Combat Sound Effects Distorted

[Narissa]

An issue wherein certain sounds do not play correctly under certain conditions.
* We expect sound issues created after the release of Patch 6.0 to be resolved via adjustments to the sound engine. Should you continue to experience sound-related issues, we recommend the following:
Open the Windows control panel, select your default audio device, and view properties. Then, under the Advanced tab, select a lower setting for the default format. (A lower bit rate and Hz range is less system intensive.)

Am not great with computers but what they suggested is not even clickable for me lol

I went to Control Panel > Audio > Properties > Advanced and then ?? Cant click on the drop down menu :S

https://imgur.com/a/Pe6UvpW

[minopoki]

Am not great with computers but what they suggested is not even clickable for me lol

I went to Control Panel > Audio > Properties > Advanced and then ?? Cant click on the drop down menu :S

https://imgur.com/a/Pe6UvpW

Well, that option that's showing for you is the second to worst option I have in my list, so even if you could change the option, you couldn't lower the quality much.

(Btw I think your audio device doesn't support other quality settings, that's why the drop down is disabled for you)

[-BlueGreen-]

6.01 hasn't helped at all, and I've made the recommended change to the system audio to 44.1k Hz.

I'm listening to it happen as I turn in the level 10 miner quest and viewing the cutscene. The music is stuttering even though there's no voice acting here, just the usual city background music and a few ambient noises from NPCs in the area as well as the system UI sounds when clicking through the dialog.

I haven't even tried combat yet, but I bet I'll be very disappointed when I get to it.

[McChaffee]

Didn't have this issue prior to 6.01, I now have this issue. Combat sound effects are FUBAR for me.

[Narissa]

Well, that option that's showing for you is the second to worst option I have in my list, so even if you could change the option, you couldn't lower the quality much.

(Btw I think your audio device doesn't support other quality settings, that's why the drop down is disabled for you)

Ah ok, well shit xD Thanks for the info

[Nonoliri]

I already had my audio device at the lowest bitrate and Hz level it could go to, had my equalizer on Standard, moved my listening position completely to character, updated my drivers, verified the game files (which took a solid 9 hours,) played in DX9, and did everything else that people were suggesting could fix the issue. It doesn't happen on any other game I play, and it wasn't an issue before Endwalker.

I'm going to try a clean install tomorrow just to see if it helps at all, but this seems more like an issue on the game's side than mine. As it stands, I can't play without muting all sounds, even system sounds, and it's not nearly as fun a game without the music and voice acting. I'm not going through the MSQ because I don't want to listen to choppy, echo-y audio during every cutscene, and I don't want to watch them while they're muted either. I effectively can't play Endwalker until this is fixed, and I only log on once a week now to do Custom Deliveries if I remember to.

I waited 3 weeks after launch for the patch that was supposed to fix it, only to be told "we fixed it" and then told if I was still having trouble to attempt one fix that I'd already tried during the 2 weeks after the announcement they'd fix it. I understand that server stability is an issue, and launches are never smooth, but some sort of message saying it's still an issue and it's still going to be worked on goes a long way towards keeping me hopeful I'll be able to play Endwalker.

[Maeklos]

6.01 didn't fix the issues, it just broke the sound engine even more.

[Jizu]

I waited 3 weeks after launch for the patch that was supposed to fix it, only to be told "we fixed it" and then told if I was still having trouble to attempt one fix that I'd already tried during the 2 weeks after the announcement they'd fix it. I understand that server stability is an issue, and launches are never smooth, but some sort of message saying it's still an issue and it's still going to be worked on goes a long way towards keeping me hopeful I'll be able to play Endwalker.

I think this is what really annoys me right now. "We fixed it" they say. Apparently it has been fixed for a select few, I'm glad for them. But most of us have been here since day 1 of the Early Access, and we all came back again today with it still being there or even worse than before as well as people reporting the issue has only started for them since 6.01.
I've tried every possible solution since the day of EA launch, including the ones that sound outlandish, but if anyone said it might help, I have tried it. This is not an issue we can fix clientside!

[Nisava]

Really hurts to see them just straight up act like it's fine to our face. It's disrespectful to the teams who worked extremely hard on the music, sound effects, voices, etc, for Endwalker, and it's disrespectful to the paying customers. I've tried anything I possibly could to no avail, and so has pretty much anyone else with this problem, because we deeply care about this game and really want to play through the team's vision. It really has made me lose faith in the FFXIV team, which I had been convinced was pretty in touch with their customers & cared about the problems. Apparently not, as evidenced by the fact it's worse now for tons of people, and even people who didn't have trouble are having trouble. And we haven't even gotten a lick of acknowledgement that it's become more dire.

It's super embarrassing. They won't get another dime from me until they either figure it out or release a legacy audio option, like another thread suggested. If their goal was to alienate half their playerbase, good for them I guess. They truly nailed it.

[Fyxation]

Today's patch 6.01 did nothing tbh. It is extremely off putting, having hyped up for Endwalker only to not be able to enjoy the audio of it. Epic moments like fighting the final boss of 6.0 were only filled with absolute frustration. Had to listen to the song/watch the fight on YouTube after.

Same sentiment here. This has ruined the whole experience for me. Every MSQ instance, every FATE I dove into when exploring a new area, every new dungeon, every new trial... they were all blighted by the terrible audio. Even the catharsis I was supposed to feel after the final battle of the expansion was soured by the sound. Today, I was hopeful that something would be done, and MAYBE just maybe I could go into the new raids without issue. So, I tested the waters by entering a FATE when I got past the 2 hour queue to log in. The audio is somehow worse. I queued for a trial... everything stuttered so badly that I thought the game would crash. My equipment is not that old, and even if it were, I still passed the benchmark with flying colors.