Some PC players have argued that the next-gen version of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt runs a lot worse with ray tracing enabled, but CD PROJEKT RED has rolled out a new patch that may help affected users cope with that. A list of changes for Patch 4.01 can confirm that a new performance mode for ray-traced global illumination has been created for the PC version of the game, designed to improve frame rate by prioritizing performance over range and precision. The update also improves ray tracing performance in the console versions of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
From The Witcher:
Patch 4.01 for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is being rolled out on PC, PlayStation and Xbox. It improves the overall stability and performance of the game on next-gen consoles and PC, and brings various fixes to all platforms.
PC-SPECIFIC
- Fixed an issue where the Screen Space Reflections setting wasn’t working on PC despite being turned on. Players who had previously set their SSR setting to high may notice a performance impact.
- Added a new performance mode for ray-traced global illumination, which can be toggled by players with compatible hardware. It improves frame rate by prioritizing performance over range and precision.
CONSOLE-SPECIFIC
- Fixed an issue where consoles could create a higher amount of saves than their set limit, resulting in various issues with saving the game or user settings being reset.
- Improved Screen Space Reflections quality on next-gen consoles.
- Optimized ray-traced global illumination on next-gen consoles to improve the performance of Ray Tracing Mode.
QUESTS & GAMEPLAY – Available on all platforms
- Battle Preparations – Fixed an issue where it could be impossible to interact with Avallac’h during the objective “Let Avallac’h know everything’s ready.”
- Family Matters – Fixed an issue that could cause the game to crash during the transition to Ciri’s Story: Out of the Shadows when speaking to the Bloody Baron.
- King’s Gambit – Fixed an issue where it could be impossible to participate in the fistfight with the second Vildkaarl due to an invisible obstacle.
- Wine Wars: Belgaard – Added a retrofix for the issue we fixed in 4.00, where the quest couldn’t be completed if the player destroyed one of the required monster nests during exploration.
- A Dangerous Game – The armor in Caesar’s room should now change its appearance when the Alternate Nilfgaardian Armor is turned on.
- Axii Puppet – Increased the health and damage dealt by the puppet.
- Adrenaline Rush mutation should now work according to its description.
- Various small fixes to quests and cutscenes.
LOCALIZATION – Available on all platforms
- Fixed various issues with Arabic localization.
- Added the localized versions of Orianna’s song “Lullaby of Woe” in Korean and Simplified Chinese.
- Adjusted Priscilla’s lip-sync animation to match her voice-over in Simplified Chinese during the song “The Wolven Storm”.
Discussion (3 replies)
Join Discussion →Well the ray-tracing is less of a problem than DX12 in general. If you leave the graphics settings exactly the same between DX11 and DX12, just switching to the DX12 API alone tanks the framerate.
I look forward to testing this on both rigs but especially the 3700X. I've been tempted to install that mod for it that drops ray counts to something more manageable just to see if it becomes playable on something other than a 4090.
Well, I want to say good things about this but just can't. I finished the bonus mission last night. With DLSS on ultra-performance, which is mostly a downgrade, and then this RT performance setting, my hybrid-liquid cooled 3090 Ti that runs at ~2040-2085 Mhz, was averaging 55-75 FPS in the caves but once I got back outside it dropped to 35-45 again. My next experiment will be trying that mod that reduces the ray count. It really is a shame because using these settings pretty much defeats the purpose of the enhanced edition. I honestly think, for players with anything less than a 4090, you're better off playing the non-enhanced version but use Halk Hogan's latest mod pack. It really is fantastic and as simple as one install and go.