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Proximity Voice Chat

By ScotPublished Updated Sources checked

Tactical Quick Answer

Voice chat runs on push-to-talk and is proximity-based, so distance between gnomes determines who hears you. Treat it as a coordination tool and build a fixed callout format, because information does not reach the whole team automatically. Keep a backup channel like Discord for moments when the team is scattered across the map.

Voice chat is a core part of playing Burglin' Gnomes with other people. The game binds a push-to-talk action for it, and because the chat is proximity-based, the distance between your gnome and your teammates decides who actually hears what you say.

Sound and Distance​

Proximity is the governing rule: teammates near you hear you, teammates across the house may not. That single constraint shapes everything else about team communication in this game, because it means information does not propagate on its own. Someone has to physically be close enough.

A note on a persistent community theory: whether the enemy AI reacts to your real-world microphone input is not documented anywhere credible. Do not build your strategy around either answer. Plan around the things that verifiably generate attention, which are your gnome's actions in the world.

Strategic Communication​

Use proximity chat for tactical coordination, but keep it brief.

  • Callouts: Keep them short and direct. "Owner in kitchen" or "TV secured" is sufficient. Do not engage in lengthy discussions while inside the target location.
  • Coordination: Since you must coordinate High-Gnome tasks, clearly communicate who is focusing on quota completion and who is handling loot staging.

Build a Callout Format​

Voice is proximity-limited, so information does not reach the whole team automatically. Teams that improvise their comms end up with two players who know where the resident is and two who do not.

Adopt a fixed callout shape and hold everyone to it. The format that works is location, then subject, then state:

  • "Kitchen, owner, patrolling."
  • "Upstairs hall, Red Cap, hunting me."
  • "Back door, TV, staged."

Three words carry everything a teammate needs. Long sentences do not survive the moment when someone is being chased, and the person who most needs to hear a callout is usually the one with the least time to parse it.

Two rules make the format work. Call your own state before you call anything else, because a teammate who is being hunted is more urgent than a piece of loot. And confirm receipt with a single word, since with proximity chat silence genuinely might mean nobody was close enough to hear you.

Move for Information​

Range decides who hears you, so the correct instinct is to reposition and not to talk louder. A teammate who needs to know something is worth walking to.

This is also why splitting the team across a whole house has a hidden cost beyond the obvious one. Two gnomes working the same floor share information continuously and for free. Two gnomes on opposite ends of the map are effectively running solo, each unaware of what the other has triggered, and neither will find out until it matters.

Keep a backup channel for the moments when the team genuinely is scattered. A wipe in progress is worth breaking proximity for.

If Voice Chat Is Not Working​

Check your push-to-talk binding in the controls menu first, since that is the documented path for transmitting.

Beyond that, treat voice problems as ordinary audio-device troubleshooting: confirm the correct input device is selected at the OS level, confirm the game is not using a disconnected interface, and test your microphone in another application to isolate whether the problem is the game at all. An external VoIP program like Discord works as a fallback while you sort it out, though you lose the proximity element that makes in-game voice tactically interesting.

Frequently Asked Questions​

Can the enemy AI hear your microphone in Burglin' Gnomes?

Nothing credible documents an answer either way, so do not build a strategy around it. Plan around what verifiably draws attention, meaning what your gnome does in the world.

How does voice chat work in Burglin' Gnomes?

It uses a push-to-talk action and is proximity-based, so the distance between your gnome and your teammates decides who hears you. Information does not reach the whole team on its own.

Why is my mic not working in Burglin' Gnomes?

Check your push-to-talk binding in the controls menu first, then treat it as ordinary audio troubleshooting: confirm the right input device is selected, confirm the game is not pointed at a disconnected interface, and test the mic in another application.

How do you fix Burglin' Gnomes voice chat problems?

Isolate whether the problem is the game at all by testing your microphone elsewhere. An external VoIP program like Discord works as a fallback, though you lose the proximity element that makes in-game voice tactically useful.

What should you say over proximity chat?

Keep callouts short, along the lines of owner in kitchen or TV secured. Skip long discussions inside the target location and make clear who is handling task completion and who is handling loot staging.