Best Witcher 3 next-gen settings for RTX 2070 (with and without ray tracing)

The Witcher 3 next-gen update has finally arrived and delivers a massive graphics update for the 2015 RPG title. While there are some additional esthetic flourishes, the game remains fundamentally the same.

A quest based on the Netflix series is also included in The Witcher 3 next-gen update, along with various modifications, cross-saves, and a camera option.

Nvidia's RTX 2070 is a reliable high-midrange GPU. It was one of the first GPUs on the market to enable ray tracing during its introduction in 2018. In its heyday, the card performed rasterization brilliantly and had remarkable ray tracing capabilities. While Witcher 3 next-gen will run smoothly on RTX 2070 in ultra settings, players will experience poor FPS when ray tracing is enabled.

The following article will instruct users on utilizing the optimum Witcher 3 next-gen settings for their RTX 2070 with and without ray-tracing.

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RTX 2070 runs Witcher 3 Next-Gen smoothly but will face low FPS when ray tracing is enabled

Witcher 3 next-gen provides superb graphics, but it's not optimized enough. Developer CD Projekt Red recognized the optimization issue, and players may look forward to future performance improvements through updates and hotfixes.

If they don't plan to use ray tracing or DLSS, they are advised to run the game under DirectX 11 with an RTX 2070 to prevent performance issues. The ideal Witcher 3 settings to utilize with the card are listed below:

Without ray tracing

Display

• Display mode: Full Screen
• Vsync: Off
• Resolution: 1920x1080
• Maximum Frames Per Second: Unlimited
• Hardware Cursor: Off

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Graphics

• Anti-Aliasing: TAAU
• Sharpening: High

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• Screen Space Ambient Occlusion: On
• Screen Space Reflections: High

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• Motion Blur: On or as preferred
• Blur: On or as preferred
• Bloom: On or as preferred
• Depth of Field: Off or as preferred
• Chromatic Aberration: Off or as preferred
• Vignetting: Off or as preferred
• Light Shafts: Off or as preferred
• Camera Lens Effects: Off or as preferred

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• Nvidia HairWorks: Off

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• Number of Background Characters: Ultra
• Shadow Quality: Ultra
• Terrain Quality: Ultra+
• Water Quality: Ultra
• Foliage Visibility Range: High
• Grass Density: High
• Texture Quality: Ultra+
• Detail Level: Ultra+

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With ray tracing

Display

• Display mode: Full Screen
• Vsync: Off
• Resolution: 1920x1080
• Maximum Frames Per Second: Unlimited
• Nvidia Reflex Low Latency: On
• Hardware Cursor: Off

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Graphics

• Ray Tracing (Global Illumination): On
• Ray Traced Reflections: On
• Ray Traced Shadows: Off
• Ray Traced Ambient Occlusion: Off

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• Anti-Aliasing: DLSS
• DLSS Quality: Quality
• Sharpening: High

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• Motion Blur: On or as preferred
• Blur: On or as preferred
• Bloom: On or as preferred
• Depth of Field: Off or as preferred
• Chromatic Aberration: Off or as preferred
• Vignetting: Off or as preferred
• Light Shafts: Off or as preferred
• Camera Lens Effects: Off or as preferred

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• Nvidia HairWorks: Off

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• Number of Background Characters: Medium
• Shadow Quality: Medium
• Terrain Quality: Medium
• Water Quality: Low
• Foliage Visibility Range: Medium
• Grass Density: High
• Texture Quality: High
• Detail Level: Medium

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Remember, you must run Witcher 3 next-gen on DirectX 12 to utilize ray tracing and Nvidia DLSS.

The aforementioned settings will deliver the best performance on an RTX 2070. Players are requested to make some tweaks according to their preferences to further polish gameplay.