Tainted Grail Steam Deck Settings now include two official presets added with patch 1.30: Quality and Performance. Questline says the Quality mode targets around 30 FPS with better visual fidelity, while Performance aims for roughly 40 FPS for a smoother experience.
Those presets are more useful than copying a long list of community settings from an older build because they were added by the developer specifically for Steam Deck. Patch 1.30 also includes wider optimisation work, so results from previous versions may no longer be a reliable baseline.
Image credit: Official publisher/developer source
Tainted Grail Steam Deck Settings: Quality mode
Quality is the better starting point if you care more about image quality than frame rate. Questline describes it as targeting around 30 FPS while delivering noticeably better visual fidelity than the previous Steam Deck setup.
A 30 FPS target also gives the handheld more room to hold heavier visual settings without chasing every possible frame. For slower exploration and players who prefer a cleaner image, this is the preset to try first.
Tainted Grail Steam Deck Settings: Performance mode
Performance targets around 40 FPS and is aimed at players who would rather have smoother movement and combat. The higher target can make camera motion and input feel more responsive, particularly during busy fights.
The trade-off is visual quality. Questline does not present Performance as the sharper option, so expect the preset to make different rendering choices to create the extra headroom needed for that 40 FPS target.
Which preset should you use?
There is no single correct answer. Start with Quality if you are comfortable at 30 FPS and want the better-looking image. Switch to Performance if combat feels too heavy or you notice that the lower frame rate bothers you more than the visual changes.
Because both modes are official presets, you can compare them without rebuilding every graphics option by hand. That makes patch 1.30 much easier to tune than older versions of the game on Deck.
Other graphics changes in patch 1.30
The update adds FSR to the Upscaling options and separates Grass Density from Vegetation Quality. Questline also added a Lens Flare setting and continued its performance and stability work across platforms.
Those extra controls are useful if one of the presets is close to what you want but not quite right. Rather than copying an old settings guide line by line, use the official preset as a base and adjust one setting at a time.
Best place to start
For most players, test Performance first if you bought the Deck for smoother handheld play, then switch to Quality and compare the same area. A repeatable scene makes it easier to judge whether the extra visual detail is worth giving up the higher target.
The important part is that these are now developer-supported options. If you have not played since before patch 1.30, reset your assumptions and try the new presets before spending time on manual tweaks.
A practical way to compare the presets
Tainted Grail Steam Deck Settings are easiest to judge when you test both presets in the same area. Pick a location with vegetation, movement and a few enemies, spend a minute in Quality, then repeat the route in Performance so the difference is obvious.
Quality is the better baseline for players who value image detail and are comfortable with a roughly 30 FPS target. Performance is the better starting point when camera response and combat smoothness matter more. Tainted Grail Steam Deck Settings make that trade-off much clearer than older community configurations did.
Do not change five extra graphics options before comparing the presets. Start with the official Tainted Grail Steam Deck Settings, see which target feels right, and only then adjust individual options such as grass density or upscaling.
Battery life and consistency
Questline has not published a battery-life target for either mode, so avoid treating one preset as an official battery saver. Tainted Grail Steam Deck Settings are presented around visual quality and frame-rate targets, not hours of play per charge.
Performance can also vary by scene. A roughly 40 FPS target does not mean every encounter will sit on exactly 40, just as Quality targeting around 30 does not guarantee a perfectly flat line. The useful part of Tainted Grail Steam Deck Settings is that both modes are developer-supported starting points.
If you played before patch 1.30, reset any old manual tweaks before making a fresh comparison. Tainted Grail Steam Deck Settings now sit alongside FSR and separated vegetation controls, so an inherited custom setup can hide what the new presets are actually doing.
Update 1.31 fixes overly bright Steam Deck areas
Questline corrected overly bright areas on Steam Deck in the October 29, 2026 Halloween patch. This fix is separate from the Quality and Performance presets introduced in update 1.30. Quality still targets about 30 FPS, while Performance targets roughly 35 to 40 FPS. Keep the preset that suits your playstyle and install version 1.31 to receive the lighting correction. Read the full Update 1.31 patch notes for the Halloween armour and other changes.
Official source: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1466060/announcements/
