Valorant Community sheds light on growing tally of players who refrain from using in-game audio

Valorant has successfully gathered millions of gaming enthusiasts from various parts of the world since its initial closed beta run in April 2020.

Riot Games' take on tactical FPS continues to attract new players each day. Due to their growing audience, the Valorant community doesn't shy away from actively discussing the various issues they face in-game.

In a recent Reddit post, the Valorant community gave their thoughts on the growing tally of players who enter competitive matchmaking devoid of in-game audio.

In the mentioned post, u/slistie emphasizes the sum of players who do not have access to in-game audio, which leaves them handicapped in situations where it is absolutely essential to rely on the audio. Without in-game audio, the player will be oblivious to aspects like footsteps, weapon reloads, ability usage and gun-shots.

The original poster goes on to suggest the use of cheap headphones and the in-game HRTF feature instead of playing without audio or using a speaker. The Valorant community on Reddit were active in participating in the discussion, giving their insight on the magnitude of players who enjoy Valorant on mute.

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Valorant Community share thoughts on the importance of audio cues in competitive matchmaking

In the discussion, the most popular comment highlights a class of players who play music while playing Valorant. Even with in-game audio, it's possible these players have a faint sense of direction from the sounds they perceive.

Another redditor gives his insight on playing with music on.

Valorant has game modes like Unrated, Spike Rush, Deathmatch and a seasonal mode, all of which do a great job in pleasing the casual gamer community.

Competitive is the only mode that relies on team-commitment and tactical play, and demands the players to be receptive in their senses and have quick reactions. Game audio plays a pivotal part in this.

However, there are players who prefer a casual gaming experience even in competitive. One redditor affirms that audio cues have little to no effect on a player's performance.

The original poster responds,

"People should be able to chat with friends and have fun it's not about that, I just think most have a desire to improve their game and sound is very important in that respect, to develop game sense or make tactical call outs."

Some members of the r/Valorant community lent their support to players who prefer to have a casual experience or have trouble identifying sounds. u/soccerpuma3 shares his views by saying,

"If you are on my team and told me you're hard of hearing I'd just ask if you want teammates to call out footsteps for you if we're spectating."

Another member of r/Valorant comments on the situation, stating that the inability to react to audio cues is more of an issue of skill than the lack of technical equipment.

There are several comments that mention the lack of quality gaming peripherals, or computers having technical issues. A section of Valorant players also have hearing impairments, which deprive them of the luxury of headphones.

Hundreds of people continue to share their insight on the issue. Audio is an integral part of gameplay, particularly in a team-based FPS title like Valorant. Players who choose to play without audio in Valorant's ranked lobbies essentially deprive themselves of access to valuable information, that can otherwise guide the team to an enjoyable victory.