Fallout 4 is a truly expansive open-world experience, and the fact that it runs on Valve’s little black box still boggles us. With the Steam Deck, you can explore every inch of Fallout 4’s enormous 24,000-square-mile map in bed, on the toilet, or on the go. Check out the best Steam Deck settings for Fallout 4 to get a great wasteland experience and impressive battery life, too!
Fallout 4 Best Steam Deck Settings
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<th colspan="2" style="padding: 0.5rem">Compatibility Settings</th>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Proton Version</td><td style="padding: 0.5rem">Default</td>
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<th colspan="2" style="padding: 0.5rem">BIOS Settings</th>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">UMA Frame Buffer Size</td><td style="padding: 0.5rem">4G</td>
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Compatibility Settings |
Proton Version |
Default |
BIOS Settings |
UMA Frame Buffer Size |
4G |
Fallout 4 runs straight out the box on the Steam Deck. You will, however, have to deal with the game’s launcher, which can only be navigated with a mouse. Hold the Steam button and use the right trackpad to make your way through the launcher and start the game.
You can also skip the launcher entirely by adding the following to the game’s launch options:
<pre>--launcher-skip</pre>
--launcher-skip
Note that some of the graphics settings below can only be changed from the launcher, so make those changes first before disabling the launcher.
Best Settings (600p@40fps | ~3h30m)
The Steam Deck can manage 40 frames per second at native resolution, but Fallout 4 is also one of the many games that benefits a lot from FSR. Frankly, the result is almost indiscernible from native resolution on the Steam Deck’s screen, and we get 3.5–4 hours of game time on a single charge, all with mostly high settings.
If you prefer a 60-frames-per-second experience, go ahead and make the appropriate changes in the Steam Deck Performance Menu Settings. Just keep in mind that you may lose up to an hour of battery time.
<table style="margin: 1rem auto; color: #ddd; background-color: #23262F; border-radius: 0.5rem; padding: 0; border-collapse: separate;">
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<th colspan="2" style="padding: 0.5rem;">Launcher Options</th>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Aspect Ratio</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">16:10 Widescreen</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Resolutions</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">960x600</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Antialiasing</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">TAA (Best quality)</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Anisotropic Filtering</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">16 Samples</td>
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<th colspan="2" style="padding: 0.5rem;">Advanced Launcher Options</th>
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<th colspan="2" style="padding: 0.5rem;">Detail</th>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Texture Quality</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">High</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Shadow Quality</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Low</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Shadow Distance</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Medium</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Decal Quantity</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">High</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Lighting Quality</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">High</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Godrays Quality</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Low</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Depth of Field</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Standard (Low)</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Ambient Occlusion</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">SSAO (High)</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Screen Space Reflections</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">On</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Wetness</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">On</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Rain Occlusion</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">On</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Motion Blur</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Off*</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Lens Flare</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Off*</td>
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<th colspan="2" style="padding: 0.5rem;">View Distance</th>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Object Fade</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">~15%</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Actor Fade</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">~20%</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Grass Fade</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">~15%</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Item Fade</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">~25%</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Distant Object Detail</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Medium</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Object Detail Fade</td>
<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Medium</td>
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<tr bgcolor="#3f434f">
<th colspan="2" style="padding: 0.5rem; text-align: right"><sub>*Set to personal preference.</sub></th>
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Launcher Options |
Aspect Ratio |
16:10 Widescreen |
Resolutions |
960×600 |
Antialiasing |
TAA (Best quality) |
Anisotropic Filtering |
16 Samples |
Advanced Launcher Options |
Detail |
Texture Quality |
High |
Shadow Quality |
Low |
Shadow Distance |
Medium |
Decal Quantity |
High |
Lighting Quality |
High |
Godrays Quality |
Low |
Depth of Field |
Standard (Low) |
Ambient Occlusion |
SSAO (High) |
Screen Space Reflections |
On |
Wetness |
On |
Rain Occlusion |
On |
Motion Blur |
Off* |
Lens Flare |
Off* |
View Distance |
Object Fade |
~15% |
Actor Fade |
~20% |
Grass Fade |
~15% |
Item Fade |
~25% |
Distant Object Detail |
Medium |
Object Detail Fade |
Medium |
*Set to personal preference. |
<table
style="
margin: 1rem auto;
color: #ddd;
background-color: #23262F;
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"
>
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<th colspan="2" style="padding: 0.5rem">Steam Deck Performance Menu Settings</th>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Refresh Rate</td><td>40</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Framerate Limit</td><td>40</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Allow Tearing</td><td>On</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Half Rate Shading</td><td>Off</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Thermal Power (TDP) Limit</td><td>On</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Watts</td><td>11</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Manual GPU Clock Control</td><td>Off</td>
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<td style="padding: 0.5rem">Scaling Filter</td><td>Linear</td>
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Steam Deck Performance Menu Settings |
Refresh Rate |
40 |
Framerate Limit |
40 |
Allow Tearing |
On |
Half Rate Shading |
Off |
Thermal Power (TDP) Limit |
On |
Watts |
11 |
Manual GPU Clock Control |
Off |
Scaling Filter |
Linear |