Valorant players want a fix to “really bad” audio issues

Alan Bernal

The audio issues in Valorant have some players seeking a fix from Riot Games as the title prepares to exit its beta stages onto its full release.

Like most tactical-team shooters, the audio is just as – and in some cases moreso – important than the visual cues on the monitor. However, Valorant players are reportedly experiencing inconsistencies or outright omitted sounds that they feel should be there.

“The sound is really bad for a competitive game, especially the directional sound and the footsteps,” redditor ‘drakendorian’ said of the matter. “I’ve had many experiences where I couldn’t tell if someone was on my right or in my left, the footsteps go from LOUD-LOUD-LOUD-SILENT too quick.”

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The issues in Valorant have made clutches or 1v1’s difficult to maneuver, since players feel they’re getting unreliable information from the game.

Replying to drakendorian, user ‘rdee3’ shared clips that show them as Cypher trying to defend the planted Spike at A on Split. A teammate can be heard suggesting the player to listen or expect Jett to float down on the site from Heaven.

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The sound cues that drakendorian received suggested Jett was indeed floating downward – but at times the audio was heard from the player’s right, toward Defender Spawn, where it was far less likely Jett would be floating down from.

“Has there ever been a dev comment on the sound engine?” redd3 asked. “This is the one thing that scares me the most, because the sound isn’t atrocious, but it’s otherwise not trustworthy and very often leads me to think someone is in a place they aren’t.”

While we know what sound cues Valorant players can and cannot hear during a given round, players also hear sounds that go off seemingly at random.

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Redd3’s other clip shows them in a 1v1 against an enemy Sova. A step is heard prominently to the left, suggesting that Sova was not only at a close proximity, but also possibly somewhere on site.

That was only partly true, since moments later, Sova appeared from the left side of Garage. The player was anticipating a close enemy due to the sound cue, but that happened to be bad intel.

People have been learning how to get along with these sound cue for now, but want Riot to look into the audio issues as the official release for Valorant approaches on June 2.

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About The Author

Alan is a former staff writer for Dexerto based in Southern California who covered esports, internet culture, and the broader games/streaming industry. He is a CSUF Alum with a B.A. in Journalism. He's reported on sports medicine, emerging technology, and local community issues. Got a tip or want to talk?