How Does Latency and Ping Affect Your Online Gaming Experience? Online gaming requires that you react fast, and you can easily lose your game due to poor response times or disconnections related to your internet connection. And in such cases, two terminologies are often mentioned by gamers – latency and ping.
These two are quite crucial in gaming, and all gamers need to understand the influence they have on an online session. In this guide, we’ll look into the terminologies, their effect on gaming, and how you can improve your online gaming experience by enhancing them.
What is Ping?
What does ping mean and how does this affect an online gaming experience? Ping is a measurement of how fast your data travels from your device to the game server and back.
It’s like the speedometer of your internet connection, but it goes the other way. The lower the ping, the faster the connection.
Pings are usually done as part of a network test (not actual actions) and are carried out multiple times. They are expressed in milliseconds (ms).
So how can you test yours?
Almost all standard internet speed tests usually conduct a ping test, so it will be displayed alongside your speed. You can check yours by carrying out a speed test at speedtest.net or fast.com.
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What is Latency?
How does latency affect online gaming? Latency is closely related to ping, but it is not the same. It is usually referred to as the lag in your internet connection.
In other words, it is a measure of the total delay from when you send a command to when it gets executed on your screen. It involves carrying the whole signal, not just doing a round trip timing of a single packet, as is the case with pinging.
Latency involves taking the ping into consideration, but it also includes other factors such as network congestion, routing efficiency, and processing delays.
So the actual lag you see when you press a button and the time it’s executed on your screen, that’s the latency. It is also measured in milliseconds (ms).
What is the Impact of Latency & Ping on Gaming Experience?
Ping and latency usually go hand in hand. When the ping is high, you can expect the latency to be high. This means that they usually have similar effects on your gaming session.
Delayed Responses
When your ping and latency are high, this will be noticeable in your game. When you press a button to perform an action, such as shooting or simply jumping, there will be a noticeable delay between the pressing and the response on the screen.
This is usually referred to as the input lag, and it can be frustrating when playing with other players.
Competitive Disadvantage
High latency and ping will work against you when playing online. This is because in multi-player games, every split-second matters.
When you fire your weapon at the same time as an opponent with a lower ping, their actions will be registered on the server before yours. This means that you will be playing at a disadvantage.
Besides the delay, a high latency and ping can make movements on the screen inconsistent. This will usually have an effect on you as the gamer, and it will lead you to make errors that you otherwise wouldn’t (such as pressing a button twice). It will also be harder for you to predict the movement of your opponent.
Disconnections from Your Game
In the worst case scenario, you can also be disconnected from the game server. This is because when your latency is high, there’s a delay in communication between you and the server.
And to avoid inconveniencing other players, gaming servers usually have timeouts that each player has to operate within.
So when there’s a significant delay in communication between your gaming session and the server, the automatic timeout can kick you out of the game unexpectedly.
How to Improve Your Latency & Ping for Gaming
There are several ways you can improve your latency and ping, but they all revolve around improving the quality of your connection. One of the simplest is using a LAN cable instead of Wi-Fi to connect your console or gaming PC. These connections are usually more stable, so the latency is lower.
Besides that, you can optimize your device by closing background applications that may be causing delays or consuming your data. You can then set your network to prioritize gaming traffic or simply disconnect the other devices connected to your network.
Besides that, the most effective option is to upgrade your network. Consider a more internet provider and connection type. You can also upgrade the package you have to one that favors gaming, as ISPs usually throttle some connections.
Latency and Ping in Gaming – FAQs
Which latency is better for online gaming?
Low latency is the best for online game. The acceptable latency or ping will be around or lower than 40 – 60 milliseconds.
What causes high latency and ping in gaming?
High latency can be caused by several factors, including slow internet speeds, network congestion, and your distance from the game server.
Can VPNs affect latency and ping in gaming?
Yes, using a VPN can sometimes increase your latency and ping. However, if you have a strong internet connection, you can use one to connect to a server near the gaming server. This will improve response times despite the new overload.
Is there a minimum internet speed required for gaming?
There’s no minimum speed for gaming, but the higher, the better.
How can I check my latency and ping for gaming?
You can check your latency and ping using an online speed test tool, such as speedtest.net or fast.com.
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