Unlock GTA 5 Enhanced Hidden Ray Tracing Setting for Mind-Blowing Visuals

In simple terms, it makes lighting and reflections feel way more lifelike, especially in interiors and shaded areas.

GTA 5 has been around for a while, but it still looks stunning especially with the Enhanced PC version. But did you know there’s a hidden setting that makes it look even better? Rockstar left a secret option that enables a second ray-traced bounce for Indirect Diffuse Lighting, giving the game an extra layer of realistic global illumination.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to manually activate this secret setting or use a very simple Nexus Mods tweak.

What’s the purpose of this hidden ray tracing setting?

In GTA 5, ray tracing enhances lighting, reflections, and shadows. For Indirect Diffuse Lighting, the game only computes one bounce by default, which restricts how accurately light interacts with surfaces. However, when this hidden setting is activated, a second bounce is introduced, which causes light to reflect and disperse more organically across the space. The game world feels more alive and immersive thanks to this small but effective change.

How to Enable Second Bounce Ray Tracing in GTA 5 Enhanced PC

Method 1: Manually Editing the Settings.xml File

If you don’t mind digging into the game files, you can enable this feature yourself. Here’s how:

1. Find the Settings.xml File:
   • Go to:Documents\Rockstar Games\GTAV Enhanced\settings.xml
2. Open the File in a Text Editor:
   • Use Notepad++ (or any text editor) to open and modify the file.
3. Search for the Hidden Setting:
   • Look for this line:<RTIndirectDiffuse_SecondBounce_Enabled value="false"/>
4. Enable the Effect:
   • Change false to true so it looks like this:<RTIndirectDiffuse_SecondBounce_Enabled value="true"/>
5. Save and Close the File:
   • Start up GTA 5 and enjoy the improved lighting!

Method 2: Use a Nexus Mods Tool (Super Easy!)

If you don’t want to mess with files manually, there’s a handy mod that does it for you.

1. Download the Mod:
   • Head over to Nexus Mods and grab the “GTAV Enhanced_GI_SecondBounce” mod.
2. Install the Mod:
   • Extract the files into your GTA 5 game directory.
3. Turn It On:
   • Double-click ON_GI_SecondBounce.bat to launch GTA 5 with the enhanced lighting.
4. Turn It Off:
   • Close the game completely and double-click OFF_GI_SecondBounce.bat to disable it.

Will This Hurt Performance?

This tweak does add a bit more strain on your GPU since it’s doing extra calculations. If you’re rocking a RTX 3080, RTX 4070, or something beefier, you should be fine. If you notice frame drops, try adjusting other settings like DLSS or resolution scaling to keep things running smoothly.

So, What’s Actually “Enhanced”? Not Much.

If you thought Rockstar would at least make the game look significantly better, prepare to be disappointed. Unless you have a high-end GPU and turn on ray tracing, you probably won’t notice much of a difference.

Players have reported that textures, lighting, and overall visuals look almost identical to the previous version. And to make matters worse, Rockstar didn’t include Frame Generation or Ray Reconstruction, two features that could have made a real impact on performance and quality.

So, if you’re playing without ray tracing, this update feels like a whole lot of nothing.