Overwatch community furious over broken sound design in latest patches

Overwatch players have had enough of the latest audio issues as flanking heroes are able to singlehandedly win team fights.

In a game so dependent on every little visual and audio cue, when certain information fails to register it can completely offset an entire team fight and practically give the opposing squad an easy victory. 

As a result, audio-related issues in Overwatch are not taken lightly. However, the latest patches seem to have bugged certain aspects of the competitive experience, leading to a great deal of frustration in the community.

While a number of patches throughout January have looked to offset the meta with significant hero adjustments, under the hood, the sound design in Overwatch hasn’t received any love. 

Showcased throughout a recent match by Contenders player Carter Smith of Third Impact, a Grandmaster match was left in jeopardy after a flanking Hanzo crept up without making a sound.

Being shot down in the blink of an eye, the professional player barely had a moment’s notice to react, despite the enemy having wall-climbed, walked, and jumped right next to him. All traits that typically make a noticeable sound, especially in close proximity to other heroes. 

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“Sound is completely busted in the game and has been since patch 1.41,” he explained. “Sounds that originate from out of your FOV are often not even played. If they are, they’re EXTREMELY quiet.”

Venting their frustration, members of the Overwatch community responded to the thread and outlined how they had also been experiencing the same audio-related issues. 

“I’m having the exact same issue but I thought I was going crazy,” Reddit user ‘MassMax96’ expressed. “Talking to friends while playing they just laugh and call me bad (which I am) but so many times I get flanked when there’s no sound indicating that someone is there,” they explained, validating the concerns of the original Hanzo player.

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“This is unacceptable in a game where sound is so important. This is the sort of thing that should be priority #1 until resolved and hotfixed asap” Reddit user ‘ThiccHammy’ also chimed in.

While a brand new patch was just released on January 23, there’s no indicating if this has resolved the significant audio issues present throughout Overwatch.

From Sigma nerfs to a hefty McCree buff, here are the full patch notes for the January 23 PTR update.