPU and CPU Usage
Finally, regarding GPU usage, ESO utilizes around 90 to 95% of Steam Deck’s GPU capacity. The CPU on the other hand had markedly less usage with an average between 50-55%. This is quite normal, however, because ESO is an MMORPG and needs constant asset generation to function optimally.
Whether you are a beginner in Elder Scrolls Online or a seasoned veteran, these Steam Deck settings will let you have the best gaming experience on the go.