Optimize Ray-Traced Lighting Performance

Adjust Ray-Tracing Quality Settings

Ray-traced global illumination is computationally expensive. To maintain playable framerates while keeping visual quality high, access your shader settings menu (usually by pressing a key like Shift + R or through the shader options screen).

Look for settings related to ray-tracing samples, bounce depth, or GI (global illumination) quality. Reducing these values decreases the number of light bounces calculated per frame, which significantly improves performance. Start by lowering bounce depth to 2–3 bounces if you're experiencing lag.

Balance Quality vs. Performance

If caves and indoor areas appear too dark after reducing bounces, increase ambient color intensity instead of adding more bounces. This preserves the indirect lighting feel without the performance cost.

Disabling or reducing reflection quality on glossy surfaces also helps. You can often toggle water reflections and block reflections separately—disable block reflections first if needed, as water reflections are usually more noticeable.

Test changes in different environments: caves show performance issues most clearly, while open areas are more forgiving. Adjust until you find your balance.