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Adds soft shading in corners and where objects sit close together.
FPS
Medium
Visual
High
VRAM
Low
CPU
Very low
Latency
None
What it does
Ambient occlusion gives scenes depth and contact. Higher-quality methods reduce noise and halos but can cost several FPS.
Games may also call it: SSAO, HBAO, GTAO
Decision guide
Lower it when
Lower it when the game remains GPU-bound after resolution, shadows and volumetrics are tuned.
Keep it high when
Keep at least a lower mode when disabling it makes scenes look flat or objects appear to float.
Handheld advice
Low or medium often preserves most of the depth on a handheld screen.
Restart
Usually not required
Some games still apply changes only after reloading a scene or restarting.
Do not overread the meter
SSAO, HBAO, GTAO and ray-traced AO have very different costs.