new patch

[n1lknarf]

runs a lot better, but looks even more downgraded than before, like just flat

[IchigoMait]

Now you know what is optimization at the cost of visual quality.
Though I didn't notice anything different.

make sure not to use below quality resolution scaling (below 66.7% if not using dlss/fsr)
make sure not to use prioritize fps instead of graphics, aka the former will lower graphics settings to maintain fps

also if you're messing with graphics settings, do a game restart, the resolution can look pretty bad after messing around with it too much

Using RTX 4070 12GB, i7 14700K, 48GB DDR4, 15GB custom page file on a SSD with rapid mode (11/8.5GB read/write), game installed on 4th gen nvme (7/3.5GB read/write), rebar custom enabled (though might have to check if it causes some shader/texture issues).
To get almost solid 60 fps or 120 with either framegen @1080p with dlss quality aka 66.7% scaling/720p.
Only use framegen in this game if you can at least get 60fps and your monitor is at least 120 refresh rate:

Vsync	In game vsync off	Nvidia vsync on, if gsync is on, otherwise don't use vsync at all, just use fps limiter with at least 2 fps below refresh rate, though do the latter even without vsync and/or gsync
FPS	60 (Locked)	Smoother framerate if you can at least get 60 fps without framegen, don't suggest to use in game fps limit 120, might stutter
Dynamic Adjustment of FPS	Off
Graphics Mode	Priortize Graphics
Resolution	2560x1080 (UltraWide 21:9)	I'm on a 16:9 27" monitor, feels more cinematic
NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency	ON (Boost Enabled)	You can try without boost, maybe you get more fps at the cost of slightly higher latency when using framegen, weird is that I can enable it, most of the time the dlss framegen disables the boost
Upscaling Type	DLSS	Using dlss swapper latest dlss variant and nvidia inspector to force preset J globally, so I don't have to do the nvidia app preset with every dlss game or you can force through nvidia app the latest one
Upscaling Quality	Quality Balanced	with 1080p 66.7%/720p 58%/626p
Sharpness	1.0	Depends on what your monitor sharpness is set to, I'm using neutral 50 aka it's not blurry or over sharpened
Frame Generation	DLSS	You can use FSR3 too, you're not locked to both being dlss or vice versa
Dynamic Resolution	Off
Shadow Quality	High
Ambient Occlusion	Ultra	Try to avoid Low to High variant, as grass can look super aliased. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IicjaQLSGqQ
Model Quality	High
Model Texture Quality	Low	It's very demanding in certain places, especially in the prologue
Number of Models Displayed	High
Wind Sway	Standard
Anisotropic Filtering	Off	It's broken for some reason in terms of performance, 1x to 16x has no performance difference, but off and on is like an insane fps difference compared to any other setting, so I'm just using the driver forced 16x
Effects	Standard
Motion Quality	High
Global Illumination	High
Screen Space Reflection	Ultra	If you set this to off you won't see RT Reflections, this setting won't alter RT reflections in terms of quality
LOD Distance	Quality: High Balanced: Ultra	Demanding
Terrain	Quality: High Balanced: Ultra
Grass Density	Low	Demanding Low grass is less dense, but it's more evened out than Medium https://imgsli.com/Mzc0ODQw/1/2
Subsurface Scattering	On
Volumetric Quality	High
Event Quality	Standard	If you set it to low, you can't use framegen
Crowd Density	High
Post-Effects Resolution	High
Motion Blur	Off
Depth of Field	On
Chromatic Aberration	Off	Dunno why the film makers/game devs thought a broken lens effect was realism, everything else was about realism before, guess they were making movies for too long, instead of looking with their own eyes
Vignetting	Off
Noise Filter	Off
Lens Flare	On
Bloom	On
Mach Band Noise	On	Dunno what it does, no info or imagine comparisons anywhere
Color Precision	On
Ray-Traced Reflections	On	You'll get to see some objects reflected without actually being on the screen visible, aka indirect reflection, otherwise non raytraced/software lumen/screenspace just reflects/mirrors what is visible on screen already

[=POSTA=]

Don't use the "Prioritize FPS" setting, looks like a lot of people fall for the console settings titled as "optimization". All it does is lower the settings to the ground, which you can all change yourself. Check in any city areas for comparison, low quality vegetation and LOD for example.

You'll need DLSS anyway, no matter what your resolution is since TAA has a horrible blur in this game. It also has a DLAA option, if your GPU can handle.

There are some improvements on the CPU side, meaning you'll still hit a 100% usage, which leads to sound skipping and general slowdown of the whole game, but not as often as before. On the positive side, this only happens in city areas, which is still a large part of the game but your CPU won't be cooked all the time.