It's not pleasant to be in the middle of a game in which you feel victory is close at hand and your game suddenly freezes or jerks. This is usually due to a latency problem. So, when you notice a freeze while playing, or a lag between the action taking place on screen and the moment you tap the button/keyboard/stick, you're probably facing this problem, but don't worry, you can find a solution to this lag problem.
1. Check your Internet connection and bandwidth
The lag observed during an online game occurs when there's a lag between the movement of players and the reaction of the server. It's an extremely frustrating situation that gamers experience on a regular basis, and may have its origins in a problem with the game server (rare) or, more generally, with your Internet connection. This can also be seen in the online casino industry. Indeed, even in a new online casino, games require a high-quality connection with the lowest possible latency. After all, every second counts and influences your chances of hitting the jackpot at the slot machine or in online poker. So it's vital to avoid lags.
The good news is that you can reduce lag during your games by adopting a number of measures. One of the most important is to check your Internet speed and bandwidth. With a bandwidth of just 15 to 20 Mbit/s, you can play without any problems, so you don't necessarily need a very high-speed connection to eliminate lag (no need to invest in an 8 Gbp/s fiber connection, for example). On the other hand, you should be aware that activities such as downloading files, P2P or video streaming are data-intensive, and can therefore have a negative impact on your Internet connection, slowing it down if your bandwidth is insufficient, but also inducing more pronounced lag. Turn off all these activities before you start your online game!
2. Quit other programs running on your computer
To avoid saturating your PC's execution power (both CPU and GPU), it's best to close certain programs. These include programs such as video players, music streaming applications and web browsers. These programs can cause slowdown problems by acting in the background in terms of resource consumption (CPU, GPU), but also by downloading data.
To do this, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your computer. This will open the Task Manager and display all running programs. You can now start closing all programs running in the background. For console users, you need to close all other open applications. If you're still experiencing slowness, you may be dealing with malware that is using your system's processing power. If this is the case, you need to scan for it with your antivirus software (do a thorough scan) and put it out of action.
3. Aim for low latency
Latency refers to the time required for data to travel from its source to its destination (from your CP to the game server, and vice versa). With high latency, if you ask your character to move forward, he'll remain static for a few seconds, resulting in lag. So the lower the latency, the better. A good latency, or ping, is less than 50 milliseconds. With a fiber connection, you should be able to achieve a latency of less than 20 ms, which is perfect for gaming in the best possible conditions.
Latency problems can also be caused by the remote server's connection, network hardware, router and your location in relation to the game server. Like bandwidth, latency does not depend exclusively on the Internet connection. When data transfer takes place via a long tunnel, the delay is longer and there are more downtimes (typically, if you're in France and the game server is hosted in another country, the further away that country is, the higher the latency).
4. Switch off other devices connected to the router
When other devices are connected to the same router as you (or the same Internet box), they can consume bandwidth. To reduce lag while you're playing with your companions, it's best to switch off or disconnect all these devices.
Also, be sure to schedule your gaming sessions when you're home alone if you live with other people. All their devices will be connected while you're playing, and will therefore have a negative impact on the quality of your games, especially if they're engaged in bandwidth-intensive activities such as video streaming.
If you're using a WiFI connection, it's best to keep your computer or console as close as possible to your Internet box to improve the Wi-Fi signal and your connectivity, the best being to use an Ethernet cable connection. For WiFi, be aware that elements such as furniture, floors, walls, water... can interfere with your wireless signal, reducing your bandwidth and increasing your latency. If possible, use WiFi 6 or 6E, or even better, WiFi 7, which is already included in new Internet boxes.
5. Adjust your router's Wi-Fi settings
Adjusting your router's Wi-Fi settings can also help you overcome lag problems when playing online games. To do this, you need to access your router or Internet box, and log in to view all the settings that can optimize connectivity and bandwidth and thus eliminate slowdowns. These include switching between 2.4 or 5 GHz networks. 5.0 GHz delivers faster speeds, but the range is shorter, while 2.4 GHz offers a more reliable, but slower connection, so it's best to use a recent standard like WiFi 6 or 7, which are much more efficient. Other parameters to adjust are activating QoS controls and changing bandwidth channels (especially if you're in a building with saturated WiFi channels, the aim being to use a different channel from those used by your nearest neighbors).
Good luck and play lag-free!
