How To Fix Overwatch Lag Spikes & Packet Loss?

Do you want to Fix Overwatch Lag Spikes & Packet Loss? What poses the most risk in Overwatch? No, we are not referring to the other gamers as your opponents. We are talking of something much more critical than that.

If you are a gamer, you must be aware of the popularity of the game Overwatch. What is also true about the game is that the number of players, the frantic action, and the intricate maps all consume a lot of bandwidth. Your internet connection will struggle to keep up with the action’s rapid-fire speed and startling escalation.

Lag spikes and packet losses are the major threats in Overwatch.

Overwatch will be ruined by packet loss and lag spikes. Anyone who plays Overwatch is aware of what this means and how critical this can get in the middle of an intense game.

Why is network latency bad?

The most pressing concern is actually maintaining the speeds and connectivity needed to keep you in the game, despite the fact that some players may be concerned about all the furious action in an online game.

Network latency (or lag) may be a death sentence in fast-paced games like Overwatch, spoiling your winning streak and spoiling your mood when you are eliminated by your enemy due to an inconsistent Internet connection.

Unexpected lagging or slow response to your requests occurs during the game. Then you exhaust yourself.

Packet loss occurs when some of the Internet packets are misplaced while being sent and fail to reach their intended location. Packet losses can halt your fast-moving battles, delay your progress, and break your momentum if you experience them while gaming.

Potential Causes For Packet Loss in Overwatch

Your firewall: If you’re having issues with it, this might be the underlying problem. If you install the Windows Firewall Troubleshooter, you may perform a test to determine whether your firewall is malfunctioning and uncover suggested solutions to this issue.

Internet traffic: Do your family members or other players use your Wifi? If so, there’s a good chance that the Overwatch lag you’re experiencing is caused by congestion on your home Internet network. There is simply not enough bandwidth to go around due to the enormous quantity of bandwidth required for Overwatch.

Telling your housemates to take turns, refraining from using the Internet simultaneously for their MMOs, and just limiting your Wifi’s data usage while you play are ways to fix this.

Old modems: This could be the issue if your hardware is outdated. To reduce connectivity troubles, update your hardware.

How a VPN Can Be Used to Fix Overwatch Lag Spikes

A VPN is a fantastic tool to use whenever you are connecting to the Internet and it can do much more than just reduce Overwatch lag.

First-person shooter gamers require a lot of data since the games’ sophisticated graphics require them to accommodate millions of other players online. The typical shooter players don’t have networks capable of handling this many people or the enormous amounts of data necessary to produce the flashy Overwatch effects.

Users will experience lag while data moves across the Internet because the typical household WiFi is inadequate to sustain this kind of connection.

Players that experience this lag when playing Overwatch will find that they are unable to keep up with other users of the platform and that they are shot before their weapon has a chance to fire back.

Due to the fact that a VPN hides your activities from your service provider, it can assist in reducing lag. Learn how a VPN may quickly fix these problems and increase your Internet connection and speed by reading on.

ISP throttling and Overwatch

An Internet service provider (ISP) distributes among all of its clients a fixed amount of bandwidth and data processing power. Imagine Overwatch being accessed daily by millions of gamers, consuming all that data and bandwidth. Other customers’ connections are slowed down as a result, and the ISP’s expenses rise.

In reaction, ISPs limit the amount of bandwidth that MMO gamers can use, purposefully lowering your internet speed before you even start playing.

All of this may be avoided by using a VPN.

Bypassing your ISP, a VPN conceals your internet activity. While disconnected from other internet users, you can connect to speed-optimized servers that are close to your home network. Your internet connection will be faster and more stable because there will be no more competition for bandwidth.

Second, your ISP won’t be aware that you’re playing Overwatch because you’ve hidden your online activities. You avoid ISP throttling as a result, and you won’t ever have to be concerned about sluggish connection speeds ruining your game.

VPNs offer a plethora of advantages to gamers. not only in terms of connection speeds but also in terms of keeping you secure while you play. Not all VPNs, meanwhile, are powerful enough to support an MMO like Overwatch.

You require a strong VPN with a large selection of fast servers.

Less Overwatch lag and packet loss result from faster VPN connection speeds

Graphically demanding games like Overwatch send a lot of data back and forth to keep you and the other players in sync. That uses a tonne of bandwidth, which is unfortunate because many VPNs have bandwidth restrictions.

