VALORANT High Ping Fix – How to Fix High Ping in VALORANT

Ever asked, ‘Why is my ping so high in VALORANT?’ Well, high ping in VALORANT is actually more common than you think. But, before we start pointing fingers at Riot Games for not upgrading their servers, chances are, it’s your own device and setup that caused your sluggish gameplay. So, we’ve created this handy guide that quickly answers common questions like, ‘Why is my ping so high in VALORANT?’

From here we’ll give you a step-by-step guide to resolving this VALORANT high ping issue so that you can enjoy superior gameplay on one of the best games of recent times.

VALORANT High Ping Problems

For starters, a VALORANT ping technically refers to internet latency. But really, you want to know what is ping in gaming, how it drastically affects your gaming experience and what kind of VALORANT high ping fix might be available.

In layman’s terms, a VALORANT ping is the time taken for your device to send a command to the game’s server. To minimise the delay between user and server, VALORANT has region-specific servers across the globe to cater for their distributed global playerbase. In most cases, most users have access to a server with a sub-50ms delay. However, if all the servers in your list have insane delays, the problem might be in your setup and you’ll need to know how to fix high ping in VALORANT.

For instance, if you live in Southeast Asia, the Singapore server is the closest geographically. Hence, ideally, you want to have approximately 5ms ping, but even at 70ms, most players still find the experience viable if everyone has roughly the same delay.

Problems arise only when some users have drastically better or worse ping then everyone else on the server. Issues like de-sync and improper movement stop popping up, breaking the game-play and potentially the enjoyment one might have.

Valorant High Ping Fix

Various factors contribute to VALORANT high ping issues, such as server location, internet speed or even your gaming station and internet setup. In order to know how to fix high ping in VALORANT, try the following:

1. Activate Network Buffering

Network buffering is a feature designed for people with unstable connections and high ping in VALORANT. The settings vary between Minimum/Moderate/Maximum, and each setting sets how often your PC “talks” with the VALORANT servers and gets data packets back. The worse your packet loss is, the higher the setting you should go for and this should work as a standard VALORANT high ping fix. Read this guide to the VALORANT best settings for more about this issue if you have VALORANT high ping for no reason.

At maximum settings, there will be fewer packets sent between you and the servers, and the game will attempt to automatically predict the movement of players. This will usually be enough to reduce high ping in VALORANT.

As a result you will get very smooth gameplay, but you will face difficulty winning duels against enemies due to the long delay it takes for your PC and server to communicate.

It might also be worth changing your DNS server, opening a firewall port and even updating your network adaptor driver. All of this shows that there is no easy answer to the issue of how to fix high ping in VALORANT.

VALORANT developer RiotStealthyJesus explains the problem of how to reduce ping in VALORANT well in the following VALORANT Reddit thread.

2. Use a LAN cable

It might sound a bit silly, but plenty of users forget that LAN cables are a necessity when gaming and this can give you an easy way to reduce high ping in VALORANT.

WiFi connections are notorious for their delay and packet loss due to obstacles and the signal travelling through the air instead of a wire. This could ultimately give you a VALORANT high ping.

But plugging a LAN cable from your router to your device is another method of knowing how to reduce ping in VALORANT. This is because you get a seamless connection and it prioritises the internet speed for your directly connected device. All of this is a quick fix for anyone with a VALORANT ping higher than usual.

Now if you really don’t have access to the router, but still want to play VALORANT via wireless connection or even mobile data (we know you people exist),  try to minimise the number of obstacles between you and the router itself. This could reduce the VALORANT high ping, but remember to look for those bars and signal to be strong before starting your match.

3. Make VALORANT a high-priority program in Task Manager, and close all other apps

If you’ve done all of the above but still have a VALORANT high ping for no reason, it’s time to take a look at the task manager. PCs often run background applications on start-up, some necessary, but others might just be downloaded apps that you have running in the background. This can cause those VALORANT high ping problems, especially if you have a VALORANT high ping but the internet is fine.

First up, try to close all tasks that are not related to your game. Ideally, you should only have the Game Client and Riot Vanguard up. Any additional app might be using the internet in the background to self-update and eat up your valuable connection.

Additionally, locate the VALORANT app, and set it as a high-priority program on the Task Manager. It also goes without saying that you do not want to download mixtapes while playing VALORANT . As the resources are distributed between these resource-hungry tasks.

Some apps like Razer Cortex or WTFast are able to achieve the objectives mentioned whenever you launch VALORANT or any games. So if you have a VALORANT high ping but the internet is fine, consider downloading these apps.

4. Get a better Internet plan

If there is infrastructure in place, use it. Say you have some cash to splurge, then the easiest solution is to upgrade your internet plan. If you plan to dedicate time to this game, it’s better to spend some money and save your health and nerves from delay and lag causing your losses. After all, no one should have to play with a VALORANT ping higher than usual.

A 100mbps high-speed internet plan usually costs around $20 and can be decent to achieve low ping. However, that’s provided you aren’t sharing your Wi-Fi with too many household members. The megabits per second get distributed evenly among the number of active connections, so internet speed can dip. Also, consider playing the game during non-peak hours which could even give you a VALORANT high ping advantage.

Bottom Line on VALORANT High Ping

We hope high ping in VALORANT will not be an issue affecting your gaming experience. No one should have to know how to play VALORANT with high ping as it simply isn’t an enjoyable experience. If someone says that there is a VALORANT high ping advantage, you shouldn’t believe them

These are relatively conventional solutions to improve the VALORANT high ping if you are experiencing it. Hence, the next time somebody calls out on why is my ping so high in VALORANT, you know the three factors to fix.

Of course, an important disclaimer to note is, no surreal solutions will be able to improve your VALORANT gameplay if the closest VALORANT server is not exactly close to your country. Take Australian players, for instance, who had to play in Singapore server when Oceania server didn’t exist. These are exactly the kinds of players who say that there is a VALORANT high ping advantage, but this doesn’t work for everyone.

Sure, playing with high ping sometimes has its advantages. When you get used to anticipating player movement to get winning trades, you will end up being exponentially better when you head over to play in LAN. However, while you can learn how to play VALORANT like this, it’s not a perfect solution. So any time you ask, ‘Why is my ping so high in VALORANT?’ just check back with this guide and we’ll sort you out.

Valorant High Ping FAQ

What is high ping?

Ping is essentially the amount of time it takes for your computer to send instructions to the game server. The longer the time taken, the more your game will be affected. That’s why so many players will be looking to reduce their ping in game.

Does high ping really matter in Valorant?

In a word, yes! Delays in the time taken for your PC to respond can cause you to miss key plays and kills. Not only is this really frustrating for you but for the rest of the team too. Fixing ping problems should be high priority before heading into the next game.

Can I fix high ping problems for free?

Luckily, most of the fixes for high ping can be tried for free. Fixes within your PC itself such as prioritizing the game on your task manager are completely free. However, upgrading your internet package can certainly cost.