The most annoying thing in Valorant isn’t a camper. No! It’s your internet connection that ruins your aim and entire gaming experience (been there, done that!).
It is super important to fix your connection before you throw a punch at the monitor (again, been there, done that).
I have been playing Valorant since 2020 (the release year), and I cherished it to the fullest, especially during the pandemic. The network lag was the only time when I couldn’t enjoy it.
And this is how I fixed it, and you can too.
Here are In-Game Fixes to Try
Change the Server
First things first, your game may experience lag, not because your network or your PC is facing issues, but because a riot might be going on at Riot Games’ end. I am talking about the server issues here.
This has happened to me countless times, and I was literally cursing my internet because of it. Then I went on to read a thread in one of the subreddits. Other Valorant players shared that they were experiencing the same issue as me, which was due to server issues.
So, next time anything bad happens in your game, it is worth checking Riot Games servers and Reddit.
How do you fix the server issues? I hate to say it, but you can’t really fix issues unless you are a developer at Riot Games with access to Riot Games.
Know What’s Wrong via Settings
It is essential to understand what’s causing the lag. How can you do just that?
By going into the settings and turning on visuals of Packet Loss, Network RTT, and Network RTT jitter. These are the musts if you want to identify what’s causing the issue.
There will be two options available: to show just in text or graphical format. The graphical format will display graphs on the side of the screen, and it may take more space. These might cause difficulty in aiming the campers. So, I suggest going with the text format of the game.
Here is a brief overview of what each setting does:
Network Stats
- Network RTT: Shows the round-trip time for data to travel to the server and back (your ping).
- Network RTT Jitter: Measures the variance or instability in your ping.
- Packet Loss: Tracks data that fails to reach its destination, which causes “teleporting” or stuttering.
- Incoming/Outgoing Packet Loss: Specific breakdown of data loss by direction.
- Packets Lost (Total): A cumulative count of lost data packets.
- Packets Receive/Send Rate: The speed at which your client communicates with the server.
- Uploaded Data: The amount of data sent from your PC.
- Out Packet Size: The size of the data packets being sent.
Gameplay & Hardware Stats
- Render Latency (GPU): Time taken by the graphics card to render a frame.
- Present Latency (CPU): Time taken by the processor to prepare a frame.
- Game to Render Latency (CPU+GPU): Total delay from the game logic to the final image on screen.
- Shooting Error: A visual indicator of how much movement or recoil is affecting your accuracy.
General Fixes That Can Also Help
Once you are sorted with the in-game settings, it’s time to control some external factors that might affect your game.
Get an Internet Connection with Lowest Latency
It might have become cliché at this point, but still, it is true.
Anyway, let’s jump directly to the point – what types of internet offer low latency?
The best of the best is a fiber internet connection. The fiber optic cables are extremely powerful when it comes to delivering data from point A to point B at the lowest possible latency.
However, the fiber infrastructure is still very scarce in the US because of its high-cost.
The best alternative I have found is 5G home internet. It offers low ping and latency, along with high download speeds for quicker updates of the game. Multiple 5G internet providers in the US offer different plans based on the location. Just make sure to choose the one with no data cap or a soft one.
If you find 5G expensive, then you can use cable internet as your last resort. It might not offer the lowest latency, but it gets the job done.
Change Your WiFi Password
If you live in a shared space, it is possible that your WiFi password might be shared by others.
Why does that matter? When other devices are connected to the same network, it is more than enough for pings to be pushed higher. On top of that, you will see a significantly slow speed because the network is being shared.
How do you fix that? Just change your WiFi password via the router settings. Or if you yourself don’t want to go through the hassle, just call the customer support of your provider, and they’ll change it.
These are tips that have worked for me in lowering the latency when playing Valorant. Do try them out because I am sure they’ll work for you, too.
