Valorant: Riot Games give their take on the ‘footstep sound’ issue

Valorant still needs a lot of polishing, and tweaking, as there are still a lot of problems with the first-person shooter that Riot needs to address before the competitive scene finally takes off.

And a recent issue that has emerged in Valorant is that of the ‘footstep sounds’ which according to this Reddit user, needs to be the top concern for Riot at the moment.

The footstep audio cue in Valorant is not as accurate as players would like it to be. In a map like Haven, which has so many entry points, getting the perfect audio for things happening around you is very important.

Without having any accuracy on your sound cues, you will not be able to differentiate where your enemies are coming from. This will hamper the competitive integrity of the game in the long run, especially on the professional stage.

Riot addresses Valorant’s sound cue issue

Screen grab from Ask Valorant blog post

Riot seems to have taken note of the community concerns with the footsteps audio, and in their recent Ask Valorant #6, Audio director Peter Zinda agreed to much of the issues that Valorant’s audio cue is having at the moment.

He says, “Based on internal playtests, not hearing a footstep and getting killed by someone you knew had to run to get to you is very tilting. This feels especially bad for players who have internalized rotation times on the map and have good communication and callouts on their team.

We also know our game will be played in a variety of contexts. NA players may be used to playing in a quiet room and hearing every detail, but players in China or Korea may be playing in a loud PC Bang, where a footstep that was quiet but gave more information on distance would be lost. I have never played professionally, but I imagine clarity would also be appreciated for esports players who may be in a noisy stadium (hopefully someday!)”

However, footstep distance is not the only issue that Valorant is being plagued with, the more pressing matter is that of the direction. You hear an enemy approaching you, and the audio cue tells you that you will be attacked from the front, but you get shot at from the back, and that is a serious problem.

Image Credits: Riot Games

Peter also says that “We currently mix the game in stereo, meaning there is no difference between a sound 45 degrees to your left in front of you and a sound 45 degrees to your left in back of you. Some people expect to be able to hear this difference, but that is not currently possible.”

However, It doesn’t feel like a satisfactory response to the problem.