[Graphics] Abnormal V shaped/triangular lighting effect on multiple faces/races

[slowpeach]

[Graphics] Abnormal V shaped/triangular lighting effect on multiple faces/races

Date & Time: Feb 23 2026 9:51am EST
Frequency: Under certain lighting conditions in open world and cutscenes
World name: Ultros
Character name: female au ra face 4 (also observed to occur on Hyur, Viera, Hrothgar)
Retainer name: N/A
NPC name: N/A
Monster name: N/A
Class/Level: any
Party or solo: any
In-game time: 12:40am, fair skies
Area and coordinates: new gridania, the Roost, x 3.5, y 3.5
Housing: N/A

Please note that since I am not a game developer, I am not familiar with some technical terminology, and I will try to describe the issue as clearly as possible and with screenshots. thank you for your understanding.

Description:
for multiple faces and races, including Au Ra, Hyur, Viera, and Hrothgar, under certain lighting conditions in both open world and in various cutscenes, there is an abnormal "V shaped" or triangular lighting effect on the face, which causes the character's face to look unusual or defective.

While the steps and screenshots below demonstrate this effect on Female Au Ra face 4, and Wuk Lamat (from a cutscene), please note since this also occurs on Hyur and Viera, so I suggest for the team to review for other faces/races.

Below I have listed steps and provided example screenshots to further detail the issue.

Steps:
1. Launch the game with a female Au Ra, face 4 character
2. navigate to new gridania, the roost, coordinates x 3.5, y 3.5
3. turn character to face south
4. depending on the in game time/weather, the character's face will have a V shaped or triangular lighting effect
5. observe the lighting on the face, there is a V shaped or triangular lighting effect that angles downward from the cheek bones toward the mouth.
6. the area around the upper lip is darkened, and the lower lip and chin has lighting on it, this abnormal effect causes the face to look defective, and makes the face and mouth look like it is pouting or puckering abnormally.

screenshot 1:
In this image, as indicated by the green lines, you can see there is a V shaped or triangular lighting effect, from the cheeks going down toward the mouth. the area around the upper lip is darkened, while the lower lip and chin has some lighting on it. This abnormal lighting effect causes the character's face to appear unnatural or unrealistic. it also makes the character look like their mouth is puckering or pouting abnormally.


https://imgur.com/a/lwsqURU

Screenshot 2:
in this image from MSQ "The Resilient Son", cutscene 6, Wuk Lamat's face has a V shaped or triangular lighting effect. the effect goes from her cheeks and downward toward her mouth. the area around her lips looks darker, and her chin is lit up. The overall lighting in the cutscene seems to be soft and diffused, but the V shaped / triangular lighting on her face doesn't seem to match the lighting in the environment.


https://imgur.com/a/t2VNWwG

additional information:
as far as i can recall, I have noticed this occurring since 7.0, and continues to occur in the most recent patch.

-=-=-=-=-=-=- System Information -=-=-=-=-=-=-

SYSTEM_OS Windows 11 Pro 64-bit (6.2, Build 9200) (22621.ni_release.220506-1250)
SYSTEM_CPU AMD Ryzen 5 7600 6-Core Processor (12 CPUs), ~3.8GHz
SYSTEM_CORE_NUM SYSTEM_CORE_LOGIC 12 SYSTEM_CORE_PHYSICS 6
SYSTEM_BIOS 2.02
SYSTEM_LANGUAGE English (Regional Setting: English)
SYSTEM_MEMORY 31863.906MB
SYSTEM_VIRTUAL_MEMORY 134217727.875MB
SYSTEM_PAGE_FILE 33911.906MB
SYSTEM_STORAGE C:\ SYSTEM_HARDDISK_DRIVE SYSTEM_TOTALDISC_SPACE 446.182GB SYSTEM_FREEDISC_SPACE 234.130GB
SYSTEM_STORAGE E:\ SYSTEM_HARDDISK_DRIVE SYSTEM_TOTALDISC_SPACE 930.461GB SYSTEM_FREEDISC_SPACE 525.131GB
SYSTEM_DIRECTX_VERSION DirectX 12
GRAPHICS \\.\DISPLAY1 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
GRAPHICS_CHIP NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
GRAPHICS_VRAM 12110.000 MB
GRAPHICS_SHARED_VRAM 15931.953 MB
GRAPHICS_DISPLAY_MODE 2560 x 1440 (32 bit) (120Hz)
GRAPHICS_DRIVER C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispsi.inf_amd64_3d88c2eb4775cc07\nvldumdx.dll,C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispsi.inf_amd64_3d88c2eb4775cc07\nvldumdx.dll,C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispsi.inf_amd64_3d88c2eb4775cc07\nvldumdx.dll,C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispsi.inf_amd64_3d88c2eb4775cc07\nvldumdx.dll
GRAPHICS_DRIVER_VERSION 32.00.0015.6614 11/5/2024 19:00:00
GRAPHICS_SHADER V:3.0 P:3.0
GRAPHICS_VERTEX_TEXTURE SYSTEM_SUPPORT
GRAPHICS Unknown AMD Radeon(TM) Graphics
GRAPHICS_CHIP AMD Radeon Graphics Processor (0x164E)
GRAPHICS_VRAM 16417 MB
GRAPHICS_SHARED_VRAM SYSTEM_UNKNOWN
GRAPHICS_DISPLAY_MODE Unknown
GRAPHICS_DRIVER C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\u0420529.inf_amd64_94ad5a6c4d1a04e2\B419765\atidx9loader64.dll,C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\u0420529.inf_amd64_94ad5a6c4d1a04e2\B419765\amdxx64.dll,C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\u0420529.inf_amd64_94ad5a6c4d1a04e2\B419765\amdxx64.dll,C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\u0420529.inf_amd64_94ad5a6c4d1a04e2\B419765\amdxc64.dll
GRAPHICS_DRIVER_VERSION 32.00.21030.2001 9/24/2025 19:00:00
GRAPHICS_SHADER V: P:
GRAPHICS_VERTEX_TEXTURE
INPUT Mouse {6F1D2B60-D5A0-11CF-BFC7444553540000}
INPUT_REMARKS SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_AXIS 3 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_BUTTON 5 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_FOV 0
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