But it’s simpler than you initially believe. Users of Steam Deck have a lot of hotkeys at their disposal despite Valve’s lack of upfront clarification. Each of these hotkeys requires holding down the “Steam” key while pressing another key to have a different effect. It’s an easy thing, like we mentioned. The steam key is the only thing you really need to be aware of. If you keep it depressed almost constantly, you will see a complete list of all the key combinations that are possible up until you let off of the key. So, if you forget, as we frequently do, you may easily refresh your memory without using a search engine on the Internet. With the Steam Deck, the Steam button will quickly become your closest buddy, but it serves more purposes than just displaying your menu. To display a list of Steam Deck shortcuts that demonstrate how to forcibly stop a game, take a screenshot, and more, hold it down for an additional couple of seconds.
8 Steam Deck tricks and tips
Performance tweaks
Navigate to the battery section by clicking the three-dot menu button. The performance choices may be found there. From this point, you may change the refresh rate and FPS. These options can be used to improve your experience or prolong battery life. You can increase these settings for a smoother screen experience if you’re playing a less demanding game, but you might also want to consider lowering them so you can play for longer.
Change game graphic settings
Sincere astonishment at how wonderfully the Steam Deck handles even the most contemporary games It is a delight to play on and handles games pretty well. Its screen size is obviously constrained because it is a small(is) portable device. It has a 7-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1280 x 800 for 720p games. You presumably have a much larger gaming monitor at home. The Steam Deck probably won’t operate as well as you’d want if you try to play games on high settings. Try reducing the visuals a little. Although we didn’t find this to be very required, lowering the settings to high can make the experience smoother if you require it.
Use the FPS limiter
There is a 15 fps, 30 fps, and 60 fps FPS restriction included into the quick settings menu. The console is intentionally throttled when you reach the defined frame rates thanks to this configuration. Why would you restrict output? primarily to prolong battery life and quiet the fan A game that runs at 15 frames per second doesn’t need as much power as one that has to reach 60 frames per second.
Set Up the Steam Deck’s Rear Buttons
Like many high-end gamepads, the Steam Deck contains four back buttons in addition to the face buttons, bumpers, and triggers. However, they are not included in the typical dual-analog controller architecture, and the majority of games do not make use of them. However, you can map these buttons to any gamepad input (as well as keyboard/mouse input and a few system functions), which is helpful for games like Dark Souls III that need you to maintain your thumb on the left analogue stick while navigating between objects.
Check for updates
To enhance the functionality and user experience of the Steam Deck, Valve often creates upgrades. Some of these have also significantly improved. One of our original concerns was that the fans were extremely noisy, however Valve later released a patch that significantly reduced the noise. We advise checking for changes on a frequent basis. To do this, choose updates after hitting the Steam button on the left side. When an update is prepared, system settings will display an exclamation point.
Force quit
It’s helpful to know how to fix problems quickly in the unlikely event that you encounter one. You can forcibly stop the game with only a few button clicks if your Steam Deck freezes while you’re playing. Any game that is producing issues may be forced to close by simultaneously pressing the Steam button and the B button.
Change screen brightness while you game
As you play your Steam Deck in the lovely, cool summer air, the sun begins to peek out from behind the clouds. The 7-inch screen is suddenly challenging to view in these bright surroundings. A brightness slider might be moved to the right by opening the fast settings. But there is no time for settings options while you’re engaged in a high-speed firefight! Fortunately, Valve concurs. It has a handy shortcut for brightness adjustment that you may use to swiftly brighten or darken your screen while playing a game.
Check for software updates
The number of software upgrades Valve made between the time I acquired the Steam Deck and the review’s embargo date is too numerous for me to count. Dozens. Since then, things have calmed significantly, but in the months and years to come, you may anticipate several further software changes. Watch for the yellow exclamation point over the settings gear symbol, which denotes the presence of a new software update.
Final Words
So here we conclude our article on 8 Steam Deck tricks and tips. All indications point in the direction of where they want you to fiddle and increase the functionality of your device. Therefore, regardless of whether you’re a novice or advanced player, today we’re going to look at some basic tips and tactics to make the most out of your Steam Deck.
