Best audio settings in Fortnite Chapter 5 – how to hear everything you need to

✓ At a glance

The best audio settings for Fortnite

• Turn your sound effects volume high and all other sounds low so you can hear other players better
• Turn on the ‘Visualize Sound Effects’ option to see sounds displayed on your screen
• High sound quality will help you hear things more clearly, but can be turned to ‘Low’ for an FPS boost

When it comes to settings in games, most people only care about their graphics and controls, but if you want to make sure you’re playing the best Fortnite you possibly can, you can’t ignore your audio settings. Even a shy audio cue can be the deciding factor between you clutching the game for your team or having to settle for that ever-frustrating second position.

However, sifting through all the audio settings in Fortnite can be a real hassle since they’re so many of them, and let’s not forget how turning on the wrong ones may negatively impact your game. So to help you through this cumbersome process, we’ve written a guide that will tell you everything you need to do to get the perfect sound settings in Fortnite.

Best Fortnite audio settings

Here are the best sound settings for Fortnite that you can follow to improve your hearing in the game drastically. These settings will provide the ideal sound output on any platform (PC or console), so you don’t have to worry about reading a separate guide if you’re playing Fortnite on different platforms. 

Volume settings

To start off, your ‘Music Volume’ should be less than 25% since, otherwise, it is bound to cloud your master volume. This will disrupt your hearing, allowing enemies to sneak behind you. The ‘Sound Effects Volume’ is basically the master volume of the game and should be set to 100% to get the maximum sound output from Fortnite. If it’s too loud, use the button to adjust it to your liking.

As far as ‘Voice Chat Volume’ is concerned, you can keep it between 10% to 80%. This usually depends on how good/bad or high/low are the mics of your teammates. However, the general threshold you should focus on is the range we’ve provided you with.

We also suggest you keep ‘Cinematics Volume’ below 25% since, while it provides an immersive experience, you don’t want it to disrupt the enemy’s footsteps. Additionally, keep the ‘Dialogue’ setting low as well.

Essentially, you need to reduce the volume of all non-essential sounds. Music doesn’t matter in a match, and you should also lower your teammates’ voice volume. Sound effects, on the other hand, affect nearly all the essential audio. Due to this, you want to keep this setting at maximum, so you can hear all the footsteps and gunshots.

Sound quality and 3D headphones

Sound Quality should always be kept High to get more crisp and clear audio cues in the game. There is no downside to this setting on modern gaming systems, as they can provide high audio quality without sacrificing many resources. However, you may consider switching it to Low for a framerate boost.

✓ Asmir’s Advice

You can gain framerate boost by changing this Fortnite audio setting

If you decrease the Sound Quality to Low, you will notice a framerate boost on older machines. Due to this, you should use low-quality sounds if you struggle to reach your desired framerate. However, it’s important to note that this setting is nearly insignificant on modern gaming machines and is mostly used only by competitive players.

The 3D Headphones setting should also be turned on all the time since this will give you directional audio and help you trace out where the enemy is approaching from. However, keep in mind that this only works for stereo headphones.

Background Audio and Visual Sound Effects

While Background Audio could be useful if you’re away from your gaming system, you may also turn it off. This setting is completely optional, so you can choose what to do with it.

Visualize Sound Effects enhances your gameplay experience by providing a better sense of direction and is probably the best sound setting in Fortnite. However, some players find it overwhelming and choose to disable the setting instead. This Fortnite audio setting will provide visual clues to your surroundings along with the audio, which makes it perfect.

To summarize the settings we’ve explained above, we’ve crunched it all down in this neat little table:

Setting	Value
Music Volume	Less than 25%
Sound Effects Volume	100%
Voice Chat Volume	10% to 80%
Cinematics Volume	Less than 25%
Dialogue	Less than 25%
Sound Quality	High
3D Headphones	On
Background Audio	Personal Preference
Subtitles	Personal Preference
Visualize Sound Effects	On
Voice Chat	Personal Preference

To sum it all up, it is crucial to have the right sound settings in order to fully enjoy the experience of what Fortnite offers you. You can always tinker with them to see what suits you best; however, most of the player base tends to follow these. If you do choose to play around with them, just remember to always take screenshots of your settings in case you want to go back to them if you change your mind.