01.Introduction: The Weight of the Next Gen
CD Projekt RED added Ray Traced Global Illumination (RTGI), which completely transforms the game's lighting but costs about 40 FPS. If you don't have an RTX 3080/4070, be careful.
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02.Chapter 1: DX11 vs DX12
Launcher Options
- DX12: Required for Ray Tracing, DLSS, and FSR. Has slightly more stuttering during shader compilation.
- DX11: "Classic" version. Much lighter, but lacks DLSS/FSR (TAA only). Use this if you have a GTX 1060 or lower.
03.Chapter 2: Optimized Ray Tracing
If you enable RT, turn on ONLY Ray Traced Global Illumination (Performance Mode).
Disable RT Shadows, RT Reflections, and RT Ambient Occlusion. The GI already makes 90% of the visual difference in forests and interiors.
Always use it with DLSS Quality or Balanced.
04.Chapter 3: HairWorks (Geralt's Hair)
HairWorks technology simulates individual strands of hair.
- Geralt Only: The best compromise. Geralt's hair looks great, and you won't waste GPU power rendering the fur of wolves and bears that you don't even see clearly in combat.
- AA HairWorks: 2x or 4x. 8x is unnecessary.
A1.Chapter 4: Ultra+ Settings (New Feature)
The Next-Gen version added "Ultra+" presets.
- Foliage Visibility Range: High is enough. Ultra+ renders trees to the infinite horizon, killing performance.
- Grass Density: High. Ultra+ makes the grass so dense it hides items on the ground.
A2.Chapter 5: Essential Mods (Already Included?)
The Next-Gen update already integrated the famous "HD Reworked Project" (4K textures). Do not install this mod manually as it will cause conflicts.
Recommended mods to install:
- "Fast Travel from Anywhere": Travel without needing to go to a signpost.
- "Auto Apply Oils": The game automatically applies the correct oil to your sword when entering combat. Saves menu time.
A3.Chapter 6: Frame Generation (DLSS 3)
Witcher 3 supports DLSS 3 Frame Gen.
This is magic for playing with RT enabled. It can turn 40 FPS into 70 FPS.
Input lag increases slightly, but since it's a sword-fighting game with long animations, it doesn't hurt the experience much.
A4.Chapter 7: DX12 Stutter Fix
Go to the game folder: bin\config\base.
Open rendering.ini.
Change TextureStreamingHeads from 1 to 0.
Change TextureStreamingDistanceLimit to a high value (e.g., 40000).
This reduces texture pop-in and stutters.
Chapter 8: Close Camera
The Next-Gen mode brings an over-the-shoulder camera (God of War style).
In Gameplay Options, you can configure it separately:
- Exploration: Far Camera (Default).
- Combat: Far Camera (To see enemies at your back).
- Mounting: Close Camera (Immersive).
Chapter 9: Cross-Progression
Log into your GOG account in the main menu.
This enables Cross-Save. You can play on PC, save, and continue on a Nintendo Switch or PS5 (if you own the game there) exactly where you left off.
Chapter 10: FPS Limit in Menus
The Witcher 3 inventory doesn't have an FPS limit and can hit 500 FPS, heating up the GPU.
Use the Nvidia Control Panel to limit the global FPS for the witcher3.exe executable.
Don't do it Manually.
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Written by a verified expert
Douglas Felipe M. Gonçalves
Expert in Windows system optimization with years of experience in hardware diagnostics, kernel tuning, and advanced technical support. Founder of Voltris and developer of the Voltris Optimizer.
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