# \[Obsolete\] Visual Pixelation & Flickering (Updated with Patch 2)

**URL:** <https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/obsolete-visual-pixelation-flickering-updated-with-patch-2/9906>\
**Category:** Wicked Bug Reporting\
**Tags:** settings, visuals\
**Created:** [May 3, 2024, 8:15pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/obsolete-visual-pixelation-flickering-updated-with-patch-2/9906 "2024-05-03T20:15:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 17\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Astont36](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/astont36/32/1577_2.png) [@Astont36](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Astont36)\
**Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 8:15pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/obsolete-visual-pixelation-flickering-updated-with-patch-2/9906/1 "2024-05-03T20:15:26Z")

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Since launch I have noticed pixelation around the edges of objects, hair & armour, these issues seem more apparent whilst direct light or movement is present. I am using HDR so that could potentially be the problem? ( I am unsure as to whether or not others without HDR are affected) Turning down the sharpness does alleviate the issue but then everything else smudges and becomes too soft.

I have provided some screenshots throughout my playtime that try and represent my issue. (you may have to zoom in to see the pixelation for the screenshots)

 ![Screenshot 2024-05-03 210008](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/8/89f57c09076cd4ce78ea441e43aa43a6e5d7c734.png)  
 ![Screenshot 2024-05-03 210036](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/5/5ca0a562b14e9d243dbce42bed3dbe4426fddacc.jpeg)  
 ![20240418180039_1](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/d/d86e98467e1cc472e01c857d17dd1ebf129aa104.jpeg)  
 ![20240421215729_3](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/a/a2b09df6b9dbfd4cf959a8606259f9dc763c1b46.jpeg)  
 ![20240419002901_1](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/4/42e4193d2dae4c19c0be4366f0408e15eb0a4bab.jpeg)  
 ![20240419003116_1](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/b/b587f89ee360f160c0c9d655e0bc948714a2c218.jpeg)

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**Author:** ![BernyMoon](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/bernymoon/32/4066_2.png) [@BernyMoon](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/BernyMoon)\
**Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 8:35pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/obsolete-visual-pixelation-flickering-updated-with-patch-2/9906/2 "2024-05-03T20:35:08Z")

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I am having the same issue. It is so annoying!

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**Author:** ![Astont36](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/astont36/32/1577_2.png) [@Astont36](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Astont36)\
**Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 8:37pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/obsolete-visual-pixelation-flickering-updated-with-patch-2/9906/3 "2024-05-03T20:37:04Z")

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The game looks beautiful but the pixelation issues sadly detract from the visuals.

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**Author:** ![Astont36](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/astont36/32/1577_2.png) [@Astont36](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Astont36)\
**Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 10:19am UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/obsolete-visual-pixelation-flickering-updated-with-patch-2/9906/5 "2024-05-04T10:19:15Z")

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If possible, could you attach some images of the pixelation issues you are experiencing. It might help.

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**Author:** ![Astont36](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/astont36/32/1577_2.png) [@Astont36](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Astont36)\
**Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 12:13pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/obsolete-visual-pixelation-flickering-updated-with-patch-2/9906/7 "2024-05-04T12:13:24Z")

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I wanted to do some further testing to ensure that it wasn’t just a HDR issue and that others using SDR have the same problem.

For my test I replayed the opening of the game and the example I will be using is the Odessa cutscene. The first 2 screenshots for both SDR & HDR are from this very cutscene whilst the other 2 are taken separately.

Again, you may need to zoom in to properly see the pixelation I speak of. Some of it I can see without zooming in whilst some are minor.

**Settings:**

 ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/0/01d4fd121beec23293b71dabf3cc79b7ac176c09.jpeg)  
 ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/c/c290e48a2c363c234cdf6b22c615a0f717549ed0.jpeg)  
**Motion Blur & Dynamic Resolution Scaling turned off**

**SDR:**

 ![SDR_Image_1](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/7/7a66749c36d70e92a841f70262a00e32055f1f81.jpeg)  
 ![SDR_Image_2](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/3/3a9d5de8faca8f9844cc558b0322dee78e828f5c.jpeg)  
 ![SDR_Image_3](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/0/0c99acdc337d632dfad80f550a21046f24d1e6ad.jpeg)  
 ![SDR_Image_4](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/b/bd7ea7e028997b43c9702a057a735a0fd5753f11.jpeg)

**HDR:**

I tried to ensure that the screenshots are similar to the ones I took with SDR.  
For context my HDR settings are:

 ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/6/650c8bb6b547ffced82428fc11100050a445a043.jpeg)

