Elden Ring’s ray tracing announcement had me leaping up and down with pleasure. Whereas the sport is already attractive with out it, I used to be nonetheless curious what FromSoftware might do to make The Lands Between pop much more.
The reply? Elden Ring’s ray tracing affords delicate however attractive enhancements to what’s already probably the greatest wanting video games ever made. However the efficiency hit is heavy, and until you are packing severe {hardware}, you won’t discover the commerce off to be price it. I am sitting right here with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, but sure areas had me all the way down to 40 frames per second. It is principally not this unhealthy, however when it does drop, you will notice it.
Fast warning: Set up your newest graphics driver earlier than testing out ray tracing. I crashed 4 instances earlier than I might even get into my save file on my RTX 3080 as a result of I hadn’t finished so. As quickly as I put in these drivers, it labored with out problem.
Elden Ring ray tracing comparability images
Elden Ring’s ray tracing hits efficiency fairly exhausting, however is the commerce off really price it? In the event you don’t have the time or power to skim by each comparability photograph beneath, right here’s my tackle the matter: In the event you’re packing severe {hardware}, like an RTX 3080 or 4070/4080 GPU, it’s best to completely flip ray tracing on.
The variations are delicate however the shading of foliage, timber and constructions seems deeper and extra satisfying. Reflections aren’t significantly noticeable (though they’re technically a bit of higher), however how the shifting time of day makes gentle look actual is totally price it. Even once I first performed Elden Ring, I took word of how unusual the timber and bushes would seem at instances, as they usually lacked depth or appeared random in how the sunshine from the sky solid shadows inside its foliage. Ray tracing fixes this excellently.
However Elden Ring’s ray tracing isn’t so noticeable that you just’re enjoying a unique recreation with out it. I personally refuse to play it with out ray tracing now that it is out, nevertheless it’s one of many lesser requirements that make this world pretty to have a look at. So with out additional ado, listed below are some direct comparisons.
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Once I first seemed on the expansive vista that introduces gamers to Limgrave, I used to be shocked at how a lot depth ray tracing delivered to the world. You may see the shrubs and foliage within the foreground occupy a deep satisfying shadow when ray tracing is on, whereas it appears flat and virtually see by with it off. That is just about the case for all foliage in Elden Ring’s ray tracing.
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One of many first issues I observed is how a lot nicer armor and participant fashions look with ray tracing on. Within the first picture, you may see how colorless and darkened my armor set appears throughout the introduction into Limgrave. However in the identical spot with ray tracing on, my complete set was all of a sudden shinier and extra reflective, with the hue of my cape really seen.
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The enhancements to constructions are delicate, however they’re there. We see the archways occupy correct shadow casting with ray tracing on, as though they give the impression of being shaded with ray tracing off, the way in which wherein these shadows are growing makes quite a bit much less sense. As soon as once more, it’s also possible to see the shrubbery and grass within the foreground taking up a far deeper black with ray tracing.
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Property scattered all through the world drastically profit from ray tracing, giving them a lot wanted depth to really feel as in the event that they’re precise objects inside The Lands Between. We will see the anvil, hammer, mule, camp hearth and even the little issues scattered subsequent to the service provider with deeper shadows that make them come out as “actual.” To get a way of what I am speaking about, have a look at the pots and planks subsequent to the campfire and rapidly swap between the 2 photos. The non-ray traced model is shockingly flat.
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Variations in water aren’t all that spectacular (we’ll see extra of this within the subsequent comparability), as this small pond alone could be nowhere close to sufficient to inform which model has ray tracing and which does not. Nonetheless, you may see that the enemy within the background is shaded with a tiny bit extra depth with ray tracing on, and the grass on this small space is noticeably nicer wanting.
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In the event you look very fastidiously you may see the slight variations in reflection high quality when ray tracing is on, because the glowing yellow tree and brilliant orange hearth seem extra precisely mirrored than it does when the setting is off. Nonetheless, this distinction is marginal, though it actually does look a bit of nicer.
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These variations could also be delicate, however should you’re as nitpicky as I’m, this can be a enormous deal. Look intently on the wood walkway subsequent to the cliff edge. Do you see the little gaps in-between the planks?
With ray tracing off, there’s tons of random reflective gentle and shininess to them for no good purpose. It appears advantageous for certain, nevertheless it feels particularly “game-y.” With ray tracing on, there’s an immense enhance in depth to the cracks in-between each wood plank. Sure, that is actually a small distinction and most of the people will not care, however for people who do care, it is superior to have a look at.
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As soon as once more, these variations would possibly look like small, however every bit provides as much as make scenes pop with extra depth. Have a look at the highest left finish of the picture with out ray tracing. Do you see that bizarre little remnant of sunshine that appears to be coming from nowhere? It fully disappears with ray tracing on. Have a look at the grass and shrubs within the foreground and all of it appears a lot darker with ray tracing on, alongside the headstone and the massive pots.
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It is a fairly darkish scene, however even when ray tracing is off, you may see the pillars on the left aspect of the picture look a bit of flat. With ray tracing on, that fully modifications as every nook and crevice all of a sudden emerges with way more depth throughout the atmosphere.
