The Witcher 3’s patch 4.01 boosts framerates and adds a new RT performance mode on PC

The Witcher 3’s patch 4.01 increases the game’s performance and stability on all platforms

CD Projekt Red have released patch 4.01 for The Witcher 3 on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5, adding to the game new stability fixes and performance enhancements on all platforms. 

On PC, The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt’s new “Next Gen” version has also recieved a new “Performance Mode” for the game’s ray traced global illumination feature, which can enable higher performance levels by prioritising performance over range and precision. This mode will allow more PC gamers to enjoy The Witcher 3’s new ray traced global illumination option on PC. 

CapFrameX, the creator of the open source benchmarking software of the same name, has found that The Witcher 3 Next-Gen now runs 9% faster on average at 1080p on his RTX 4090/i9-13900K based gaming system, and higher gains are saw with the game’s 1st percentile framerates. This suggests that The Witcher 3 Next-Gen is less CPU-limited than before, though the game still doesn’t stay above 60 FPS at all times. 

Patch 4.01 is a huge step in the right direction for The Witcher 3’s next-gen version, though it looks like more updates are required if CD Projekt Red wants steady 60+ FPS framerates to be available when this game’s higher graphical presets are used.   

You can join the discussion on The Witcher 3’s 4.01 patch on the OC3D Forums. 

Release notes: The Witcher 3 Patch 4.01

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.

Here’s the list of changes for this update:

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”.

Please note: these are only the most notable changes. The patch contains other minor fixes that didn’t make it into this list.