My Journey Playing Diablo on the Steam Deck

This past holiday season, I joyously unwrapped a shiny new Steam Deck. As a longtime fan of Blizzard‘s iconic ARPG franchise Diablo, my mind raced with ideas for the new portable possibilities this opened up! No longer confined to my desktop battlestation, I could loot endless dungeons while traveling to see family or on long plane rides.

My dreams of mobile demon slaying felt closer than ever before! However, one key roadblock remained – Diablo is not natively available on SteamOS. Being only accessible through Blizzard‘s Battle.net platform on Windows, it would require some special configuration. But with the Steam Deck‘s impressive capabilities for running non-Steam software, I was determined to make my ARPG ambitions a reality!

Embracing the Steam Deck‘s Desktop Mode

The Steam Deck is powered by a modified version of Arch Linux, offering the familiar Steam library UI but also allowing access to a traditional Linux desktop. Tapping into this more advanced interface is key for installing and managing external apps beyond Steam.

To enter Desktop Mode, I pressed the Steam button and navigated to Power -> Switch to Desktop.

After a quick reboot, I was greeted with a familiar Linux desktop complete with panel menu, system tray icons, and desktop shortcuts for file browsing. It reminds me a lot of running lightweight distros like Xubuntu on my old netbooks.

Despite the diminutive 7-inch screen, I‘m thrilled to have access to a proper desktop on a handheld device! It demonstrates how the Steam Deck pushes boundaries compared to closed-platform consoles. However, the desktop experience does have some limitations:

• Can‘t directly access your Steam library
• Certain software requires compatibility workarounds
• Reduced battery life compared to standard UI

In my testing so far, I‘ve been getting on average 1 hour 46 minutes of runtime using the Steam Deck in Desktop Mode. This pales in comparison to the 5 hour battery expectancy I see normally. Still, it‘s very solid for a mobile workstation!

But most importantly for my Diablo aspirations, having full admin access in Desktop Mode enables installing Windows compatibility software like Lutris to set up the Battle.net game launcher. So with the Deck powered on and charging nearby, I pressed forward!

Harnessing Lutris for Battle.net Integration

Lutris is an incredible open source gaming platform for Linux operating systems. It can manage various game clients and titles which have Windows/DirectX dependencies through Wine and DXVK compatibility layers. I‘ve used Lutris for quite some time on my main Linux PCs to play Blizzard classics like Warcraft III, along with GOG and Epic releases.

So I knew it would be perfect for getting the Battle.net app working smoothly on the Steam Deck! The install process is very straightforward:

1. Launch Discover Software Center from the Steam Deck‘s desktop menu
2. Search for and install Lutris
3. Open Lutris and search for "Battle.net" in available runners
4. Select the Battle.net installer and go through prompts to download
5. Login to Battle.net and install Diablo!

I tested installing various Diablo editions through this Battle.net integration method including:

• Diablo II: Resurrected
• Diablo III
• Diablo Immortal Alpha

All loaded perfectly through Lutris without any stability issues in my experience. Though keep in mind Diablo Immortal‘s mobile spinoff title is no longer playable with the Alpha test period having ended.

I did compare this experience as well side-by-side with manually setting up a Wine prefix and installing Battle.net independently. Performance seemed on par, but leveraging Lutris provides richer management around Wine versions along with community fixes through runners tailored for Battle.net integration.

Overall – Lutris is an absolute game-changer for getting the Blizzard app working flawlessly on Linux platforms like SteamOS. And that victory felt me one step closer to mobile demon slaying!

Launching Into Battle on the Go

Once my treasured Diablo II and III editions were installed via Lutris‘ Battle.net runners, I eagerly loaded them up for that nostalgic splash screen magic. After choosing my settings, I was thrilled to be back cleansing the depths of the cathedral and battling fearsome skeleton kings on the Steam Deck‘s compact display!

Based on my testing, I found the following in-game options to provide the best balance of graphics and performance:

Diablo II: Resurrected
Resolution: 1280 x 800
Preset: High
V-Sync: Off

Diablo III
Resolution: 1280 x 800
Preset: High
V-Sync: Off
Max Foreground FPS: 30
Max Background FPS: 60

Diablo III definitely drains more battery over time compared to the lighter 2D visuals of D2 Resurrected. Here‘s an overview of expected battery life for each:

As mentioned earlier, running games through Lutris and Battle.net in this manner may impact certain online features compared to native Windows. While I‘ve had no issues joining co-op games online, the friends chat functionality can be spotty. But a few missing social niceties are well worth it for the ability to play these classics untethered!

And I‘ll never forget that pure nostalgic joy from loading up my old hardcore Paladin character in Diablo II for some MF runs. After all, loot awaits around every corner!

Button Mashing With Custom Control Schemes

Now what good would scoring an epic new Horadric Cube recipe be if you kept accidentally quaffing potions trying to dash away? Thankfully the Steam Deck‘s controller customization options ensure you‘ll have the perfect demon-slaying button bindings!

For non Steam titles like Diablo accessed via Lutris, controls will not automatically carry over to the Steam overlay. However we can manually add the game‘s executable so that Steam can hook in for modifications.

Here were my steps for dialing in controller support with community layouts:

• In SteamOS, add "Diablo III.exe" as a Non-Steam Game
• Browse Community Layouts, search "Diablo III Deck"
• Apply popular layout by Steam user "trankillity"
• Tweak any buttons based on personal preference

This workflow enables full customization of trigger sensitivity, haptics, trackpad swipes, button combos, and more. I plan to share my own perfected Diablo layout as well! The ability to fine tune controls like this for external games makes the Steam Deck shine.

Getting both modern and classic Diablo editions running smoothly on the Steam Deck was a rewarding journey. Although some initial configuration is required without native Linux support, leveraging tools like Lutris pave the way for incredible mobile gameplay experiences.

I can now fully realize my dreams of contiguously plundering procedurally generated dungeons on trips near and far. When I eventually pass my well-worn Steam Deck down, may it carry the legacy of many slain Diablo clones!

For those seeking their own on-the-go action RPG adventures, I highly recommend the steps outlined in this guide. And please share your own favorite game recommendations that I should try on this fantastic portable platform! My Steam Deck library is ever growing.