The present invention, exemplified by methods and systems described herein, relates to ray tracing systems and traversing a hierarchical acceleration structure of a ray tracing system. The method may select a ray for traversing through the 3D scene wherein the ray comprising a ray direction with respect to the 3D scene. A first node or a second node is selected based on comparing the ray direction with direction data associated with the first node; and, direction data associated with the second node. The ray is traversed through the portion of the 3D scene associated with the selected first or second node and a determination is made as to whether the ray intersects the set of one or more regions associated with the selected first or second node