 ![HDR_Image_1](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/7/7bdbb311afd873b7d605356852a2512e1a0a6839.jpeg)  
 ![HDR_Image_2](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/4/4f0296559ed9304d3f0f3febad2b1e1d0f47236e.jpeg)  
 ![HDR_Image_3](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/7/7fa5e8219a0deca71d3ec90590cc6e56f902b244.jpeg)  
 ![HDR_Image_4](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/2/2a72204332a3bdac5c8c7501bf0076f7cd1d979e.jpeg)

I could be mistaken but the pixelation could be caused by the implementation of Checkerboard Rendering? Or the Anti-Aliasing method?  
(I’ll leave it to the professionals)

I hope this helped give a clear understanding of my issue. I also hope this helps others that might be dealing with this too. 👍

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**Author:** ![Mk\_0taid](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/mk_0taid/32/8692_2.png) [@Mk\_0taid](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Mk_0taid)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 5:14pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/obsolete-visual-pixelation-flickering-updated-with-patch-2/9906/8 "2024-05-11T17:14:44Z")

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Exactly the same issues I’ve encountered. Must have noticed all these since launch, could be placebo but they seem to have been exacerbated due to some update. I don’t remember the water looking so pixelated back then.

In my case playing with sharpness doesn’t change the artifacting/pixelation, but playing with render scaling does a bit. Upping render to 200% seems to just make it less noticeable rather than completely eliminate it. Don’t have HDR so can confirm that one definitely isn’t the culprit.

My settings/setup:  
1080p, 144hz  
Best Quality  
Render Scaling 100%  
Sharpness 100%  
Motion Blur off  
Vsync on  
Dynamic Resolution off  
Fullscreen/ Borderless window fullscreen looks the same

Rig:  
Laptop  
17.3inch screen  
Nvidia RTX 3070m (8GB)  
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H  
32 GB 3200mhz DDR4 RAM  
Game installed on NvME drive

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Astont36](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/astont36/32/1577_2.png) [@Astont36](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Astont36)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 12:47pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/obsolete-visual-pixelation-flickering-updated-with-patch-2/9906/9 "2024-05-23T12:47:39Z")

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I promised to revisit this thread in hope that Patch 2 brought a fix to the pixelation issues that have been present since launch; sadly, the issue is far from fixed and in some cases seem worse? (but that’s up to personal interpretation)

With Patch 2 it seems it also broke HDR meaning I wasn’t able to ensure if pixelation is present with HDR enabled.

**TAA and CAL** - The original “experience” before DLSS was implemented, I would like to say that nothing has changed and that the pixelation persists but that would be entirely wrong; Not only does this setting have pixelation present but now it introduces pixelation flickering. (you’ll notice this very flickering when traversing the map)

**Nvidia DLSS** - I love that DLSS is implemented but here I am not entirely sure what to say? Yet again pixelation is still present, the bonus with DLSS is that the pixelation flickering isn’t present unlike with **TAA and CAL**. Although, what I found disappointing was that DLSS makes the visuals less vibrant; the game seems to be more washed out when DLSS is enabled.

I played through the opening of the game again to see if anything had changed, the pixelation that I have showcased prior is still very much present so I have nothing to report here.

_I apologise for not doing a proper review of Patch 2 and providing screenshots of the issues present but I felt like it would be a underwhelming review as nothing much has truly changed, and I’m sure many players will witness first-hand what I have described._

_ **If you see any of these issues present then be sure to share them.** _

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**Author:** ![SimplisticBeing](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/simplisticbeing/32/5741_2.png) [@SimplisticBeing](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/SimplisticBeing)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 5:27pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/obsolete-visual-pixelation-flickering-updated-with-patch-2/9906/10 "2024-05-23T17:27:59Z")

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Just tossing this out there as I didn’t read much.

This pixelation and flickering has been apparent since launch.

If you lower sharpness in the game all the way down you will notice the pixelation and the flickering goes away. Not 100% but it’s close to removing it. Sadly this means playing the game in a blurred state but I safely believe the sharpness is causing some odd issues with pixelation and flickering.

I personally use 200% sharpness and my game LOOKS exactly like your pictures so this isn’t an issue for me since the game has always looked like this from Day 1 for me.

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**Author:** ![SimplisticBeing](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/simplisticbeing/32/5741_2.png) [@SimplisticBeing](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/SimplisticBeing)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 5:29pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/obsolete-visual-pixelation-flickering-updated-with-patch-2/9906/11 "2024-05-23T17:29:16Z")

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> [@Astont36](#):
>
> ![SDR_Image_4](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/b/bd7ea7e028997b43c9702a057a735a0fd5753f11.jpeg)
> 
> SDR\_Image\_41920×1080 185 KB

This image looks like my game since Day 1. But I use 200% sharpness in-game too which excites these issues even more.

