[Accessibility Feedback] Support for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Players in Midnight Beta

In Development Midnight Alpha Test
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Support for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Players in Midnight Beta

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Hello Blizzard Team,

First, thank you for your ongoing effort to make World of Warcraft more accessible to everyone.
I’m a Deaf player participating in the Midnight Alpha/Beta, and I’d like to share some feedback and suggestions that could improve the experience for Deaf and Hard of Hearing players.

:warning: Current Issue

Many in-game mechanics, alerts, and environmental sounds still rely heavily on audio cues —
for example, boss yells, casting alerts, or ambient sounds like collapsing floors and bells.

For Deaf players, these signals are not visible, which makes it difficult to react to key mechanics even when using subtitles or addons.

:light_bulb: Suggestions for Improvement

Here are several ideas that could make the game more inclusive and intuitive for players who play without sound:

  1. Add visual indicators for sound-based events (screen-edge flashes, small icons, or floating text).

  2. Expand subtitles to include environmental sound descriptions (e.g. “Floor cracking”, “Boss roars”, “Gate opening”).

  3. Create an Accessibility setting: Visual Audio Cues, similar to what Overwatch 2 already uses.

  4. Allow players to customize colors or types of alerts for better visibility.

  5. Add optional visual pings when teammates use voice commands (“Interrupt!”, “Run!”, “Stack!”).

:speaking_head: Speech-to-Text (Voice Chat Accessibility)

It would be very helpful if World of Warcraft could support Speech-to-Text functionality for in-game voice chat.
This would automatically convert spoken communication from teammates into readable text in chat or above characters.

Such a feature already exists in Overwatch 2 and could be integrated into WoW Midnight through Blizzard’s existing accessibility framework.
It would allow Deaf players to fully participate in raids, Mythic + groups, and community content without missing spoken instructions.

:heart: Závěr

Thank you for your time, understanding, and dedication to accessibility.
Small visual improvements and voice-to-text options can make an enormous difference for Deaf and Hard of Hearing players who truly love this game.

Best regards,
Jaroslav (NormadSoul)
Deaf player and tester since Midnight Alpha

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Additional Note – Deaf Guild “Undaunted” (EU & US)

I would also like to add that I am part of Undaunted, the only known Deaf and Hard of Hearing guild that exists both in Europe and North America.

Our members come from many countries, but we all share the same challenge — playing World of Warcraft without access to sound-based mechanics.

Accessibility settings are not a matter of comfort for us, but a real requirement to participate fully in dungeons, raids, and Mythic+ content.

With visual sound indicators or Speech-to-Text options, our community could achieve the same level of teamwork, performance, and success as everyone else.

We would be more than happy to help Blizzard test or give feedback on accessibility features for Deaf players if there is interest.

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