U41 graphics bug: People's heads not being rendered

RaddlemanNumber7 · March 2024

A bit of a niche buggette since U41 was applied...

The heads of some player characters are not being rendered. They are just left black. So far I have only seen this happen with people who are wearing the Werewolf Hunters hat.

Bluepetunia · April 2024

Same on NA-PC

Witches hat also

bloodandiamonds · April 2024

I also have this issue

katanagirl1 · April 2024

I just started noticing this on PS NA after last week’s update.

I don’t think I saw a black outline, there just was no head whatsoever.

DragonRacer · April 2024

Yup, one of my toons wears that werewolf hunter hat and now she is officially the Headless Healer in my trials since U41. I see her head just fine, but it is missing to others - sometimes permanently and sometimes it intermittently shows/disappears. When I look at other people who have the hat, their head is either entirely gone or eventually loads in if I look away and back again.

KapiteinBoterham · April 2024

Noticed this too! Very off-putting.

meekmiko · April 2024

It's always the Werewolf Hunter hat
Werewolf-Hunter-Hat-Female-Front_thumb.jpg?resize=244%2C215&ssl=1

Beilin_Balreis_Colcan · April 2024

That's almost as funny as the invisible pizza mount of last year.

EchoesofThunder · April 2024

This has been a bug for weeks now. I guess it's like the pumpkin decor - Zos just doesn't care enough to fix it.
Although... hmmm. I will try logging off in a busy crafting area, then disabling all my addons, and see it that has any effect. I'm not running any graphic altering addons, but you never know.

Destai · April 2024

I have this issue on PS-NA, and it seems to be limited to players wearing hats.

meekmiko wrote: »

It's always the Werewolf Hunter hat

I thought the same, but I also saw one where it wasn't that hat specifically. It was more a daedric looking hat, but not a motif.

VindictiveRidge · April 2024

I've also been seeing this bug. Posting since there appears to have been no updates on this specific issue. Anyone who's wearing that hat has no texturing from the neck up, just a featureless void. (Including the hat.)

KapiteinBoterham · April 2024

Official response in this thread.

Not being prioritized even though 1 in 10 players wears this hat and now overland is filled with players with completely black heads.

BretonMage · April 2024

I find it one of the more visually disturbing bugs out there. These hats are popular, and it's so jarring to see a bunch of people walking around with completely blacked out heads.

The bug also affects one of the hoods (Psijic? You see a lot of blacked out heads in Artaeum) as well as one of the spiky crown head styles (looks like the Baron Zaudrus mask Edit: nope, saw it again, it's an actual crown, not a mask or helm. Not familiar with it).

Please fix it, ZOS. It's much more annoying than the out of season Witches Festival decorations.

celner4_ESO · May 2024

I remember my brother telling me way back when one of the crown store items was missing a visual effect. It was a sword I think he’d shown me. That took almost a year to fix! The overcooked spaghetti coding causing these bugs too… The lack of investment into the game of itself is baffling, only because of the potential it has to be great, which you don’t notice really until you play another game that IS invested in. This is why I barely ever play this game anymore and even my brother has stopped playing.. I only ever get on in regret of the money I wasted on it when ultimately, if we are honest, the product itself falls behind in the priority list behind profit and it’s incredibly obvious. I’m not talking about developers being the problem either. No. I’m talking about the decision makers. Leadership. So many companies where the leadership focused solely on gains eventually stagnates or kills the product and its potential. A huge shame.

Thank god for all these independent studios coming up these days though that are making the product the focus. We have else where to go to enjoy gaming. Voice your dismay with your wallet it absolutely works!

I feel somewhat bad for the development staying with the company. For poor pay and creative ability / freedom. Like so many others as well. Greed is a real mthrfker. Sven from Larian really did hit the nail on the head. Also, A game you know kids will play, so gambling mechanics become even more lucrative practice, but they cover their booty’s through the ToS agreement which also acknowledges kids playing the game with these mechanics being present. It’s so insane lmao. Disney forced EA to remove all the gambling from SWTOR because it was a BAD look. EA argued they weren’t gambling. It’s just random loot from a box. Surprise mechanics. Obviously Disney didn’t buy those arguments. So it’s gone now. Which it wouldn’t have been removed of it wasn’t a shady business practice.

On a side note I can’t wait for the next CDPR and Larian games in the works!! And my god Path of Exile 2 looks amazing. And the Elden Ring DLC!! Good times for games with studios who aren’t beholden to narcissistic leaders and shareholders!! One more month before Shadow of the Erd Tree drops WOOOO!! Anyone still playing ESO though I truly hope you enjoy it, but make your voice heard if you’re unhappy. If you love it, keep loving it

that is all that matters in the end!

BretonMage · June 2024

Update: Thanks for fixing the Werewolf Hunter hat bug! Such a relief not to see a mass of pitch-black heads!

A couple of other head styles are still bugged, though. The Psijic helmet, as well as what seems to be the Storm Lord helmet (or a coronet style that looks very much like it).

KapiteinBoterham · July 2024

Yeah good work!

katanagirl1 · July 2024

I don’t think this has been fixed on console. I still see some style hats that cause headless player characters on PS.

KapiteinBoterham · November 2025

The stormlord helmet is still bugged (PCEU)

KapiteinBoterham · November 2025

Here is a snip:

It takes really long to render or something and stays black at a certain distance.