Game lags happen when there’s a delay between the players’ actions and the game servers. In addition to the internet connection going out, lag is one of the most frustrating things a gamer can experience. If a player’s Internet connection is slow. If your opponent’s Internet connection is faster, they have a much better chance of winning.
Luckily, you can minimize lags by doing several things.
Check your Internet Bandwith
While you may not need business-speed Internet to game seamlessly, you must consider the bandwidth requirements when playing online games. If you are going to be doing multiple internet-based activities simultaneously—such as streaming movies, video chatting and browsing the web—it may put an unnecessary strain on your bandwidth. Streaming videos and downloading files require more data than playing games. They can slow down your internet and game speed if you don’t have enough bandwidth to support all your online activities.
Try to Maintain Low Latency
A network’s latency is the time data takes to travel from its source to its destination. Low latency is ideal for gaming. If your latency is high, your character might not immediately respond to your command. High-speed internet with low latency is the best combination to have. A latency of fewer than 150 milliseconds is considered to be good. Twenty milliseconds is excellent.
Latency is affected by more than just your broadband connection. The remote server’s location, the network hardware of your router and the remote server, and the speed of your relationship will all affect your latency. The farther your router is from your computer/console, the longer it will take for information to reach it.
Close all Background Applications
If your computer is used for gaming, it may be helpful to close all bandwidth-heavy programs – like Netflix, YouTube, and downloads – before playing a game to enjoy the best possible performance. Connecting fewer devices to a WiFi network can help reduce the bandwidth needed. The more devices connected to a network, the greater its bandwidth requirements.
Use Ethernet Cable instead of using Router
If you live in a household with other people who use the same WiFi connection, getting family members and housemates to stop using the internet when you are gaming can be challenging. If you want to play a game, you can try to squeeze in a session whenever they are out of the house. Or you could connect your device directly to the router using an Ethernet cable. This should significantly reduce your ping. However, if the issue persists, ensure that your router is running correctly and is not causing the problem.
Final Thoughts
To truly dominate an online game, you need to mitigate as much game latency as possible. If your internet connection is doing fine and you’re still experiencing lag, your wireless router might be overloaded with too many devices connected at once. With a few tricks, though, you should be able to get your lag down. And then? Then it’s time to show everyone what you’re made of.
