# Audio Distortion/Stuttering in The Black Trench **URL:** \ **Category:** Wicked Bug Reporting\ **Tags:** black-trench, lowland-meadows, audio\ **Created:** [January 27, 2026, 9:32am UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490 "2026-01-27T09:32:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lrbanthony](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/lrbanthony/32/6915_2.png) [@lrbanthony](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/lrbanthony)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 8:48pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/1 "2026-01-23T20:48:50Z")
Finding that since the update I am running into lots of stutters I never had before, as well as audio distortions when mainline story moments occur. This was especially noticeable in the Black trench during the story beat where you deal with…. blanking on his name. Davick? I’d be moving about and he’d have a line about something and the game would start to stutter and the audio would crack and break. ---
**Author:** ![Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/silas-inservio-pax/32/10458_2.png) [@Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Silas-Inservio-Pax)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2026, 7:25am UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/2 "2026-01-24T07:25:18Z")
Darak\* 😉 Can you clip this potentially Irban? Silas ---
**Author:** ![Tai\_Man\_Chan](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/tai_man_chan/32/7947_2.png) [@Tai\_Man\_Chan](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Tai_Man_Chan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 10:40am UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/3 "2026-01-25T10:40:16Z")
same here just after the update ---
**Author:** ![Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/silas-inservio-pax/32/10458_2.png) [@Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Silas-Inservio-Pax)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 8:19pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/4 "2026-01-25T20:19:35Z")
Do you have some samples? Silas ---
**Author:** ![Papycara](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/papycara/32/13234_2.png) [@Papycara](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Papycara)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 9:32am UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/5 "2026-01-27T09:32:04Z")
Just got to The Black Trench and there is a section after the locked door to the left of the first whisper where there is heavy audio distortion (will show in attached video.) There is also another instance when you finally reach Madrigal Seline at the Mountain Gate where this happens as well but I didn’t think to record that unfortunately. Edit: I tried uploading a video but the file type isn’t supported. I can only send a link that expires in two days and only works in phone browsers for whatever reason. [https://cdn.steamusercontent.com/ugc/13332778150259415674/CEF631F8423D837CA0129B8D9CBFBB47110A4311/](https://cdn.steamusercontent.com/ugc/13332778150259415674/CEF631F8423D837CA0129B8D9CBFBB47110A4311/) ---
**Author:** ![Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/silas-inservio-pax/32/10458_2.png) [@Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Silas-Inservio-Pax)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 8:08pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/6 "2026-01-27T20:08:39Z")
Hi Papycare, I have seen the video and that sounds pretty severe. Is there a way for you to reproduce this? I will try my best as well. Silas ---
**Author:** ![Papycara](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/papycara/32/13234_2.png) [@Papycara](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Papycara)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 9:46pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/7 "2026-01-27T21:46:44Z")
It happens every time i walk into that particular room. Once i leave the audio returns to normal. It was the same with the other location I mentioned as well. I also went back to the Mountain Gate to get a video of that but since the Madrigal started her building project it doesn’t happen anymore. I’m actually getting a new PC tomorrow so I’ll test it again with new hardware to see if that’s the issue. ---
**Author:** ![Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/silas-inservio-pax/32/10458_2.png) [@Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Silas-Inservio-Pax)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 9:53pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/8 "2026-01-27T21:53:00Z")
Nice, please check with your new hardware and _if_ you are still having this issue, please submit files summed up here: [How to Properly Report Bugs!](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/how-to-properly-report-bugs/32) I’look forward to your results. Silas ---
**Author:** ![Papycara](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/papycara/32/13234_2.png) [@Papycara](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Papycara)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2026, 8:20pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/9 "2026-01-30T20:20:58Z")
Sorry for the late update, but I got around to testing that area again and the audio is fixed for me now on my new pc. If there’s anything else I can do to help out just let me know. ---
**Author:** ![desrocchi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb9ed0/32.png) [@desrocchi](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/desrocchi)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 4:46pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/10 "2026-01-31T16:46:03Z")
I’ve had this very same issue ever since I got the game during the free weekend. It happens only in this part of the Black Trench ![immagine](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/2/215f09ba767b04e05e261d155043b25db232eaef.jpeg) This is a video of the issue [![](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/c/c075766430e768ee5682c3801693e92e69a419c5.jpeg "NoRestForTheWicked - audio bug") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEKs02iT6Z8) ---
**Author:** ![lrbanthony](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/lrbanthony/32/6915_2.png) [@lrbanthony](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/lrbanthony)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 2:15am UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/11 "2026-02-01T02:15:49Z")
I’m sorry. I don’t have good understanding of whats necessary to clip it. However the good news is the audio distortion has largely stopped. Perhaps a result of your recent patches? It’s unclear. ---
