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Ongoing audio design issues: from DK rework (U49) to UI imbalance (U50) – a persistent pattern

ines2015
ines2015
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Since Update 50, I've been experiencing two significant audio issues that are negatively affecting comfort and immersion while playing the game, for apparently no logical reason:

- A new, unpleasantly loud UI sound when claiming Challenge Rewards – it's so aggressive that I've stopped claiming rewards while wearing headphones. This seems like an unintended side effect of the audio adjustments.

- Tales of Tribute audio is unbalanced – the sound when selecting decks at the start of a match is barely audible, while in-game effects are much louder. The contrast is very noticeable.

- Antiquities excavation sound is also barely audible during the digging process, but the completion sound (when you unearth the item) is extremely loud and jarring. Both sounds are controlled by the same "Effects" slider, so adjusting one to fix the other is impossible.

I've read other players reporting similar issues with the audio changes since U50, however, my concern goes beyond these specific bugs to a deeper pattern:

Ever since the Dragonknight sound rework some time ago, I've noticed that many new sound effects have followed a similar pattern: they feel sharp, loud, aggressive, and painful. The current state of the audio mix feels unbalanced and uncomfortable, especially when using headphones.

This raises a genuine concern for me: is there an awareness of how these changes might affect players with audio sensitivities (such as those prone to migraines, tinnitus, or hyperacusis)? The game's sound design has not felt this uncomfortable to me before the DK rework and other simultaneous changes.

Could you please look into rebalancing the UI and gameplay sound levels and effects? A less aggressive approach to new sound effects would be greatly appreciated by many players, I'm sure. Or, as a better solution, allow us to optionally use the original comfortable sound effects and audio levels.
  • Ardriel
    Ardriel
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    Interesting. I've been having tinnitus issues for a few weeks now, which get worse with loud noises. Since then, I haven't been using headphones while gaming and have turned the volume down to a minimum.
    I can confirm that since the DK update, there have been some very annoying sound effects and sound bugs in the game. For example, the sounds for skills and other actions (potions, riding, etc.) are delayed before they can be heard. It’s very irritating. :|
  • psych.enthusiast1ub17_ESO
    Having these problems as well.
  • BretonMage
    BretonMage
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    I too have noticed some audio effects being overly soft, like the antiquities sound, as mentioned. I haven't noticed overly loud, jarring sounds, but I play with the volume down, on speakers. If sounds have become jarring, could that be due to some kind of audio quality downgrade? Perhaps for the same reason they downgraded our animations.

    I've been getting inconsistent audio lag and skips as well with some effects and skills, and no, it didn't really improve with abandoning my NM quests.
  • LootAllTheStuff
    LootAllTheStuff
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    Also still getting laggy audio, and now I know it's not just me with the antiquities sounds too! It feels like sound fx are being re-normalized to the standard for video ads. Pro-tip: that's not actually a good standard.
  • ZOS_Hadeostry
    Greetings,

    After further review we have decided to move this thread to a category we think is more appropriate for this topic, as it's bug reporting
    Staff Post
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