Optimizing Last Epoch for the Steam Deck ensures a smooth and enjoyable gaming experience on this versatile handheld device. Last Epoch has shown great promise with its rich and flexible action RPG elements, but it requires some tweaks to have a better performance on the Steam Deck.
How to make Last Epoch run better on Steam Deck
Fine-tuning Last Epoch for the Steam Deck can significantly enhance your gaming sessions, ensuring stable performance without sacrificing too much visual quality. These settings aim to balance performance with playability on the Steam Deck's unique hardware.
To achieve an optimal gaming experience, use the following settings adjustments:
- Steam Deck Performance Settings
- TDP (Thermal Design Power): Set to 11W to manage the device's power consumption and heat output effectively.
- Steam Deck Resolution: Adjust to Native since we'll use FSR to upscale our in-game resolution back to the original 1280x800.
- Scaling Filter: FSR
- FSR Sharpness: Set its value to 5, which helps a lot in getting a crisp and clear image when using FSR.
- Half Rate Shading: Enable this option to improve frame rates by reducing the shading workload on the GPU.
- Refresh Rate and FPS Limit: Cap both to 40 to prevent potential crashes and maintain a more consistent frame rate.
- GPU Clock Frequency: Set the value to 1100. You can go higher, but at this TDP, it's better to set it to a reasonable value for longer play sessions.
- In-Game Settings for Last Epoch
- Screen Resolution: Set the Screen Resolution setting to 1152x720, and allow FSR to do the magic and upscale it to 1280x800.
- Shadow Quality: Medium
- AntiAliasing: TAA
- Grass Density: Low
- Reflections: Low
- Ambient Occlusion: Medium
- Volumetric Lighting: Medium
- Screen Space Reflections: Medium
- Terrain Quality: Medium
Implementing these settings should provide stable performance for the Last Epoch on the Steam Deck with a locked 40 FPS with minimal dips. Enabling Half Rate Shading from the start is particularly beneficial for a smoother gameplay experience and to keep the device's fans from working overtime.
If you're experiencing lower FPS on later stages of the game where hordes of monsters will come after the player, you can always set every graphical options to low to avoid drastic FPS drops and keep Last Epoch running as smooth as possible.
Last Epoch is a continually developing game with developers implementing constant bug fixes and performance optimizations. With that, performance may vary with future updates. Adjusting settings as the game evolves will ensure the best possible experience on your Steam Deck.
Best control setup for Last Epoch on Steam Deck
I use a controller from time to time in the Last Epoch, and it's been a blast to play while laying back and relaxing on my chair. I recommend using the default Official Layout for Last Epoch - Gamepad With Camera Controls as this feels the most natural way to play the game on the Steam Deck.
There are however a few quirks while using a controller. The first glaring issue is you can't precisely aim your skills. So specific builds for mages will be a nightmare as you can only cast your skills at the max distance relative to the direction your character is facing. However, if you've practiced enough with the controller and mastered proper distancing with your character, this won't be an issue.
Another issue I have with controllers on Last Epoch is inventory management. Although you can use the right analog stick on your Steam Deck as a mouse cursor, the problem arises when transfering items to your stash, forge, or even dropping them as you have to do this manually (i.e. drag and drop with the right analog stick). It's not as bad as it sounds, it's more of a convenience issue for me, but I can work around it.
Other than those issues, controller support is amazing in Last Epoch and I recommend you try it out. Developers are also listening to player feedback, so these issues may soon be fixed once developers figure out a more seamless option for these controller problems.
If you're looking for more stories on the Last Epoch, you're in the right place! Have a look at Last Epoch crafting guide – Shards, Runes, and Glyphs only on Pro Game Guides!
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Best Last Epoch Steam Deck settings for better performance
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