It was a good 5+ hour learning curve, but I now swear by it for all Souls games (except DS remastered, since you can’t use joystick + mouse movement at the same time). In Elden Ring: Jump and dodge on the grips, holding LB engages gyro for aiming with the bow, and touch instead of click left trackpad for dpad input. Being able to swing the camera around instantly, or just being able to maneuver it while sprinting is so nice. Customizing the guide chords is great too: Guide+X = save OBS replay, Guide+Y = turn off controller, Guide+A = toggle MangoHud, etc.

Although, I’d probably trade the left trackpad for an actual dpad, though it is nice for typing if i ever need it. It’s a shame they removed “require clicks” for navigation in the new Big Picture mode. I also wish the LB/RB weren’t so clicky and loud. Maybe there’s a DIY mod for that.

Sadly I didn’t like the steam deck for Souls games. Maybe it’s because the trackpad is too far down and just feels more awkward to use. Steam controller just fits so nice.

EDIT: forgot to mention that I use Guide+right trackpad to simulate right analog stick, since in Elden Ring you need it for zooming the map or adjusting the camera angle during dialogue or character creation.

If it helps, you’re not logged into EOS automatically anymore in 1.0. You have the option for direct IP connect, Steam, or EOS.

There are many new settings that you can apply to a session. Now you can play singleplayer with all the multiplayer capabilities disabled. You can now play exclusively using Steam to connect, or exclusively use Epic Online Services, as well as choose to have Crossplay between both platforms.