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The patch notes for the upcoming Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update just came out, listing in it the various visual, performance, and technical enhancements coming to the game.
After getting delayed indefinitely back then, we are finally getting the next-gen update. For starters, let's talk about when the patch itself will come out. According to the official Witcher website, the update, dubbed Update 4.0, will come out on December 14, 2022, at 1:00 AM CET, or December 13, 2022, at 4:00 PM PST. This is for the PC, and Xbox Series X|S versions of the game. The PlayStation 5 update will come at midnight local time. As for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch versions of the game, a separate set of patch notes and patch release date will come out at a later time.
With that out of the way, let's head on over to The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update 4.0 Patch Notes
The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update Patch Notes
PC and Next-Gen Exclusives
- Added ray-traced global illumination and ambient occlusion
- PC players with the appropriate hardware now have access to ray-traced reflections and shadows
- Added various mods and mod-inspired content to improve game visuals and quality. This includes updates to the environment, cutscenes, pavements, and decorations.
- Some of the community-made and inspired mods include the following:
- The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project by HalkHogan
- HD Monsters Reworked by Denroth
- Immersive Real-time Cutscenes by teiji25
- Nitpicker's Patch by chuckcash
- World Map Fixes by Terg500
- Some of the community-made and inspired mods include the following:
- 4k upscaled textures for Geralt, Yennefer, Triss, Ciri, Eredin, and plenty other characters
- Main characters now cast high-resolution self-shadowing, even outside cutscenes
- Hair and armor clipping issues are now fixed
- Various environmental improvements added
- New weather type: Gray Sky
- Updated sky textures
- Vegetation and water improvements
- Various mesh improvements
- Improvements in some VFX
- Updated global environmental lighting
- AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 2.1 added
- Photo mode added
- Cutscenes are now pausable
- An alternate camera option is now available. This option puts the camera closer to Geralt and reacts more dynamically to combat and movement.
- This setting is in Options -> Gameplay under Exploration, Combat, and Horseback Camera Distance
PC Only
- Ultra graphics setting is now available. This setting improves on the following graphical settings:
- Number of background characters
- Shadow quality
- Grass density
- Texture quality
- Foliage visibility range
- Terrain quality
- Water quality
- Detail level
- DLSS 3 support added, but only for compatible software
Next-Gen Console Only
- The update improves the overall quality of graphics. This includes better textures, better fidelity, shadow quality, greater draw distances, and crowd density.
- Now has two graphical modes: Ray Tracing Mode and Performance Mode
- Ray Tracing Mode -This mode provides ray-traced global illumination and ambient occlusion with dynamic resolution scaling. This mode caps at 30 FPS for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
- Performance Mode – This mode makes sure that the game hits a smooth 60 FPS with dynamic resolution scaling. This is available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
- The Xbox Series S version of the game does not have Ray Tracing Mode. It instead has Quality Mode, which increases resolution and improves image fidelity. This is also capped at 30 FPS. Performance mode is also present in the Series S version.
- The game now uses the adaptive triggers on the PS5 DualSens controllers, as well as the haptic feedback.
Online Features
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- Cross-progression is now available between platforms. The latest saves will be available on the cloud, which lets players pick up where they left off on other platforms.
- Signing up to My Rewards in the game will give the player the following:
- Swords of the Nine-Tailed Vixen
- White Tiger of the West Armor
- Dol Blathanna Armor Set
- Roach Card
Additional Content
- Added a new side quest: In the Eternal Fire's Shadow. This quest can be found in Velen and will reward the player with rewards inspired by the Netflix series.
- Added an alternative appearance for both Dandelion and the Nilfgaardian Armor Set.
- Chinese and Korean voice-overs are now available, although availability varies by region.
- Various improvements and changes were made to the Russian voice-over, which includes fixes for accelerated or slowed lines.
Quality of Life Changes
- Added a Quick Sign Casting option. This lets players switch and cast signs without opening the radial menu.
- A new default map filter is now available. This filter reduces the amount of icon clutter on the map, such as question marks and boats.
- The minimum height for fall damage was adjusted, which lets players survive falls from higher heights.
- Instantly looting herbs is now possible.
- Players can now hide the minimap and quest objectives dynamically when not in combat or while using Witcher sense.
- Players can now slow walk when playing with a controller.
- An alternative sprint mode is now available for the controller, letting players toggle the sprint instead of holding it.
- An option to make target-lock unaffected by camera inversion is now available.
- The radial menu for bombs, bolts, and pocket items improved so that players no longer have to open the inventory to switch their places in the menu.
- Changing the font size for subtitles, NPC chatter, and dialogue choices are now available.
Gameplay
- Added the Full Combat Rebalance 3 mod by Flash_in_the_flesh. This introduces balance changes and various gameplay fixes. The mod is curated, meaning that some changes were implemented and improved, while others were omitted.
- The chest in the Signal Tower for the quest Scavenger Hunt: Wolf School Gear now opens consistently.
- The diagram in the chest at the bandit's hideout for the quest From Ofier's Distant SHores will now reliably show up.
- Players can no longer fail Swift as the Western Winds even if they win the race.
- The quest Echoes of the Past no longer gets stuck when the player has to talk to Yennefer.
- Destroying one of the required monster nests in Wine Wars no longer prevents the quest from being completed.
- Clearing the Ruined Inn Abandoned Site on the southern shore of Ard Skellig is now more reliable.
- The Grandmaster Wolven Set will now properly require Mastercrafted items.
- Various small fixes to quests and cutscenes.
These are just some of the highlights from the Witcher 3 patch notes for the Next-Gen update on the official Witcher website. The patch notes end by saying that “there are a lot of changes in this update, so check them out for yourself in the game!”
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