Let's start with the freebie. The app in question is Special K, which is described as the “Swiss Army Knife” of PC mods. It’s a powerhouse utility that can do just about anything. It can force Nvidia Reflex in games, modify and lock inputs to different displays, and inject HDR where it isn’t available. It’s so dense that I’ve written specifically about Special K for my ReSpec column previously — and even then, I was only able to scratch the surface of what it’s capable of.
Special K is a global tool; you can use it with any game short of those with anti-cheat software. However, it includes a handful of adjustments for specific titles, including Elden Ring. The most immediately noticeable one is an unlocked frame rate. Elden Ring is capped to 60 frames per second (fps) on PC, but Special K can remove the cap.
It also enables a few quality-of-life features. Special K includes optional PlayStation button prompts if you’re using a DualSense or DualShock controller, which aren’t available in Elden Ring natively. You can also disable the game’s interface for screenshots through Special K.
Unfortunately, those features aren’t currently working for Elden Ring. According to the app’s developer, From Software rewrote the code for the frame rate limiter in the game, which broke Special K. A version of the app that removes the Elden Ring-specific features is already available on Special K’s Discord — you just need to replace the two DLL files with your installation with the two from version 24.6.20.
There should be a version of Special K with these features reenabled before too long. There are still plenty of reasons to use Special K in Elden Ring, though. I’ll cover a way to improve your frame rate in the game in the interim in the next section.
Frame Rate Limiter: Smoothing Out Stutters
One of the main issues with Elden Ring on PC is stuttering, and Special K can help with that. It includes an extremely in-depth frame rate limiter. Without getting too far in the weeds, setting an fps cap is a lot more involved than you probably assume, and some frame rate limiters are better than others. Special K’s is probably the best you can get right now.
It helps tremendously to smooth out Elden Ring, particularly when you’re traversing the open world. If you want a deeper look at why Special K’s frame rate limiter is so good, I’ll point you to this in-depth post on the topic.
You can find a lot of applications for Special K in Elden Ring — I also use the mod’s HDR capabilities in the game, for example — but it carries a big caveat. Special K is a mod at the end of the day; it messes with game files. Because of that, you have to set Elden Ring to offline mode before loading the mod, and you can’t play online. That means no summoning your friends for boss fights, no messages on the ground, and no PvP. The mod’s creator also says you should disable the Easy Anti-Cheat software that the game launches to avoid any potential bans.
Those downsides are justified with how powerful Special K is. However, if you’re just looking for a smoother experience and don’t want to risk a ban, you still have an option — provided you can part ways with online features.
Frame Generation Without Strings Attached
Lossless Scaling is an app on Steam that provides upscaling and frame generation across games. Unlike Special K, it doesn’t mess with any game files. It sits on top of the game, so you’re safe to use it when playing online without risking a ban. It’s particularly useful in Elden Ring where you don’t have access to performance-boosting features like Nvidia’s DLSS or AMD’s FSR.
The upscaling bit of Lossless Scaling is useful, but it’s the frame generation that stands out for Elden Ring. The app includes its own machine-learning-based frame generation model, and it gives you the option to either double or even triple your frame rate without compromising visual fidelity.
In summary, both Special K and Lossless Scaling offer unique advantages for enhancing your gaming experience in Elden Ring. While Special K provides deep customization and performance tweaks at the cost of online play, Lossless Scaling offers a safer alternative for those who wish to maintain their online interactions.
Update: 20 Jun 2024
