What Valorant sounds can the enemy team actually hear?

Brad Norton

Listening out for the competition in Valorant? Here’s an overview of every ability and interaction that leads to a surprising audio-cue in Riot’s FPS title.

With such a rapid time-to-kill in Valorant, a single footstep that gives away your position could be the difference between a round win or a crushing defeat.

While certain abilities will make enemies aware of your location, others are all but silent. Here’s a rundown on every little mechanic that could give away your position in Valorant.

You might be surprised by which abilities are silent in Valorant.

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Brimstone might be quieter than you think.

If you’ve been lucky enough to gain early access to the beta, there’s a good chance you’re only just getting familiar with many of the ability-related audio cues. Agents always yell at the top of their lungs when triggering an Ultimate, however, some abilities are surprisingly quiet.

Brimstone is one of three Controller-type Agents in the game, often sticking to a more defensive playstyle. While his deadly Orbital Strike is loud enough for every character on the map to hear, it turns out that his Sky Smoke utility is the exact opposite, according to this handy breakdown from Reddit user ‘RoyGallant.’

This means that you could be standing right around the corner from an enemy and place your smokes down without them even noticing until they appear on the map. Giving you all the time needed to make a quick escape.

A full overview of surprising sounds in Valorant.

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Jett’s surprising audio-cues in Valorant

If you’re more inclined to flank and play aggressive in Valorant, Jett has likely been one of your top picks. Though it may come as a surprise to learn that essentially her entire kit can alert the enemy team.

Updraft and Tailwind, her two movement abilities in the game, both make an obvious sound that all nearby enemies will be able to hear.

Additionally, even her floating passive makes enough of a sound to alert the opposition. So if you’ve been plotting a long-flank, be extra cautious when using any of her movement-abilities or you might be shut down in an instant.

Jett players may need to be cautious with this new information in mind.

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What equipment could give your position away?

Riot’s FPS differs from other tactical FPS titles in a few key ways with its audio design. For instance, swapping between weapons can be done at will without nearby enemies hearing a thing.

You can also pick up weapons from the ground while walking, all without alerting nearby opposition. This differs greatly from the likes of CS:GO, where even so much as scoping into a weapon can give the enemy team a good amount of intel. Dropping weapons or the Spike will indeed make a sound in-game, however. 

You should be wary of reloading too often in Valorant as well, since the simple mechanic could be enough to reveal your location.

You can pick up a new weapon without making a sound in Valorant.

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Movement-based audio cues in Valorant.

Running at full-speed in Valorant is a surefire way to let the enemy team know your whereabouts. Walking or crouching while on flanks or peeking around corners, is absolutely vital in order to stay quiet. You can even remain quiet while scaling the ropes on Split at a walking pace.

It turns out that players can actually remain silent even while jumping, according to the breakdown. It comes with a catch, however, as jumping on flat ground, or jumping to a lower plane, will make a sound.

If you’re jumping up to a higher position though, your character will be completely silent. This could prove useful when setting up to defend a Spike after planting for instance. 

Dropping from a high-ground vantage point will definitely make a sound in Valorant.

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The next time that you hop into the Valorant beta, you should have a better understanding of exactly what to listen out for. 

As players grow more and more familiar with Valorant, audio cues will become second nature. The very best will be making use of this full breakdown and climbing to the top of the ladder when ranked play becomes available soon.

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About The Author

Brad Norton is the Australian Managing Editor at Dexerto. He graduated from Swinburne University with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and has been working full-time in the field for the past six years at the likes of Gamurs Group and now Dexerto. He loves all things single-player gaming (with Uncharted a personal favorite) but has a history on the competitive side having previously run Oceanic esports org Mindfreak. You can contact Brad at brad.norton@dexerto.com