How To Check Your Ping for Better Online Gaming
What is Ping
You are probably not here for a technical definition for "ping". You are most likely a gamer and, you want to know what ping means in online video games. Ping in online games is a measurement of the time it takes for the information to go from your computer to the game server then back to your computer.
When you move your mouse to aim at the enemy's head or when you press the “LMB" on to shoot, you are actually sending the information of your mouse movements and mouse clicks to the game server. The game server will receive this information and successfully register it. After registering, the game server will send a packet back to your computer and, you will see the enemy die. The time that this whole process took is measured in milliseconds (ms) and is called ping.
What Affects Ping
Your ping depends on many variables. Of these variables, the one that has the largest effect on your ping is the distance between your computer and the game server. Since ping is just a measure of time, and a packet of information can not travel any faster, the only variable that you can manipulate in this speed, distance and, time relation is distance. If the distance between your computer and the game server gets larger, your ping will also get larger and your ping will get lower as the distance gets smaller.
Other variables that affect ping are issues in your network connection, both relating to hardware and software. These issues will increase your ping and, rectifying these issues can help lower ping. For example, you might have an update running in the background while playing an online game. This increases your ping. Ending the update will lower your ping. Another example includes a faulty wire connecting your computer to the router. Wires that are old and worn out can cause packet loss and, replacing them with new wires can give you a stable ping.
Problems Related to Ping
You have probably heard gamers screaming "LAAAAG" and "WHY IS MY PING SO HIGH". This is because they are suffering from problems that come with high and unstable ping. Let's discuss two of the most common problems that arise because of high ping.
Rubberbanding
Rubberbanding is one of the problems that can come up in online gaming due to very high ping up. If you are rubberbanding and try to move your in-game character, it will start jumping back to locations where it was half a second ago. In other words, you either won't be able to move or, you will move 2 steps forward and one step back.
Delayed Response Time
You might have experienced instances where you shot an enemy on your screen and, it took about 3 or 4 seconds for the enemy to start the dying animation. This is because the information that you have shot an enemy took a long time to reach the game server hence it took a long time for the game server to register it.
Several other problems like jittery gameplay can occur due to high ping. These problems make playing the game a bad experience and may even make the game unplayable.
How to check ping
After discussing ping and the problems that can arise when ping becomes too high, we can safely establish that high ping is bad for online gamers. High ping and the problems that come with it are most annoying for competitive gamers because even the slightest spike in ping can cause a drastic reduction in their in-game performance. This is why competitive players prefer to have information about their network performance displayed in some part of their screen.
In other words, diagnosing ping-related issues can be made very easy if the ping is consistently monitored. Here are the methods by which you can check your ping.
Tab: Most online multiplayer games, especially first-person shooters, have a built-in scoreboard that you can access by pressing the "Tab" key located on the upper left corner of your keyboard. The scoreboard appears on the screen once you press the key for it. Along with your kills and deaths, it also displays your ping.
Network Performance Stats: The ping displayed in the scoreboard is not one hundred percent live because it is not refreshed that often. Hence, if you want a more accurate ping measurement you should turn on "Network Performance Stats". Almost all games these days have this function however, every game has a different method for turning it on. The network performance stats show important information such as packet loss and live ping.
WTFast: If you want an even better measurement for ping, that is more accurate and precise than the methods mentioned above, you should give WTFast a try. WTFast is software used by gamers to lower their ping, and it also displays an accurate measurement of ping. WTFast can display ping for a wide range of games and server locations.
WTFast
Checking your ping is one thing lowering it is a whole another world. There are tons of forums and articles on the internet dedicated to lower ping and, there are tons of solutions that one can try. However, not all solutions work, and properly diagnosing the cause of high ping can be very time-consuming and difficult.
If you don't want to go through the hassle of diagnosing what is causing your ping-related issues and trying out several potential fixes, you should try WTFast. WTFast is Gamer's Private Network (GPN) and it has helped thousands of gamers in lowering their ping. WTFast works by switching your network onto a connection that is much more stable. This not only lowers your ping but also eliminates any chances of ping spikes. For an enjoyable gami