**Author:** ![Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/silas-inservio-pax/32/10458_2.png) [@Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Silas-Inservio-Pax)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 7:46am UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/12 "2026-02-01T07:46:28Z")
I’ve experienced it too in Black Trench yesterday 😉 Thanks for the additional comment Irban! Silas ---
**Author:** ![Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/silas-inservio-pax/32/10458_2.png) [@Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Silas-Inservio-Pax)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 9:21pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/13 "2026-02-01T21:21:59Z")
Dude, I love you for this. This helps immensly, thank you so much! Silas ---
**Author:** ![Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/silas-inservio-pax/32/10458_2.png) [@Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Silas-Inservio-Pax)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 9:27pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/14 "2026-02-01T21:27:14Z")
For clarity sakes (mine mostly), I have escalated this into the proper channels. Silas ---
**Author:** ![birds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@birds](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/birds)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 9:55pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/15 "2026-02-05T21:55:06Z")
I’ve encountered this sound quality drop more often, but usually its a short while and nothing too big (though still painful enough to take off my headphones until it’s over). However, in the Black Trench area, entire rooms have such an insane quality drop and it just doesn’t stop as long you’re in the room. Feels like about 40% of the area has this bad quality. I tried to record it but the Steam recording didnt properly catch the sound, though it gives an indication of how bad it is. Only a few sounds got recorded in the steam clip, as if they play normally, but those sounds kinda get stretched out over several seconds, as if the sound is playing on 5 fps or something. So, in addition I tried to capture it recording my screen. Logs + dxDiag+Datastore in the googledrive zip [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YfhNPm\_VvJ9orxrw3Wv-mLUkk\_dABIbu/view?usp=sharing](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YfhNPm_VvJ9orxrw3Wv-mLUkk_dABIbu/view?usp=sharing) [![](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/7/7191dc04ec38e2bf0e38ae30204a787849145adf.jpeg "No Rest for the Wicked - Sound Quality drop") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ6JwhGUTgU) [![](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/3/386c1dc3f710387ed40d5227810247c94b3912a6.jpeg "February 5, 2026") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mKKPOgb810) ---
**Author:** ![Laura](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/laura/32/12546_2.png) [@Laura](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Laura)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 10:11pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/16 "2026-02-05T22:11:23Z")
Hey Birds! Thanks for your post. Couple of questions on this. - Can you let me know what your machine specs are? - Have you played the game prior with no issues and for how long? - Are the audio drivers on your machine up to date? - Is this ONLY occurring in the Black Trench? For example, if you port out to Sacrament, does it persist or does it go away? Many thanks! 🤟 ---
**Author:** ![birds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@birds](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/birds)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2026, 8:58pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/17 "2026-02-07T20:58:42Z")
Hi! Let me answer those questions for you! - Can you let me know what your machine specs are? _I’m playing on an AMD G15 Advantage edition_ - Have you played the game prior with no issues and for how long? _Before the ‘ Together’ main update, I couldnt play at all, I would last maybe 2 minutes max, before the game would crash. Since this patch though, I’ve had only one crash (which was caused by epic stores crashing which basically shut down all programs running?!, but not because of NRftW)_ - Are the audio drivers on your machine up to date? _I checked, drivers say they are._ - Is this ONLY occurring in the Black Trench? For example, if you port out to Sacrament, does it persist or does it go away? _No, it happens elsewhere too, but then it was a small sound glitch that took maybe 3-5 seconds, and then it went normal again so I thought nothing of it. This is the first area that I encounter that this is very consistently reproducable and the sound quality drop changes from room to room. Though Steam cant properly record it, apperently small sound-stutters are happening, the phone recording does show that when I enter a different room, the quality drops. If I would go back to the previous room, the quality would go normal again._ ---
**Author:** ![Laura](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/laura/32/12546_2.png) [@Laura](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Laura)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2026, 12:44am UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/18 "2026-02-08T00:44:42Z")
Hey hey, thanks for answering my queries. I’m just gonna list your specs to help the Moon Studios team, please correct me if I am wrong. CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5700 GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6800 RAM: 16GB Storage: SSD ---
**Author:** ![birds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@birds](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/birds)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2026, 8:40am UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/19 "2026-02-08T08:40:03Z")
It’s a R9-5900HX cpu. Apologies, I should’ve mentioned I’ve upgraded the RAM, it’s now 64 GB RAM ---
**Author:** ![birds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@birds](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/birds)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2026, 8:38pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490/20 "2026-02-08T20:38:51Z")
> [@Laura](#): > > Is this ONLY occurring in the Black Trench? For example, if you port out to Sacrament, does it persist or does it go away? Nope, as I’ve not even been everywhere yet, but this is the next area where I consistently have this issue. Just in the entrance area of Lowland Meadows, marked with the green highlighter. Also this area so far drops my fps to about 24-30 but that’s any area with a view it seems. ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/wickedforum/original/2X/9/91d893006341d9558fc523312e534b44a6769399.jpeg) [Next page](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/audio-distortion-stuttering-in-the-black-trench/22490.md?page=2)