[2020] As Someone Who's Physically Mute, I Have Some Suggestions For The Ping And Communication Wheel System.

I don't have a TL:DR version of this.

First off, yes, I know, there are people out there who are using the comm and ping system to annoy people on purpose, and I'm annoyed by it, too, as I use it when necessary. Second, lets be real, there are also legitimately deaf people playing the game, but I think the bigger concern as far as I've been told about deaf players is about them giving comms to people who aren't deaf rather than people who aren't deaf relaying comms to them, though I could be wrong about this, but my main focus is more on giving comms, and also I do not want to leave out the selectively mute players, as they may just want to relay comms but have their own personal reasons for not using their voice and would want a better way of relaying comms. Third, I've been physically mute for several years now... I am not comfortable sharing the details as to how I became physically mute and I hate recalling it because it brings back bad memories, so all I can say is that there were a few accidents that happened to me that caused me to be in this situation, and the doctors have told me it will take a few more years for me to be safe (emphasis on the word: safe) to take speech therapy. Fourth, if it even matters in this regard, I am Diamond 3, and no... I don't blame my teammates except when I get the ones obviously hard throwing and playing to lose on purpose, which rarely happens (but still happens... just had a match a few hours ago as I'm typing this where an Immortal 2 player was even screaming in the mic he wants to lose because someone stole his ace... which is a first for me to hear). Fifth, English isn't my native language, and I wasn't good in my English classes anyways (just barely passed all of them... but its 100% still my fault, so, ooops), so I am sorry for the grammatical errors as I am depending on the spellchecker on this one. Now, lets begin.

No comm and ping system is perfect, and I doubt there ever will be, lets get that out of the way, and that's fine. Having played other online multiplayer games that have an existing ping and comm wheel system, as much as I like the ping and comm wheel system in Valorant, I have to say... Apex did it better, as its more streamlined, granted I find it relatively unfair in comparison because Valorant is more demanding in comms compared to Apex Legends or just tactical shooters being more demanding with comms over BRs. So, pardon me for referencing and mentioning other games, but I just want to pitch in ideas.

So, for the pings on the map. I suggest that when a spot in the map is pinged, say, in Ascent, you ping Boat House, not only would it help if it says in text chat "Boat House", but also be shown its name, even with a reasonable sized font on the ping itself (or better yet, make it modular where, in the settings, you can set the size and opacity at the very least so players having to read it can set it at a size that's based on their preference). Sure, we have other callouts for parts of the map that don't have an official name, and also it'd be tricky to ping players who are, say, under A-site heaven in split, or under A-site heaven in Haven, but it gives the info with slightly better accuracy than just, say, a ping.

For pings without using the map, I'd say it'd be great if its the same thing. Also, I noticed that pinging the map while being on a Cypher cam or Sova drone sometimes just straight up not register at all. Is this a bug or something? Cuz sometimes say you saw someone and have an accurate read on where they'll go, but your cam or drone can't see it. Well, you have to bring up the map and ping it, and sometimes the naturally faster way is to still be on the cam or drone if you know you're safe. I just don't know why it doesn't work or register more than half the time.

For the comm wheel, in DotA2, about the custom chat wheel, if it was possible to have a customizable chat wheel then its fine that it doesn't have any voice over whatsoever. Heck, you don't have to open or close and add a file in to game and just make it an option in the game where all we need to do is type what we want to put in the custom chat wheel and you're done.

Now, does this matter in unrated or spike rush? I doubt it does. However, there are people like me who like the feeling of a serious sense of fun and somehow found it in this game through ranked/comp. Before anyone tells me to find another game, don't worry, I posted something about it in r/ShouldIbuythisgame asking for suggestions. But for now, Valorant's kept my attention.

Also, to those saying "get your friends in", well, I tried and kept trying after my usual stack from other FPS who planned to play Valorant with me died due to Covid-19 a day after lockdown was implemented, which was early March, my other friends hate FPS' in general, and LFG hasn't been good to me, and I get why, and I don't take it against anyone.