The Unspoken digital character models are based on tall men. This has two important effects:
- "Return to Play Area" anti-cheat shows up for short players, especially children/teens, making the game unplayable.
- The area above a player's head counts as damage but is difficult to reach with a shield to defend it.
This can now be fixed, usually!
Fixing "Return to Play Area" Height Issues[]
The solution for this is simple for the original Rift. In your Oculus software, there is a device setting for Floor Height. Set it to 6' 7" or 198 centimeters. Then go into game, go Upstairs, and look at your digital character in the mirror again and recheck the alignment.
The Quest/Quest 2 has a new Accessibility option that helps compensate for height. Meant for people playing sitting in a wheelchair or stationary chair, it adds about 12"-18" to the player's height by moving the floor down.
Quest 2 menu (when not linked) > Settings > Accessibility > Mobility > Adjust View Height. The setting will persist until the guardian boundaries are reset.
Rift S may have this feature in the Oculus desktop software; again look for an accessibility setting.
Detailed Background[]
This height issue can leave short players at a significant disadvantage. It won't be obvious when you first start playing (you have more important skills to learn first) but it becomes very apparent in duels with other players.
For tall men, this difference in alignment isn't likely to be significant - a few inches, perhaps. For the average height American woman (5' 4") this is 14" of misalignment. That makes it difficult to center-block primal shots aimed over their heads, even though such aims remain in the hit box and cause damage. The AI doesn't do that very often, but human players certainly do.
To see the problem, go to the in-game mirror Upstairs. Put your hand on your head. Is it on top of the model's head, or buried inside it? Put your pointer finger horizontally on your chin. Is the model's finger on its chin? Put your pointer finger horizontally at your eyes; does it match up with the model's eyes? If you are well aligned with the model, the hit box will only extend a couple inches above your head; easily reachable for shielding. If your floor height is set too short, you end up significantly shorter than the digital model, and will pay for it with a zone of hit box you can't defend.
Does this adjustment to move the floor height also impact the hit box near the knees? Mathematically, yes it probably does. But players don't aim there as often, and in practice I haven't seen a downside to this adjustment so far. I have seen improvements with my ability to shield not just above my head but also to my sides, as it aligns better with my arms as well. And of course, for shorter players, it's the difference between instantly dying from the "Return to Play Area" system versus being able to actually play the game.
If you're an experienced player and want to know what it's like to play the game with the height handicap, get on an original Rift and set your floor height to 5' 0" or 152 cm and play some games against other experienced players with good primals game, and tell them to aim a lot at your head. It's a very different feel.