Modder PureDark has contacted me to confirm that his DLSS 3 mod for Elden Ring now works perfectly, following the learnings he got from the recently released implementation in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
According to PureDark, the image quality issues were caused by a synchronization problem. The DirectX 12 API (used in Elden Ring) uses command lists to record graphics commands and execute them in the schedule, and it’s important to follow that procedure when issuing additional graphics commands.
You can check out a fresh video of the DLSS 3 mod for Elden Ring below. Unlike the Skyrim mod, which doesn’t have Reflex running due to a DX11-related issue, Elden Ring also takes full advantage of the built-in Reflex pipeline, delivering a ‘responsive’ gameplay experience, according to PureDark. The upscaler even includes the option to choose between the basic Reflex setting and the Boost setting that keeps GPU clocks high to further reduce latency in certain CPU-bound scenarios.
The frame rate gains are pretty substantial, bumping the frame rate from 70FPS to around 112 on his GeForce RTX 4070Ti GPU when running at 1440p resolution. This is on top of the DLSS Super Resolution mod that PureDark previously released for Elden Ring (and other games), with the Quality setting enabled. Later in the footage, the modder also tests the DLSS 3 mod switching from DLSS to DLAA (native rendering anti-aliasing empowered by AI); here, Frame Generation can still keep the frame rate above 100 FPS while benefitting from DLAA’s improved image quality.
In my testing, the DLSS 2 mod boosted Elden Ring frame rate by an average of 18 FPS (or a 27.2% improvement from 65.6 to 83.5 FPS) when running at 4K resolution and max settings with ray tracing on a rig equipped with Intel i7 12700KF CPU, GeForce RTX 4090 GPU, and 16GB DDR4 RAM. It was pretty much a free boost for GeForce RTX owners, though I did note that users would have to bring their own sharpening filter to the table with ReShade to offset the DLSS 2 mod’s native lack of sharpening.
From the looks of it, the DLSS 3 mod will be even more impactful for a game like Elden Ring. That’s not very surprising since FromSoftware’s masterpiece is an open world action RPG and, as such, largely CPU-bound in many scenarios; Frame Generation was specifically created to improve those situations, whereas Super Resolution focuses on lessening the load on the GPU.
PureDark did not release the Elden Ring DLSS 3 mod to his Patreon subscribers yet, though it should happen relatively soon. Look forward to detailed testing then.
