Legacy of Kain: Defiance
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Estimated FPS across quality settings and resolutions
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Legacy of Kain: Defiance FPS by GPU
Estimated framerates for 14 reference GPUs · pick a resolution and quality
Full benchmark grid · 14 GPUs × 4 qualities × 3 resolutions
1080p performance
| GPU | low | medium | high | ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 5090 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4090 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RX 7900 XTX | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 5080 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4080 Super | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4070 Ti | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 937 fps |
| RTX 4070 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 988 fps | 803 fps |
| RX 7800 XT | 999 fps | 999 fps | 871 fps | 707 fps |
| RTX 3080 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 847 fps | 688 fps |
| RTX 4060 Ti | 999 fps | 999 fps | 800 fps | 650 fps |
| RTX 3070 | 999 fps | 912 fps | 729 fps | 593 fps |
| RTX 4060 | 999 fps | 824 fps | 659 fps | 535 fps |
| RTX 3060 | 882 fps | 706 fps | 565 fps | 459 fps |
| GTX 1660 Super | 640 fps | 512 fps | 409 fps | 333 fps |
1440p performance
| GPU | low | medium | high | ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 5090 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4090 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RX 7900 XTX | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 5080 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 946 fps |
| RTX 4080 Super | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 889 fps |
| RTX 4070 Ti | 999 fps | 999 fps | 865 fps | 703 fps |
| RTX 4070 | 999 fps | 926 fps | 741 fps | 602 fps |
| RX 7800 XT | 999 fps | 816 fps | 653 fps | 531 fps |
| RTX 3080 | 993 fps | 794 fps | 635 fps | 516 fps |
| RTX 4060 Ti | 938 fps | 750 fps | 600 fps | 488 fps |
| RTX 3070 | 855 fps | 684 fps | 547 fps | 444 fps |
| RTX 4060 | 772 fps | 618 fps | 494 fps | 401 fps |
| RTX 3060 | 662 fps | 529 fps | 424 fps | 344 fps |
| GTX 1660 Super | 480 fps | 384 fps | 307 fps | 249 fps |
4K performance
| GPU | low | medium | high | ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 5090 | 999 fps | 988 fps | 791 fps | 642 fps |
| RTX 4090 | 999 fps | 918 fps | 734 fps | 596 fps |
| RX 7900 XTX | 999 fps | 824 fps | 659 fps | 535 fps |
| RTX 5080 | 971 fps | 776 fps | 621 fps | 505 fps |
| RTX 4080 Super | 912 fps | 729 fps | 584 fps | 474 fps |
| RTX 4070 Ti | 721 fps | 576 fps | 461 fps | 375 fps |
| RTX 4070 | 618 fps | 494 fps | 395 fps | 321 fps |
| RX 7800 XT | 544 fps | 435 fps | 348 fps | 283 fps |
| RTX 3080 | 529 fps | 424 fps | 339 fps | 275 fps |
| RTX 4060 Ti | 500 fps | 400 fps | 320 fps | 260 fps |
| RTX 3070 | 456 fps | 365 fps | 292 fps | 237 fps |
| RTX 4060 | 412 fps | 329 fps | 264 fps | 214 fps |
| RTX 3060 | 353 fps | 282 fps | 226 fps | 184 fps |
| GTX 1660 Super | 256 fps | 205 fps | 164 fps | 133 fps |
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Legacy of Kain: Defiance
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About
Legacy of Kain: Defiance, released in 2003, is an action-adventure game developed by Crystal Dynamics and serves as the fifth entry in the acclaimed Legacy of Kain series. Notable for its rich storytelling and character development, the game allows players to alternate between the two protagonists, Kain and Raziel, each with unique abilities that enhance gameplay. The blend of exploration, puzzle-solving, and fast-paced melee combat contributes to its engaging experience.
In terms of PC performance, Legacy of Kain: Defiance is quite accessible, making it an excellent option for gamers with entry-level hardware. With a minimum GPU requirement of around 300 points, players can achieve respectable FPS on modest systems. This allows for enjoyable gameplay at lower graphics settings, ensuring that the game remains playable on various configurations without demanding high-end GPUs.
Should you play it? Given its solid rating of 81/100 and compelling genre, Legacy of Kain: Defiance is worth experiencing, particularly for fans of action-adventure and story-driven games. The blend of engaging narrative and satisfying gameplay makes it a notable title that holds its ground even years after its release.
Performance profile
Released in November 2003, Legacy of Kain: Defiance comes from the DirectX 9 era. Even the cheapest modern discrete GPU crushes it at maxed-out settings; the only real bottleneck today is CPU single-thread speed on older titles that were never multi-threaded.
Extremely light — Legacy of Kain: Defiance runs at 60 FPS 1080p on any integrated GPU (Intel Iris Xe, AMD Radeon Graphics) or a decade-old discrete card like the GTX 1050. A current-gen RTX 4060 pushes 4K Ultra without effort.
Storyline
Defiance continues from where Soul Reaver 2 ended. In Soul Reaver 2, Kain saved Raziel's life by drawing the Soul Reaver from him – Raziel was meant to enter the blade and become its soul-devouring spectral half. This causes a paradox that changes time for the worse and separates Kain and Raziel. Kain's part of the game follows him seeking Moebius the Time Streamer, a time-travelling mystic, for answers to where Raziel is, how he has changed time, and later following a lead Moebius gives him to explore a Vampire citadel. During his quest, Kain finds and completes a broken talisman of a Vampire construct known as the Balance Emblem. Kain discovers murals during his quest, dictating an ancient war between the first races to inhabit Nosgoth, the Ancient vampires and the Hylden. After sealing the Hylden in an alternate dimension using the Pillars of Nosgoth, the Hylden cursed the Ancients with bloodthirst, sterility and immortality, turning them into the first Vampires. Kain discovers from the murals that it was prophesied that both races would have a champion arise – a Vampire champion wielding the Soul Reaver, and a Hylden champion wielding a flaming sword. Because he possesses the material Soul Reaver depicted, Kain comes to believe he is the prophesied Vampire champion. The outcome of the battle between the two champions remains ambiguous.