Hello! So surprisingly, I have no trouble playing Valorant despite being hearing impaired. Hell I am better at it than I am in Overwatch.

So there's been a glaring issue with all competitive FPS allowing them to be accessible without being unfair without said-settings. Thus, most of them are completely unplayable for those without perfect hearing, sight and fine motor altogether.

Hearing is what the focus is in this thread. I feel Valorant strikes a perfect balance. The info in the UI is more than enough to allow Valorant to not be unfair for HOH players yet its not cheating using visual aids to your advantage. There is even an accessibility setting to put subtitles of important callouts from agent voice overs into the chat.

In terms of visual aids there is a radar that tells where your teammate is killed, enemy icons pop up on minimap if in any teammate's eyesight, not just yours, a ui at the top showing who is alive, dead and ult charge, some agent abilities use wallhacks etc.

What I find is great, really is the fact that Valorant is not "disadvantageous" to deaf players it moreso requires a different skillset. Map knowledge, prediction and awareness of everything that is on your screen is key. While hearing players just have to listen out for gunshots and footsteps, deaf players can easily get to Immortal rank too by utilising their intelligence and attention to detail.

Playing Valorant at a high level without hearing is a difficult feat yet completely doable if you are willing to learn differently and think outside the box. Its akin to turning off all UI and quest markers in RPGs given the option. Having to pay attention to landmarks, dialogue directing you towards a location instead of relying on following an arrow.

TL;DR: Valorant is perfectly deaf accessible but requires a different skillset where prediction and good visual awareness is mandatory. It is completely doable given the plentiful-yet-fair visual aids the game thrives on.