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Deadlockis a game that has a lot of unique visuals to it. As the game blends the gameplay of an arena shooter with a lane-based MOBA, the details of the orbs and the abilities of both allies and enemies can not only overwhelm players but potentially computers.
Thankfully, due to its playtest nature, the game is in essence designed to be easier to access than a launch game would be. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to try and dig every framerate or improvement boost possible.
Deadlock is still in development, and these settings may change during development.
Best PC And Steam Deck Performance Settings For Deadlock
Like any game, the easiest way to control how it runs on your computer is inthe in-game settings. As usual, a lot of the major settings liketexture quality and anti-aliasing make the biggest difference, but there aremore options to changeif you want the best performance build of Deadlock on your computer.
Thankfully, Deadlock hastwo different ways you may change your settings. Thebasic settingsare shown in aslider, where theleft side is for performanceand theright side is for visual spectacle. If you don’t want to bother with adjusting every option in the advanced settings menu, just move the slider to the left.
However, if you want to adjust the settings, click theUse Advanced Settings buttonto unlock the option to change these video settings.
1920x1080
Refresh Rate
Match your monitor
Look intoyour monitor’s settings to find out its highest refresh rate, and match it for the best performance.
Display Mode
Fullscreen
While windowed or windowed borderless is easier to control or switch out of,fullscreen is always the best for a game’s performance.
Render Quality
55 percent
Anywherebetween 50 and 60 percentis the sweet spot for performance without totally ruining the gameplay experience.
Anti-Aliasing
FXAA
When on, this will improve performance without taking much power out of your computer.
Texture Quality
Medium
Low is a valid option as well, but Medium doesn’t take a lot more power and shows more visuals that players need to see for gameplay.
Screen Space AO
Off
Considering how much power it uses,keeping it off makes the most sense.
Distance Field AO
Same description as the Screen Space AO, another powerful option that isbest kept off.
Motion Blur
Motion blur is entirely a choice for players becauseit will not affect performancemuch, if at all.
Post Process Bloom
On
While a visual effect, it isvery minorandshouldn’t affect performancemuch if on.
If any of these options confuse you, if youhover over them with your cursor, the gamewill show a short descriptionas to what it affects and how much power it can consume. Due to that, people can adjust their settings to their liking.
Steam Deck userscan stick to theperformance settings aboveas well, most importantly keeping the Texture Quality to Medium, theRender Quality to 70 percent instead of 55,and FXAA on.
Best Medium-Range Settings For Deadlock
To thread the needle between performance and visual settings, the easiest way is tomove the basic settings slider toward the two options in the middle. However, if you enable the advanced settings, here are the best options for the same settings as above.
Look intoyour monitor’s settings to find out its highest refresh rate, and match it to make the game run seamlessly.
Fullscreen is still the best option for complex games, butBorderless Windowed is more viablein a build like this.
70 percent
Anywherearound 70-80 percentis a great spot if you want the game to run well and look good.
Just like the performance build, it is worth it toactivate anti-aliasing.
Medium, just like the name suggests, is good quality while not taking too much out of a computer, but High can also be viable.
Low
To improve the visuals from the performance build, activating Screen Space AO will improve visuals.
Just like Screen Space AO, improving the Distance Field AO will also improve how the game looks.
Distance Field Shadows
The tradeoff between shadows and performance is good for this setting.
This setting doesn’t affect power or performance much.
There isn’t a big difference between the performance settings and these medium-range settings because Deadlock is an early-access game, but just like the performance settings,you may adjust these settings moreif you want better visuals.
Best Visual Settings For Deadlock
Last but not least, we have the most visual-focused settings choices for Deadlock. Either use thebasic settings slider and move it to the right, or with the advanced settings, justturn every setting on or to the max.
Resolution
Match your setup
Either stick to 1920x1080, or if you have a multiple or larger monitor setup, adjust accordingly.
Look intoyour monitor’s settings to find out its highest refresh rate for the best visuals.
Fullscreen is still the best option for complex games, butBorderless Windowed is still viable.
90 percent
90 to 100 percent is ideal for the ultimate visual spectacle.
Ultra
Anytime you seean Ultra option, get it for the best visuals.
High
Just like Screen Space AO,improving the Distance Field AOwill also improve how the game looks.
VSync
Just like Motion Blur, thechoice is up to the player, but it usually isn’t worth it.
Making shadows easier to run while keeping performance good is a nice option.
This option simulates visual imperfections, so fortrue immersion, turn it on.
Options likeV-Sync and Motion Blur are still optional choicesfor individual players, as they don’t affect performance or visuals much outside of preference. However, for settings fromTexture Quality to Render Quality, justturn it as high as it goesto your preference and PC build allows. This includes turning onDisplacement Mapping, Area Lights, and Depth of Field.
Best Keyboard, Mouse, And Keybind Settings For Deadlock
Deadlock is an interesting game for keybindings because it usesboth FPS and MOBA mechanics. The default way to play it is witha keyboard and mouse, but if you usea Steam Deck, the game has to be mapped differently.
To start, here are thebest mouse settings for Deadlock. Mouse sensitivity is preferential, as some players like playing with high and others like low, buthaving a low sensitivity is usually better for shootinggames.
These settings should alsoadjust based on which mouse you have, so make sure to test out your settings in practice mode to see which sensitivity is best for you.
Now, forthe best keyboard and Steam Deck keybindings,there are two options. For new Deadlock players, or players new to MOBAs or even FPS games, sticking to the default keybindings is the best option. However, for experienced players of other games like Valorant, you’re able to adjust specific keybindings to help match both games' controls together.
The keybindings below are only for the keys you should change, soif the keybind isn’t listed here,keep it the same as the defaultoption.
While not the same as other shooters or MOBAs, this shiftmoves the ability keys and item keys around. Instead of keeping the abilities on the numbers 1-4, this keybinding moves themaround your movement keys of WASD, making iteasier and quicker to use your abilitieswith your left hand.
Aside from that, you can keep the movement and ping keys the same. As forSteam Deck players, here is the best keymapping for the console. For context, there is an extra step, as you need to firstmatch the keybinding to what is neededto thenmatch the controller to said keys.
How To Improve Deadlock Performance Outside The Game
Like any computer game, there is only so much you can change from inside. There are a lot of potential ways to improve performance outside of Deadlock, starting withupdating graphics card drivers, which will usually improve performance across all games.Avoid running other programs in the background, like internet browsers or other games.
Upgrading your PCis another way to get better gameplay, but not always the most available. Lastly,changing your graphics card’s settingsto automatically run games with a focus on performance more than visuals is a sneaky way to get improved performance. To do so,go to your respective graphics card programand look for performance settings, whether for specific games or your entire computer.
