How to Fix Packet Loss in Fortnite
Have you ever heard of packet loss? Did you know it can significantly affect your gameplay in Fortnite?
Don’t worry – it’s not some new mechanic you missed from the latest patch notes. Packet loss is just one factor that can cause lag, a Fortnite player’s greatest enemy.
Lag can turn even the most enjoyable gaming session into a miserable slog. At best, it’s a frustrating inconvenience. At worst, it can cause avoidable losses or end a session altogether.
In the past, gamers had to settle for lag unless they had the big bucks to buy top-of-the-line PCs or they won the internet speed lottery in their areas.
Thankfully, modern innovations and cutting edge technology from WTFast mean that everyone from the most invested gamer to the casual player can access lag-free gaming without going broke.
With just a few clicks, our system can have your favorite game up and running at the fastest, smoothest rates you’ve ever seen. Today, we’re talking about how our GPN helps fix packet loss and other types of lag in Fortnite and beyond!
Let’s get started.
What Is Packet Loss and How Is It Different From Lag?
Packet loss is one of the most common causes of lag. Sometimes packet loss itself is erroneously referred to as lag itself because the two are so intertwined.
Packet loss occurs when information traveling between your game and the server fails to reach its destination.
Input is one type of packet, so let’s use it as an example. Imagine you’ve pressed the jump button. That action sends a packet from your local game to the server. Once your jump input reaches the server, you see your character jump on screen.
What if that packet never reaches the server? In that case, the server doesn’t know you jumped, and the jump doesn’t occur. That’s packet loss.
Packet loss is more common in smaller scenarios such as rendering your environment or audio, but it can affect all sorts of situations. In any case, lag is not a good thing, and particularly extreme packet loss can seriously inhibit your gameplay.
Other Types of Lag
Of course, there are other types of lag that you might experience in Fortnite as well. Stuttering is a very common occurrence in which the game delays for a moment as frames catch up.
Rubberbanding is another type of lag—one of the most obvious and frustrating—in which your character or another game asset bounces back and forth, glitching between two points.
Unlike these types of lag that can be caused in equal frequency by hardware or network issues, packet loss is almost always tied to your network. We’ll get more into causes and solutions for packet loss later on.
How to Detect Packet Loss
Before we talk about solving packet loss, let’s cover the best way to identify if packet loss is the issue affecting your Fortnite gameplay.
The easiest way to do this is with a ping test. Ping is the amount of time it takes for a packet of data to go from one point to the other, like your local game to the online game.
When you run a ping test for packet loss, you’ll send a large number of packets and see how many of them arrive successfully. If some of the packets don’t arrive, you’ll know you’re having packet loss issues. Then, it’s time to look into fixes for your network.
Why Packet Loss and Lag Matter in Fortnite
Lag can be a significant problem in nearly any game, but it’s especially relevant in Fortnite. Thanks to the punishing nature of this massively popular shooter, your first mistake could also be your last.
Few things will ruin your record (and your fun) more than consistent issues with network connection, especially when it’s something as simple as packet loss.
Performance
A delay in rendering or input translation isn’t just a minor inconvenience in many cases. Fortnite is a game that requires focus and precision, as there can be a lot going on around your player.
Don’t let your skill be marred by circumstances out of your control. An avoidable loss is one of the worst feelings for a gamer—even more so than a justified loss.
For any serious gamer competing, whether in tournaments or just for a great record over a long season, cutting out packet loss and lag is a must.
Enjoyment
For the casual gamer and the serious competitor alike, enjoyment is an important part of gaming.
Part of this fun is being in control of your fate and testing your skill against the challenges of the game and your competition. When something like packet loss and lag gets in the way of that, your fun is quickly ruined.
Lag is one of the most common sources of frustration in a game. While gaming should be a time to have fun and destress, lag kills the vibe (and your character). Thankfully, the tips below can help you keep your game running smoothly, boosting your game and your mood.
Solving Packet Loss Problems
Packet loss problems always relate to your network, although your hardware can still have an effect, too. The key to minimizing packet loss is making sure your system and network are equipped to handle all the data you’re sending through it.
The most common reason for packet loss is a congested network. You’ll need to improve your bandwidth and get rid of any sort of competing traffic to completely minimize packet loss. Here are some specific solutions that can help.
Wired Connection
A wired connection is almost universally going to be more smooth, speedy, and stable than a wireless one, so hooking up ethernet to your PC or console is definitely a great way to go. This step isn’t guaranteed to solve all your packet loss problems, but it’s more consistently equipped to combat the issue.
Combined with other solutions, a wired connection is an excellent asset to your gaming experience.
Hardware Solutions
Even though packet loss is always a network-based issue, hardware insufficiencies can still interfere with your network and lead to packet loss.
Ensure that you’re using sufficiently powerful hardware to handle any software you install, including the games you run. The more overworked your hardware is, the more likely it is to cause data packet loss.
It’s also important to check what other software you’re running that may be taking up significant bandwidth and basically creating traffic that slows down or derails the data packets your game sends out.
WTFast GPN
The best, most complete solution to fixing packet loss is our WTFast GPN. Our system takes incredibly careful and precise measures to ensure there are as few things as possible standing between your data packets and where they need to go. Not only will they arrive much more consistently, but they’ll also do arrive more quickly.
What does that mean for you? In simpler terms, you’re going to have a lot less lag. No more missing bits of data, glitched animations, or render failures. For the smoothest gameplay you’ve ever experienced, our GPN is the way to go.
GPN vs VPN
Now we’ve told you the best solution to packet loss, you’re probably wondering how our GPN is different from any old VPN. Let us explain.
VPNs are very popular today for all sorts of purposes. As private networks that can help improve your connection, they’re often used to bypass restrictions or protect activity from detection.
However, optimizing speed and performance is not the goal of most VPNs. In fact, VPNs tend to be download- and stream-heavy, so they often run even more slowly than a normal network.
Our patented GPN does things differently. It doesn’t hide or encrypt your activity. In fact, we avoid that in order to meet standards many online games set to prevent hackers and bots from joining. Instead, the GPN exists to remove all the obstacles in the way of your ping.
The GPN isolates only the most essential data packets for your gameplay. If you have an update for your game downloading in the background, music streaming, or something else going on, our GPN diverts it to focus entirely on your gameplay.
We’ve specifically engineered our system to work with the most popular games as efficiently as possible. It locates the fastest traceroute and sends your packets racing down the open road. This results in reduced lag overall and significantly reduced packet loss.
Conclusion
Whether you’re a competitive gamer looking to maximize your competitive edge or a casual gamer looking to cut out frustration for a more fun experience, our WTFast GPN technology is ready to make it happen. Check out our services today to see what we can do for you!
Sources:
What Is Packet Loss and How Do You Fix It? | Tech Target
How to Use the Ping Command to Test Your Network | How to Geek
Wired vs Wireless Networking | IT Best Practices | University of Nebraska-Lincoln