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It is a densely populated scene, and we will see the shadow casting from the flickering flame on the objects round it. With ray tracing off, it nonetheless appears nice, however ray tracing provides an extra layer of depth that wasn’t there earlier than, particularly within the tombstone a bit to the left of the fireplace. You can too see the grass on the proper, which may be very troublesome to see by with ray tracing on. Whereas that may supply a gameplay drawback, it appears nice.
Elden Ring ray tracing: How does it carry out?
Earlier than we get into our efficiency exams, this is a enjoyable reality about Elden Ring: FromSoftware capped framerate to 60, which suggests we cannot be capable of report on the moments after we exceed that threshold. In different efficiency exams, we prefer to see simply how a lot greater above 60 fps our {hardware} can carry out, however that will not be potential on this case.
Nonetheless, you will see why that will not be a lot of a problem, as our {hardware} hitting 60 fps with ray tracing on hardly ever occurred to start with. That is very true throughout the open world, which is the place we noticed the most important efficiency drops.
Elden Ring ray tracing RTX 3080 desktop efficiency
I began testing Elden Ring’s ray tracing on my desktop with a Nvidia RTX 3080 graphics card, Intel Core i7-11700K processor, 32GB of RAM, and a 2TB Gen 4 Aorus SSD (5000MBps learn, 4400MBps write). It is a fairly beastly arrange (though I constructed it a few years in the past now), however Elden Ring’s ray tracing laughed at it.
With graphics settings on most at 2K decision and ray tracing off, I hardly ever dipped beneath 60 fps. Generally I see it drop a few frames all the way down to 58 or 57, however that is just for the slightest break up second earlier than it jumps again as much as regular.
Turning ray tracing on fully modified this: Using my horse all through the nice steps in Altus Plateau, I hovered anyplace between 40 to 50 fps. Even whereas stood nonetheless with my map open, I used to be at 46 to 47 fps. That is exasperated by climate occasions and battles that happen.
Body charge additionally will depend on the realm of the sport. Whereas using round Liurnia’s expansive lakes, my body charge would bounce anyplace between 50 to 60 relying on how a lot was happening round me.
The sport remained fairly secure at 60 fps in areas like Farum Azula, Redmane Fort, Stormveil Fort, Volcano Manor and Caelid, as these areas are flatter and lack as many objects that may be ray traced to start with.
However as quickly as I teleported into Limgrave, my framerate dipped again to round 40, even whereas standing nonetheless. Using my horse into sure components of Limgrave the place there’s quite a bit much less foliage or timber round, my framerate would bounce again as much as 60.
Elden Ring with an RTX 3080 and ray tracing on is totally playable. You’ll typically hover round 40 to 50 frames if the area is dense, if it is raining closely or if the climate is especially foggy and atmospheric, however it isn’t all that unhealthy.
Elden Ring ray tracing RTX 4070 laptop computer efficiency
I swapped over to my RTX 4070 gaming laptop computer with an Intel Core i7-13620H, 16GB of RAM and 1TB SSD. I performed at most graphic settings, 2K decision and ray tracing at its highest.
I started to fret because the laptop computer remained a gradual 32 to 33 fps as I stood inside one of many earliest forests in Limgrave. Using into this similar forest with ray tracing off yielded 50 to 55 fps. As I had said within the earlier exams, this space is a heavy hitter on efficiency, however this it being that low is brutal. Whereas using round Limgrave, issues obtained a litter higher, because it was inside a 40 to 45 fps vary.
I teleported to Liurnia to see if it might fare any higher, however using round this monumental lake was really worse with a constant 37 to 40 fps. This similar space with ray tracing off hovered round 55 to 58 fps. It rises to 45 fps (with ray tracing on) within the extra open components, however anytime there is a thick assortment of timber, it goes again down.
Altus Plateau introduced issues even decrease, as using into one in all its forests put me at 30 fps. And when using within the open plains, it is nonetheless solely round 40 to 45 fps. That very same forest hovered round 50 to 55 fps with ray tracing off. I’ve struggled to get a constant 60 fps to date, however I hoped that might change if I stayed away from open-world areas.
Redmane Fort, Farum Azula and the Haligtree stored at a median of 55 fps. Stormveil Fort nevertheless, would bounce anyplace from 40 to 50 fps relying on the place I used to be inside it, and Volcano Manor hovered round 50 fps. All of those areas with ray tracing off had been simply capable of hit 60 fps.
So sure, even on a RTX 4070 laptop computer GPU, Elden Ring’s ray tracing is fairly tasking on efficiency.
Backside line
Elden Ring’s ray tracing affords delicate enhancements, however that’s one of the best ways to implement this know-how. Ray tracing should not drastically change the intention of an atmosphere, which is one thing that individuals usually get unsuitable when implementing the know-how (I’ve written about what unhealthy ray tracing appears like earlier than).
As an alternative, Elden Ring does the proper factor: It retains these scenes intact, merely with higher lighting, shadows and reflections. In the event you can afford to take the efficiency hit, it’s completely definitely worth the commerce, however having the ability to “afford” it will depend on what you are packing.
Acquired an RTX 3080 or higher? You may be advantageous, so long as you may take care of some rare drops to 40 fps. However even with an RTX 4070 laptop computer GPU, the efficiency dips are intense at 2K decision.