But you don’t have to accept that. Choose a VPN that doesn’t restrict your bandwidth, such as ExpressVPN. In reality, our extensive network was designed to support high bandwidth loads.

Other ways of reducing packet loss and lag spikes

First, see if Blizzard has any server issues.

When Blizzard’s servers are actually to blame, you might assume that there is a problem with your computer or Internet connection. Even though they aren’t frequently down, it’s still worthwhile to check Blizzard’s Twitter updates. You might be able to avoid a great deal of frustration.

Examine your internet connection.

Check your internet speed first before launching into any ideas about why Overwatch is still sluggish. To rapidly determine whether your speed is in line with what you should be getting, you can utilize a free speed test tool on the internet.

While you’re playing, you might wish to limit the number of devices in your home that utilizes the internet. Your ping will rise as a result of each internet-hogging device, and they all add up. The rest of your family will probably still be using the internet, so you might have to play Overwatch when it’s quieter.

Choosing the appropriate region on Battle.net

When you first started playing Overwatch, you selected your Battle.net region. You most likely stopped looking at it after that. Your region might not be accurate if you moved or were traveling when you were playing on your laptop.

On your Battle.net Overwatch screen, click the world icon next to the play button to quickly check that the appropriate region is chosen.

Use an Ethernet cable instead

External interferences might disrupt your Wi-Fi and result in inconsistent latency, which causes lag spikes. Playing Overwatch or any other online game is not the most reliable option while using a Wi-Fi connection. To stabilize your connection and guarantee consistent latency, switch to an Ethernet cable.

Cut off other bandwidth-consuming programs

Your home’s other apps and devices all share your bandwidth. Applications that need more bandwidth have greater ping. you can end your Twitch feed and cease streaming music while you play. Your internet usage increases as a result of all of these applications, which limits the bandwidth that Overwatch may use.

Your router should be relocated.

If your router is placed incorrectly, both your Ethernet and Wi-Fi connections may experience problems. The walls aren’t interfering with the connection in this instance, however, the router may overheat and cause a slowdown.

Even using a VPN, you’ll probably find that Overwatch is slowing for no apparent reason and that your speed test results aren’t what they should be. Ensure that your router is positioned without obstruction and in a well-ventilated area.

Long-term overheating of your router may cause heat stress damage to several internal components. That implies that your router has to be replaced.

Refresh and Update Its Router

The firmware of routers is typically updated automatically, although occasionally a user confirmation is required. To check for updates and accept any that are offered, log onto the router’s website.

Even routers occasionally need a new beginning. If time passes, they may get slower as their cache, or short-term memory becomes full or contains errors unintentionally.

By turning the router off, unplugging it, and then turning it back on after a minute, you can swiftly reboot it. Your router’s cache will be cleared after this power cycle, which can speed up your connection once again.

Update your GPU and motherboard drivers.

Overwatch receives a lot of repairs and new features from Blizzard updates, but they also frequently cause the game to break for many users. The designers aren’t necessarily at fault because they can’t guarantee that every PC will operate the game properly. 

However, the slowness and other problems brought on by updates aren’t enjoyable. The best course of action is to update the drivers for your graphics card and motherboard.

Make Certain Your PC’s Specifications Can Handle the Task

It may be time for an upgrade if you tried all of these fixes but still suffer lag in Overwatch. As absurd as it may sound, many people frequently mistake lag and sudden increases in latency for poor frame rates and frame rate decreases. 

Make sure your system is at least on pace with Overwatch’s minimum requirements by looking at them. To improve performance, you can also lower the graphics settings in-game. These options can be found in the Overwatch main menu.

Conclusion

Overwatch is a fast-paced, addictive first-person shooter that emphasises accuracy and quickness. The last thing you want is to lose against a complete newbie in the decisive Overwatch battle because your connection stalled. It’s annoying, embarrassing, and entirely preventable.

The quickest and most reliable way to decrease lag while playing Overwatch is to use a VPN, like ExpressVPN. Whether your Internet connection still feels sluggish after connecting to a reliable VPN service provider, consider if there is another solution to your lag by using the aforementioned troubleshooting advice.

Use a trustworthy VPN, such as ExpressVPN, to eliminate any lag spikes in order to prevent slowdowns when playing Overwatch.

Frequently Asked Questions