What is latency and how to improve it?

Latency: what it means for gamers and how to improve it

If you’re an online gamer, you’ll be well acquainted with latency. Known also as ‘ping’, it can cause painful lag in online games, ruining gameplay, halting your game-winning performance, and resulting in yet another controller being hurled out the window. Yeah, you know latency alright. But do you know what causes it? Or how can you improve it? Read on to find out.

What is latency?

Latency is the time it takes for data to travel from one server to another, i.e., the time it takes for data to travel from your device to the game server and back.

It’s measured in milliseconds (ms) and represents the quality of your internet connection. The lower the latency, the faster and smoother your game will run. The higher the latency, the more lag, delay and frustration you get.

What are the factors that affect latency?

Latency depends on several factors, such as:

• The distance between your device and the game server. The farther you are, the longer the data has to travel.
• The type and speed of your internet connection. Wired Ethernet connections are usually faster and more stable than wireless connections, such as WiFi.
• The traffic and congestion on your network. The more devices and applications using your internet connection, the more bandwidth they consume and the slower your connection becomes.
• The performance and settings of your device. The hardware and software of your device can also affect your latency. For example, if your device is a little on the old side, it can slow down your processing speed and cause lag.

How latency affects gaming

Latency affects the responsiveness and accuracy of your controls. It’ll make your game stutter, freeze, and jump around. And that’ll affect your gameplay in a whole bunch of different ways, depending on what kind of games you play. If you’re into first person shooters, for example, latency might mean missing your shots as enemy movement is delayed and unpredictable on your screen. Before you know it, you’re respawning.

Although latency will negatively impact gameplay for most high-intensity action games, it’s less noticeable in strategy games. Good news for all of you chess fans with slow internet. However, for the majority of FPS, fighters, MMOs and more, latency can determine whether you win or lose as the outcomes are decided by actions that take place in milliseconds. Getting the last shot off, being able to dodge an attack – all determined by lightning-fast reactions.

How to improve latency

There are several things you can do to improve latency and enhance your gaming experience. Here are some tips and tricks you can try:

• Use a wired connection instead of wireless. If possible, connect your device to your router using an Ethernet cable. This will give you a faster and more stable connection than WiFi.
• Close any background programs or applications that are using your internet connection. This will free up some bandwidth and reduce the traffic and congestion on your network. For example, you can close any streaming, downloading, or browsing activities that aren’t related to your game. However, if you’re on a full fibre broadband connection like Hey!Broadband offer, you can game comfortably even while others are watching their favourite shows or playing their own online games!
• Update your device and your game. This will keep everything running on the latest and most optimised versions. This can improve your performance, fix any bugs or glitches, and reduce any compatibility issues that may cause lag.
• Adjust your graphics settings. This will help you balance the quality and the speed of your game. If you know that your connection isn’t the fastest, you can lower your resolution, texture, or shadow settings to reduce the workload of your device and increase frame rate.
• Choose a game server that’s closer to your location – sometimes this option is available in-game; if not, you can use a VPN to select servers nearer to your location. This will shorten the distance that the data has to travel.

Level up your broadband to improve latency

One sure-fire way to ensure low latency is to switch broadband to full fibre – it’s without doubt the best broadband for gaming. With full fibre broadband, fibre optic cables deliver internet straight to your home, giving you an ultra-fast, super stable internet connection with no dropouts. It means with all that increased internet bandwidth, you can enjoy completely lag-free gaming.

Any full fibre package will offer a good internet speed for gaming. But if you want to take things to the next level, check out gigabit broadband. At Hey!Broadband, we have a number of packages available that offer symmetrical upload and download speeds up to 900Mbps! So not only will you enjoy smooth gaming day and night, but you’ll be able to download games, updates and more in no time!

Conclusion

Latency can be a real drag for your gaming experience. By understanding what latency is, how it affects gaming, and how to improve it, you can enjoy online games with less lag and more fun. Remember to check your latency regularly and follow the tips and tricks above to optimise your connection and your device. Happy gaming!

If you’re interested in full fibre broadband for your gaming setup, please contact our friendly customer service team for any further information on 020 4525 7905 or drop us an email at: [email protected].