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**Author:** ![Astont36](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/astont36/32/1577_2.png) [@Astont36](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Astont36)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 5:40pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/obsolete-visual-pixelation-flickering-updated-with-patch-2/9906/12 "2024-05-23T17:40:01Z")

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I advise that you read my post, as the points you mentioned have already been addressed/noted.

Thank you for sharing your experience; it reinforces the validity of my post.

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**Author:** ![SimplisticBeing](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/simplisticbeing/32/5741_2.png) [@SimplisticBeing](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/SimplisticBeing)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 7:35pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/obsolete-visual-pixelation-flickering-updated-with-patch-2/9906/13 "2024-05-23T19:35:03Z")

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Maybe this makes it easier to see than pictures and text.  
https://clips.twitch.tv/embed?clip=IncredulousColdStrawberryTebowing-XLQrpH-vceqjbG8H&parent=forum.norestforthewicked.com&autoplay=false

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Astont36](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/astont36/32/1577_2.png) [@Astont36](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Astont36)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 7:38pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/obsolete-visual-pixelation-flickering-updated-with-patch-2/9906/14 "2024-05-23T19:38:45Z")

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I’ve already witnessed it myself, as I said, I have pointed it out before on this post.

I know exactly what you mean. Thankfully this video can be used as an example to others if they are unaware of the issue.

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**Author:** ![Mk\_0taid](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/mk_0taid/32/8692_2.png) [@Mk\_0taid](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Mk_0taid)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2024, 5:30pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/obsolete-visual-pixelation-flickering-updated-with-patch-2/9906/15 "2024-05-24T17:30:46Z")

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Perfect example video. As of patch 2 the issue is clearly still not resolved. I think a layer of overall blurriness has cleared for me, the game looks crisper across the board.

But textures with transparency still have pixelation/checkerboarding. They gotta keep looking into it. Not played too much to witness the flickering though, sounds like they’ve actually made the issue worse?

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**Author:** ![SimplisticBeing](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/simplisticbeing/32/5741_2.png) [@SimplisticBeing](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/SimplisticBeing)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 1:27am UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/obsolete-visual-pixelation-flickering-updated-with-patch-2/9906/16 "2024-05-25T01:27:51Z")

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With AMD FSR On, the Flicker goes nuts for me. Increase Sharpness and watch the Flicker become a Disco lol.

Thinking remove fog until we got a fix for it. Would make the game look different too and dynamic. Then add fog back every once and a while. heck, make it a weather even for certain parts of the map. Would love a nice fog down by the Shallows just cuz. The fog in Crucible Atrium is cool…put that in Sacrament lol.

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**Author:** ![SamSa](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/samsa/32/8440_2.png) [@SamSa](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/SamSa)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2025, 2:11pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/obsolete-visual-pixelation-flickering-updated-with-patch-2/9906/17 "2025-05-05T14:11:27Z")

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In Witchfire (and other games) to fix the checkerboard rendering graphical artifacts of transparent textures you need to enable a temporal-based anti-aliasing (DLSS is also counted as it):

 ![WitchFire-1-x2](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/0/03eef46e55f05670a50b40437ba50f6f93dbe95a.jpeg)  
 ![WitchFire-2-x2](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/f/f2e21267b8b5cbed9d3f4cde14e81f92fc7b5191.jpeg)

However, in No Rest For The Wicked it still does not work.

> [@Missed Temporal Anti-Aliasing for transparent textures (water, fog)](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/missed-temporal-anti-aliasing-for-transparent-textures-water-fog/15976):
>
> Issue Description: The animation anomaly concerns the waterfall feature within the game. The animation does not appear as intended looks more like sand than water, and the particles within the waterfall exhibit characteristics more akin to a visual glitch rather than a natural waterfall effect. The top of the waterfall lacks sufficient details. Steps to Reproduce: Launch the game. Navigate to the area featuring the waterfall animation. (Nameless Pass) Observe the waterfall animation and par…

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**Author:** ![Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/silas-inservio-pax/32/10458_2.png) [@Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Silas-Inservio-Pax)\
**Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 6:57am UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/obsolete-visual-pixelation-flickering-updated-with-patch-2/9906/18 "2026-02-12T06:57:14Z")

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/silas-inservio-pax/32/10458_2.png) [@Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Silas-Inservio-Pax)\
**Post date:** [August 20, 2026, 2:48am UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/obsolete-visual-pixelation-flickering-updated-with-patch-2/9906/19 "2026-08-20T02:48:20Z")

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Please join the discussion here: [Missed Temporal Anti-Aliasing for transparent textures (water, fog)](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/missed-temporal-anti-aliasing-for-transparent-textures-water-fog/15976) if you have experiening something alike.

Silas
