CD Projekt Red has detailed the extensive changes coming to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered, set to launch on September 29. The studio released comprehensive patch notes outlining significant enhancements across visuals, gameplay, user interface, and more. Owners of the original game will receive the remastered edition as a free upgrade, which also includes the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions and prepares the way for the new Songs of the Past expansion next year.
Visual and Rendering Enhancements
The remaster boasts a substantial visual overhaul, incorporating an improved shading model and updated textures and models, drawing assets from The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project. Lighting and shading for grass and foliage have been improved, alongside updated visual effects for Signs and skills. The game now features native DirectX 12 rendering with multithreading for enhanced performance and visuals, along with updated tone mapping for better colors, lighting, and contrast. New options like GTAO (Ground Truth Ambient Occlusion) have been added, and HDR calibration has been improved. Ray-Traced HairWorks offers better hair rendering, while Motion Blur and Subsurface Scattering have been refined for a more cinematic and natural look, respectively. Terrain and material rendering benefit from new Image-Based Lighting (IBL) and reworked Bloom effects.
## Gameplay and Quality-of-Life Updates
Significant gameplay adjustments include a reimagined skill system, now organized into a tree with three ranks per skill. Unlocking skills requires prerequisites, and all existing skill points have been reset. The skill tree has been rebalanced with refined bonus values, effects, and synergies, and some skills have been renamed. Players can now reforge equipment to change its appearance without altering stats, a service offered by master craftsmen Yoana and Hattori. Combat behavior for non-boss monsters has been polished with updated attack patterns and reactions. Roach's movement and control have been improved, with changes to galloping and cantering inputs, and new sliders for horse control sensitivity. Geralt's animations have also seen refinements, including more natural jumping, new finisher and idle animations, and improved climbing and gap-closing animations for more fluid movement. Target-lock switching in combat has been polished, as have animations for mounting and dismounting Roach.
Quality-of-life improvements include streamlined tutorials, an option to quickly disengage from combat, and the ability to collect loot without dismounting Roach. The UI has been updated with a timelapse for meditation, a reorganized skill screen, and an easier-to-navigate map screen for tracking quests. Players can now hide certain elements like herbs and boats on the minimap and benefit from combined quest update notifications. Loot can be grouped into a single window, and a loot feed displays recently collected items. Item tooltips are now available in the loot window.
## Expanded Photo Mode and Accessibility
The Photo Mode has been significantly expanded with a new UI and more features. Players can choose from multiple characters, select poses and expressions, and adjust where characters direct their gaze. New lighting options allow for customization of brightness, color, and angles. Accidental exits are prevented with a confirmation prompt, and camera positions can be locked. Environment presets, saveable camera presets, and aspect ratio adjustments are available. A first-person camera mode allows players to see the world through Geralt's eyes, and camera collisions can be toggled. Weather and time of day can be changed, and weather effects can be adjusted. Rule of Thirds lines and cinematic black bars can be toggled, camera coordinates are visible, and surrounding NPCs can be hidden. Placeable props offer further scene customization.
Accessibility has been enhanced with a new dedicated section in the Settings menu. Ukrainian text localization has been added, along with a 'Bard's Ballad' preset designed to reduce cognitive load. This preset offers options for vitality regeneration, infinite breath, unlimited item and boat durability, ignoring item weight, faster boat travel, and toggling Witcher Sense. New finisher animations for Geralt and improved ledge climbing, ladder climbing, and vaulting animations contribute to a more polished player experience.
Modding and Platform-Specific Features
The remaster introduces Cross-Platform Mod Support via an in-game tool powered by mod.io, allowing players to easily browse and install mods. Engine and UI improvements for REDkit aim to simplify content creation for modders. PC-specific features include support for Path Tracing, NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 with Ray Reconstruction, AMD FSR 4 with Frame Generation and Anti-Lag 2, and Intel XeSS 2.0 with Frame Generation and Low Latency. DualSense controller haptic feedback is also supported. System requirements have been updated to reflect these enhancements.
Console-specific updates include support for PlayStation 5 Pro and Xbox Play Anywhere, along with multithreaded rendering on PlayStation 5. The Nintendo Switch version gains support for the Nintendo Switch 2, featuring four playstyles, motion control patterns, mouse sensor support, gyroscope aiming, touch screen input, enhanced HD Rumble, and VRR and HDR support. A dedicated Motion Controls tutorial is also included.
Fixes and Further Improvements
Several fixes are included, such as resolving issues with right stick sensitivity and HDR settings on consoles. A specific quest progression block in the "Wine is Sacred" quest has been addressed, though this fix is not retroactive. The game's tutorials have been condensed, and a quick disengage from combat option has been added.