Best Valorant Audio Settings To Hear Footsteps

If you are struggling to pinpoint enemy footsteps or the audio in Valorant sounds muffled and chaotic, you are likely suffering from audio signal stacking. This happens when Windows Spatial Audio or third-party 7.1 virtualization fights against the game's native sound processing, destroying your ability to hear directional cues.

Why this happens

Valorant's HRTF engine is designed exclusively for a raw stereo signal. When you enable external 7.1 surround or Windows spatial enhancements, the audio signals conflict and prevent the game from placing sounds accurately in 3D space.

Steps

1. 01
   Open the Valorant in-game Settings menu, navigate to the Audio tab, and select Sounds.
2. 02
   Set Speaker Configuration to Stereo and toggle HRTF to On under the Simulate Surround Sound section.
3. 03
   Set Sound Effects to 100%, lower Voice-Over to 40%, and set Music to 0% so background noise does not bury quiet footstep audio.
4. 04
   Minimize Valorant, right-click the speaker icon in your Windows taskbar, and select Sound settings.
5. 05
   Locate the Spatial Audio section and ensure all spatial sound, audio enhancements, and virtual 7.1 surround toggles are set to Off.
6. 06
   If your headset has dedicated software, boost the frequency range between 1 kHz and 4 kHz in your EQ profile to make footstep frequencies stand out.

Still not working?

If you still cannot hear footsteps, check your Windows sound output device settings to ensure you are not accidentally routed through a 'Chat' or 'Communication' channel instead of the primary 'Game' output. If you use a DAC or external sound card, verify that any physical switches on the hardware for surround mode are also disabled.

Frequently asked questions

Does 7.1 surround sound actually help in Valorant?

No, it is detrimental. Valorant uses a built-in HRTF system designed for stereo headphones; external surround sound interferes with this, making it impossible to tell if a sound is in front of or behind you.

Will changing these settings affect other games?

Disabling Windows spatial audio globally will turn off that feature for all applications. If you play other games that benefit from spatial sound, you will need to toggle it back on in the Windows Sound settings when you finish playing Valorant.