Is The Division Laggy for You? Try This To Fix It

Whether PvE or PvP content is better is one of the greatest divisions (pun intended) amongst gamers. One thing we can all agree on, though, is that we absolutely hate lag.

Lag is pretty much public enemy number one, thanks to a combination of factors. It’s one of the most long-standing issues facing gamers, going back to the first consoles and PC games that could lag at any time, thanks to weaker hardware.

In modern days, most popular games have large online elements. Hardware lag isn’t out of the picture, but most lag is due to network issues. Whether it’s a choppy rendering while traveling The Division’s NYC or loss-causing stutter during a heated Domination match, when lag arises, it’s bound to dampen your fun.

Today, WTFast will break down how to identify and solve lag issues from the bottom up. Your Division gameplay deserves to be lag-free, and we’re going to help you get it there. Let’s get started!

How Lag Can Ruin Your Fun in the Division

If you’re just now hearing about The Division, let us introduce you. The Division is an action shooter MMORPG with multiple game modes where players can face AI enemies or each other, cooperatively or independently.

The game draws players with different desires – which is one of its biggest strengths. Competitive gamers can scratch their itch to test their skill against players in multiple ways. Whether head-to-head or competing for better stats in cooperative PvE, there’s always a fun challenge to be had.

Some players prefer to have fun with friends while others function as a lone-wolf, exploring an innovative shooter RPG and crushing some AI enemies. The Division offers space for both playstyles and anything in between.

Lag is definitely your enemy, no matter where you fall on that spectrum. 

If you’re playing to win, you need a faster connection. Especially if you find yourself losing even when you play your best, it might be lag keeping you two steps behind. When you’re focusing on strategy and anticipating your player’s next moves, you need to be able to see what they’re currently doing — and accurately. 

If you’re just playing for the love of the game, lag can be a major buzzkill there, too. When you’re trying to play with your friends, you all need to be on the same page to work together as a team. That’s just not possible when your game and theirs’ are completely out of sync.

Unfortunately, lag’s not the kind of enemy you can take out with great aim, reflexes, and powerful loot. But don’t worry – we’ve got some actual solutions so you can get back to having fun and crushing every challenge.

What Type of Lag Am I Experiencing?

There are a few different types of lag you might encounter while playing The Division. Knowing the difference can help us know where to start when solving your gaming issues.

The most common type of lag is stutter. Stutter is a delay in frame sync that usually results in visual or sometimes audio glitches. 

Stutter is a huge problem for a precision shooter, but at least it’s obvious. Another type of lag called microstutter can be much more subtle but still problematic. Mircostutter comes in the form of irregular framerate drops that are usually small but can throw you off and detract from the game's beauty.

Then there’s the classic form of lag called rubberbanding. This is probably what you envision when you think of lag. Just picture a character bouncing back and forth, unable to run anywhere as though strapped to a pole by a rubber band. For obvious reasons, this can completely ruin your gameplay. Rubberbanding is almost always due to network issues.

Lastly, we’ll cover a type of lag that is completely down to your network: packet loss. Packets are bits of data sent from your local network to the online game server. For an online MMORPG like The Division, everything you do travels in packets to the game’s server, allowing you to see the game world and influence it.

If these packets get lost on their commute or take too long to arrive, you’re experiencing network-based lag known as packet loss. This can look similar to stutter, so it’s important to troubleshoot network issues and hardware issues alike.

Where Did My Lag Originate?

Most lag in The Division comes from network issues, but it’s fundamental to check your hardware and make sure it’s up to spec.

From Your Hardware

In addition to meeting the minimum system requirements for The Division, you should check your graphics settings. You may simply need to lower them unless you have an especially powerful computer. A system that can’t handle your settings is the quickest way to laggy gameplay, so it’s essential to check this first.

Another hardware factor that can slow down your game is an overworked RAM. Any device has a set amount of things it can juggle at once. Run too many programs, and your system will struggle to keep up and drop the ball.

This is a common cause of lag for gamers who might leave open web browsers and other applications in the background. Even something seemingly innocent might be taking up a surprising amount of memory. Most computers offer a way to monitor what programs you have running, which can be a useful way to combat this issue.

From Your Network

The Division is an online game, so it’s no surprise that your connection to the online server is often going to be where lag creeps in. That may seem pretty obvious, but it can be incredibly frustrating for the exact cause to elude you.

Your internet speed — which can be measured by ping — isn’t the only thing that matters. You might test your internet speed and see it working fast at one moment, only for it to slow down in another. Stability is an important factor as well.

Wireless connections tend to have less stability than wired and slower speeds in most cases. Your network itself still has the biggest say in how fast your data pings to and from the server.

Even a fast network can only handle so much traffic. Like traffic on a highway, internet activity clogs up your network’s connection and slows down the data that passes through it. That means that any other activity going on while you’re gaming will get in the way.

Streams and downloads are especially dense, but even simple web browsing can cause lag. 

Solving Lag: What Works vs. What Doesn’t

If your hardware is insufficient, upgrading to better hardware will likely be a big step in reducing lag. However, having even the best, top-of-the-line hardware doesn’t necessarily guarantee you’ll be lag-free, so don’t feel like you have to shell out on a supercomputer.

No matter what device you’re using, you should always take steps to optimize your system performance by closing background tasks and focusing on the one thing that matters in the moment: the game.

That applies to your network as well. Don’t run streams and downloads while you game if you can help it. Since you can’t stop everyone around you from using the internet, just like you can’t kick cars off the road, it’s better to access your own private network!

You might think we’re talking about VPNs, but did you know that VPNs are suboptimal for gaming? 

VPNs aren’t built for speed. The main draw of a VPN is privacy, bypassing certain geo-restrictions, or encrypting your information and activity. Many games, however, won’t let you connect via VPN, immediately flagging you as a hacker or bot — or possibly doing so down the line and banning you.

VPNs also don’t filter their traffic, so all sorts of activity going through the same overall server might slow your activity down. This can be detrimental to your gaming experience. After all, you can’t control when others download, stream, or game themselves.

What Does a GPN Do Differently?

Although VPNs aren’t the answer, there is a new solution that’s better than ever before. That solution is WTFast’s GPN system, or Gamer’s Private Network. Unlike your typical VPN, a GPN is fully focused on optimizing performance for gaming.

That means we don’t hide or encrypt your connection in any way. To the game, it will look just like a normal network. To you, it will look like the best connection you’ve ever experienced.

Thanks to our optimized tracerouting technology that finds the fastest path for your gameplay data, nothing else gets to pass through — not even an update for the game or music streaming. 

The GPN is built for gamers to be your secret weapon against lag and anything that might interfere with your game experience. Try our service today to see what it can do for you!

Sources:

Rubberbanding Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com 

How to Fix Game Stuttering in Windows 10 | Help Desk Geek 

Wired vs Wireless Networking | IT Best Practices | University of Nebraska-Lincoln